Concert Tickets Indianapolis

Community Connections

Tuesday, March 2, 2010 by Brian Smith

One advantage of living in the age of the internet is the rapid spread of information from every corner of the world to your living room whenever you want it. As a result many people in our industry find themselves reading more about what goes on in the orchestra world to keep current with the latest trends and news. So this weekend, coffee in hand, I made my way to the computer to do just that, when I came across two articles that struck me for very different reasons.

The first was an article describing the Baltimore Symphony's newest venture, "Rusty Musicians with the BSO". Basically this program allows amateurs to join members of the orchestra and music director Marin Alsop on stage for a rehearsal and performance. Anyone who is over the age of 25 and can play an orchestral instrument can participate. Apparently the good people of Baltimore found this to be a great idea, as over 400 people signed up! It seems that even in a time of financial difficulty for most orchestras in this country, Baltimore has found a new way to connect with their community and created a moral boost for the organization, not to mention a new revenue stream.

On the other hand, the second article, written in a much more sombre tone, detailed some of the woes facing the Philadelphia Orchestra. Like many orchestras, Philadelphia is fighting an uphill battle financially, but to me that wasn't the disappointing part of the story. According to the story's author, there is a seemingly growing number of loyal patrons feeling disconnected from the great orchestra, which is routinely classified a member of the "Big 5" (along with the ensembles of Chicago, Cleveland, New York, and Boston). One is led to believe from the article that a lack of communication from the orchestra, along with logistical issues such as ticket prices and parking concerns, has created unwanted friction between the orchestra and it's fan base. This seems to be an issue which needs to be addressed quickly, for the sake of all concerned.

Here at the Indianapolis Symphony we want to continually develop and foster our relationship with our city. To that end we hope that along with attending concerts, you will take advantage of some of the offstage programs we have in place. Two such programs are the "Sound Off", a pre-concert question and answer session, and "Reverb", a post-concert meet and greet event with the ISO musicians. Both events are associated with all of our Symphonic Hits series concerts and are designed to give concert goers a chance to get to know more about the people and projects of the ISO. Another option are the "First Mondays at the ISO" gatherings, hosted by ISO cellist Geoff Lapin. As the name implies, the meetings take place the first monday of each month and cover a wide range of musical subjects, often featuring special guests to discuss the topic of the day.

Another great way to connect with the orchestra is through FORTE, the ISO's young professionals group. Along with providing volunteer and networking opportunities for it's members, Forte is helping our new Happy Hour series take shape. Another great volunteer organization is the ISO Women's Committee. Founded in 1937, the committee has a long standing role in organizing fundraising and music education events.

These are just a few of the ways the community can interact with the orchestra, but we are always looking for better ways to do things at the ISO. So here's your chance to tell us what you think. How are we doing? If you have a great idea, leave a comment and tell us how we can make your concert going experience better. I would love to hear them.

Great tunes!

Friday, January 22, 2010 by Everyone's a Critic

I seated myself just behind the sound console, orchestra right, floor. Hackman delivered Wyoming 307 (name from an area code) but the piano was too quiet to be heard well above the crowd noise. Short Ride in a Fast Machine brought images of Copeland and the open spaces of the wild west to mind, with the clattering of 1/4 notes on wood block and massed orchestra galloping through with myriad tempos. It's a complicated piece, that really got the attention of the audience. The sweeping strings were particularly majestic during the middle section. The Beethoven/Coldplay arrangement was very artful, blending the well known Eroica with rock drum kit, organ, piano, and vocal joining in for the 'Fix You' Coldplay portion, winding down with closing movement of Eroica. Conductor/pianist Hackman took a bit to entertain the audience with some lively banter about the history of the various selections for the evening and was well received. I'm not familiar with the Joe Black themes played next and to me, the dancers were a distraction but I'm sure that others enjoyed their interpretation. (I feared for their safety, performing on a 7' wide sliver of stage). Next up, the Infernal Dance and Closing from Stravinsky's Firebird Suite sandwiched another well-known melody, Debussy's Claire de Lune. The Debussy was delightful and I personally very much enjoyed the dramatic Firebird with all it's fortissimo playing, horn fanfare, and tympani. For years I listed to the rock band Yes using the Firebird as a show opener so am very familiar with this number and the ISO performed it to stunning effect. Great show overall, truncated a bit but for the ticket price you couldn't go wrong. I'd wished that they'd used the available lighting tools to greater effect and some of the solos seen on a projection screen were difficult to hear (bump them in the mix please Mr. sound guy). An enjoyable evening despite the very active crowd in the lobby. I think the organizers got what they wished for- to bring symphonic music to a new, younger crowd. Mission well accomplished!

Name: Michael Colter
City: Indianapolis

A Ticket Order is Worth 1,000 Words

Wednesday, January 6, 2010 by Scott Harrison

Everyone thinks marketers are all about numbers, charts and strange acronyms. It's true, ROI is crucial. (That’s Return On Investment, or, was the cost of the ad worth the money it generated?) And, yes, we've got to hit our revenue goals. But I certainly don't work in marketing at the ISO because I love graphs and spreadsheets. I work at the ISO because I love music, and I’m in marketing because I’m a people person. At the end of the day, I’m here to connect people more closely to our music.

Others might look at a ticket order and see a sale; I look at that ticket order and see a person and a story. In the case of our $20.10 sale, there are a lot of orders. That’s means a lot of stories and I’d like to share one of them with you.

The promotion began with a two day pre-sale for our subscribers and donors. One of the first orders was from Rebecca. She’s a current donor to the ISO, but it’s been about five years since her last concert. That worries me. While her financial support is most welcome, the longer someone goes without attending concerts, the less likely she is to attend in the future and continue that support.

Rebecca used the $20.10 sale to purchase two upcoming Classical concerts (Scheherazade and Fauré’s Requiem) and two upcoming Pops concerts (Marvin Hamlisch and Classically Cinematic). In other words, she went from 0 to 4 in just one order. Rebecca is now going to rediscover what she always loved about the ISO and, hopefully, start coming to concerts on a regular basis for years to come. That’s good for the ISO, but it’s also good for Rebecca. For me, it’s extremely gratifying to know that one order spurred by one special offer can create that difference in someone’s life.

So that’s Rebecca’s story. Now I want to know yours! Don’t worry, you don’t have to write anything down or call me. All you have to do is visit IndianapolisSymphony.org and place your order. I’ll be able to read between the lines.

By the way, for those who don’t know, now through January 9, $20.10 gets you any ticket to any remaining Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Classical, Pops or Symphonic Hits concert at the Hilbert Circle Theatre.

Sound Off is back!

Sunday, January 3, 2010 by Sean Newhouse

Happy New Year, everyone – I hope 2010 is off to a terrific start for all of you!

This coming Friday and Saturday, the 8^th and 9^th, the ISO’s series of popular classics, Symphonic Hits powered by Lilly, returns to the Hilbert Circle Theater stage, and of course, that also means the return of Sound Off, the preconcert event that I host one hour prior to each concert (AKA 6:30pm).

This week’s concert program is full of spectacular music, including a suite of excerpts from my favorite work by Sergei Prokofiev, his ballet music for Romeo and Juliet. The excerpts for this suite were chosen by this week’s conductor, Andrew Litton, and I believe that these will be the first-ever performances of this particular combination of movements. The concert also features Tchaikovsky’s warhorse Violin Concerto, with soloist Vadim Gluzman, and Tchaikovsky’s Coronation March.

The first couple editions of Sound Off have been a lot of fun, thanks in large part to your terrific participation and questions for me and my guests. If you have a burning question about orchestras or symphonic music that you’d like to see me answer during our The Audience Wants to Know segment, please submit it by commenting on this blog post, posting it on the ISO Facebook page, or emailing it to soundoff@indianapolissymphony.org. In the next few days, I think the ISO staff may be even posting a special free concert ticket offer on our Facebook page for the best question submitted, so be sure to check for that.

Here are some videos to kindle your interest in this week’s repertoire. I couldn’t resist starting with what is probably the most novel performance of music from the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto that I’ve ever heard. This is a young accordion virtuoso from Ukraine, Alexander Hrustevich, performing the 3^rd movement of the concerto, and playing both the solo part and accompaniment himself - it’s quite breathtaking:

And to balance that, here’s a classic “normal” performance of the first movement with the legendary David Oistrakh as soloist. (This is only the first part of the movement, but the remainder of the movement, as well as the rest of the concerto, are easily accessible on YouTube).

Here is a performance by the famous Bolshoi Ballet of the scene ‘Romeo at Juliet’s Tomb’ from Romeo and Juliet. This scene will not be included in this weekend’s performances, but I thought you would enjoy it.

And finally, here is a concert performance by Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic of the devastating ‘Death of Tybalt’, which will conclude the Romeo and Juliet suite in this weekend’s performances.

(These last two YouTube videos have "embedding" disabled, which means I can't post them inline here at the blog entry, but be sure to check out the links to view them directly on YouTube - they're both fantastic.)

See you at the symphony!

Hope for the Holidays Part Two

Monday, December 7, 2009 by Jessica Di Santo

Hope for the Holidays

Wednesday, December 2, 2009 by Jessica Di Santo

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and Children's Bureau have partnered to bring holiday joy to Indiana families facing financial hardship this season. Our campaign for donors to purchase $10 Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration tickets for those in need is off to a great start--more than 50 tickets have been distributed to families so far. There's still time -- go here to learn how to can donate the gift of Yuletide.

In the meantime, read those heartwarming stories of families receiving holiday gifts from Children's Bureau case manager, Rachel Hughes.

First Christmas Stories
by Rachel Hughes, Children's Bureau

A few Christmas’ ago, we had a 12 year old boy. His prior living conditions and relationship with his biological mother was horrible. On Christmas morning, he didn’t have a visit or pass and he was one of a few kids that had no one to see him. He woke up early and staff let him open up a few presents. This boy was just so excited to have presents. He wasn’t sure when the last time was that he had gifts on Christmas. It didn’t matter if it was a toy, socks, clothes or underwear, he was so grateful and appreciated everything he received. After every package, he thanked everyone and his smile was so big. He thanked everyone he saw for him getting presents (even if they weren’t involved) and wrote a good thank you letter which was a struggle for him due to not having enough space to write his note. Behaviorally, this kid was a challenge but that Christmas he was grateful, compliant and happy.

Last year, we had a little girl whose house caught on fire. She lost all of her toys and clothing. More than anything else, she wanted a Bratz head doll to replace the one she lost in the fire. On Christmas morning when she saw the Bratz doll, she was so happy. It was like a piece of her life before the fire was given back to her.

We had an 8 year old girl that was afraid that Santa wouldn’t be able to find her since her address had changed many times since last Christmas. We had the security officer call pretending to be Santa and telling her that he knew where she was and what one of her presents was. She was so excited and was relieved that even though she was in a placement, Santa could still find her. It gave her a reassurance that Christmas was still going to be okay even though she wasn’t placed in a home or with a family for Christmas.

Working with children in the system is very hard. Success is not high but staff still fights for every kid to have had at least one success while in placement. We have had many children learn to read while here even though they were 15 or so. We’ve had kids learn better coping skills than hurting themselves or others. The most valuable lesson most learn while they are here is that they are worth something. No matter what they have been told, they are valuable. They are important. They mean something. They don’t need to define themselves through others or behaviors. Who they are is enough. They don’t need their family to say they are worth something. They don’t need a boy or a girl to make them feel good about themselves. They can achieve and have a future no matter what their past has been.

A Mid-Week Round-Up

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 by Jessica Di Santo

I couldn't choose just one thing to write about this week.

Win Joshua Bell's New CD!

Joshua Bell, world renowned violinist, Hoosier native and our guest artist for this weekend, has just been named the 2010 "Instrumentalist of the Year" by Musical America. The Indianapolis Star's Jay Harvey recently blogged about his upcoming appearance with the ISO.

We also have a free copy of Josh’s new CD, At Home with Friends, ready to give away. Just post your favorite Joshua Bell moment, concert, performance or experience in this blog, and we'll select a winner on Friday at noon!

Congratulations Gabriela

Congratulations to ISO composer-in-residence, Gabriela Lena Frank, for winning a 2009 Latin Grammy Award in the category of "Best Classical Contemporary Composition" for her piece, Inca Dances!

Give the Gift of Yuletide

The Indianapolis Symphony is proud to partner with the Children’s Bureau, an organization that sponsors families in need each year during the holidays. As part of the gift packages for these families, you can donate $10 Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration tickets. Click here to learn more.

Florence Henderson Performs with the ISO Nov. 20-22

It’s commonly known that Florence Henderson is a native Hoosier (and one of our favorite TV moms). However, did you know:

Florence can be found as part of the “Global Indiana” exhibit at the Indiana State Museum? See her picture here among other famous Hoosiers.

Florence’s voice can be heard each year at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway 500 race: here’s a clip of her performance of “God Bless America” in 2005.

The town of Dale, Indiana (population: 1,500) is Florence’s hometown. Did you know? Abraham Lincoln grew up on a farm nearby.

And we have a winner!

Thursday, October 1, 2009 by Scott Harrison

After much deliberation, we have chosen a winner. Congratulations to . . .

(Imagine the drum roll . . .)

LAUREN ALAYZA!

Here's what she had to say:

Dear ISO, My name is Lauren Alayza, and I am a seventeen-year-old aspiring cellist. It is my dream to become a fine cellist, (as fine as Yo-Yo Ma!) and to play chamber music professionally someday. I have only been playing about five years, but I try my hardest to make it seem as if I have been studying much longer. I am not like most student musicians, in fact, I believe someone with my situation is rare and unusual to come by. A few years after I began playing cello, I was diagnosed with a debilitating rare condition, that is not completely diagnosed yet. It has been a great four-year struggle to deal with the infinite debilitating symptoms, including arthritis which is difficult to deal with for any musician. Despite my pain, extreme fatigue, and occasional depression, I make it to all my lessons and rehearsals every week, and I have noticed an intriguing ongoing pattern. After every cello lesson, I leave feeling the best I have felt that day. Cello lessons quickly became a sort of distraction therapy, an escape, if you will, to my other life; my feeble reality. When I practice and play my cello, I am quickly engulfed in music and concentration to produce the best sound I possibly can, and voila, before I even know it, I have forgotten all of my aches and pains! Because of this epiphany I have had with music and its healing powers, I have vowed to dedicate my efforts of cello playing and practicing to someday help others experience this wonderful phenomenon we call music. I want to see (and meet!) Yo-Yo Ma at the Hilbert Theatre this Thursday because Yo-Yo Ma gives me inspiration as a musician, and as a cellist. I have followed his music from Sesame Street, to the Inauguration of President Obama, to duets with some of my favorite rising musicians, like Andrew Bird. Yo-yo Ma is inspiring to me because he is so open-minded to: different genres of music, collaborating with new and rising musicians, and I am sure he would be open-minded about exploring the healing possibilities music can offer to the world today.

Enjoy the concert Lauren! We hope it brings you much joy and inspiration.

We also have an honorable mention. Because of his very clever poem, we're giving Matt and his wife two free tickets to attend Joshua Bell on November 13-14. (That concert's also approaching a sell-out.) Here's the poem:

There was once Matt trying to impress his mate,
He was quite the average fellow,
So he planned this fantastic date,
To see his wife drool over some dude on a cello.
Little did he know it was the Yo-Yo Ma show,
An evening at the Indianapolis Symphony,
And tickets are sold out! “On No!"
So please help Matt through your empathy.
Two tickets would surely make my night.
Hearing the Dvorák’s Cello Concerto in B Minor,
From Yo-Yo Ma would be quite the sight,
And would really make my date finer.

And finally we have great news for everyone who submitted a comment. We're going to give you all a pair of free tickets to the premiere performance of Symphonic Hits on October 16-17 featuring Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony and piano powerhouse Garrick Ohlsson. We'll email you all in a few days with the details.

Thanks to everyone who participated and keep on reading our blog!

Contest Alert: Win 2 tickets to Yo-Yo Ma!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 by Scott Harrison

Tomorrow night, Yo-Yo Ma, one of the most famous musicians in the world, returns to Indianapolis for his first concert with the ISO in over a decade.

This one-night only Special Event has been sold out for weeks, but your friends in the ISO marketing department have been hiding a pair of tickets to give away to one lucky person.

All you have to do to win is leave a comment below telling us why we should give you the tickets. The most unique and compelling answer wins.

We'll post the winner right here tomorrow at 1pm, so check back then to see if it's you.

Good luck and See you at the Symphony!

***

In the meantime, enjoy this classic performance:

Facts, figures and a little bit of fun: Marsh Symphony on the Prairie

Wednesday, September 9, 2009 by Jessica Di Santo

It’s nice to have an announcement like this when a season is complete:

Headline:

INDIANAPOLIS SYMPHONY SETS NEW ATTENDANCE RECORD AT MARSH SYMPHONY ON THE PRAIRIE

Copy:

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra announced that it set a new all-time attendance record of 107,281 for its Marsh Symphony on the Prairie season of outdoor concerts this summer, exceeding the previous mark of 107,245 set in 1999. (We beat it by 36 people!)

· Total season attendance of 107,281, the largest full-season crowd to attend the series.

· Attendance Tops 100,000 Mark for Only 2^nd Time in 28-Year History of Outdoor Series

· Single night attendance record for a Pops concert featuring the ISO with 8,145 people enjoying the Classical Mystery Tour Beatles Tribute program on Aug. 1

· Second largest non-July 4 weekend attendance of 14,304 July 31-Aug 1, just missing the all-time record of 14,829 (Aug. 27-29, 1999 - Big Band)

· Fourth largest single concert attendance of 12,291 on July 3

Although we are proud of our milestones, the Prairie season is more than just facts, figures and statistics. There are stories to tell. Here is just a sample of what occurred this season:

Happy Anniversary!

Symphony on the Prairie emcee Scott Hoke surprised Paul and Georgia Bradley when he announced from the stage on Aug. 29 that the couple was celebrating 80 years of marriage. Yes, that’s right. 80 years. The crowd roared and gave Paul and Georgia a standing ovation. According to a source, the young couple brought their own flask to toast to another 80 years.

I’ve Never Won Anything in my Life”

Our very own Tim Northcutt, associate director of communications, tagged Debra Fleetwood from New Palestine as our 100,000^th patron to enter the gates on Saturday, September 5. Fleetwood received a certificate for two Value Packs (each containing 10 tickets) to the 2010 Series, a $100 Gift Card from Marsh Supermarkets, and the ISO will donate two seven-concert Lilly Classical Series subscriptions to a local charitable organization in her name. Her party was escorted to a reserved table near the front of the amphitheater where they enjoyed the concert by the River City Brass Band and a fireworks finale in this final weekend of the summer season (see photo below). According to Tim, Debra proclaimed that she had “never won anything in her life.”

Rented Heaters…in July?

One of the coldest evenings in memory occurred during the classical music concert weekend. Evening temperatures hovered around 58-60 degrees. The operations team ordered heaters for the musicians on stage…in the middle of July!

A Day in the Life (of a Faux Beatle)

Jim Owen, one of the two original members of the Beatles tribute band, Classical Mystery Tour, currently plays the role of John Lennon, though he hasn’t always been confined to John’s duties at the piano, guitar and microphone. Up until the late 90s or so, he usually played the part of George Harrison. When the Classical Mystery Tour group performed for the ISO in winter 2006 on stage at the HCT, Jim’s previous experience performing as George proved fortunate. Tom Teeley, the current George Harrison (and the other original member of CMT), was leaving a local restaurant and slipped on a patch of ice and broke his right wrist the day of a concert. Luckily, due to Jim Owen’s previous experience as George, he and Tom Teeley switched guitars during the performance so that the difficult electric guitar solos could be played more easily. Tom has never forgotten Indianapolis.

Anything for You Dad

For our second concert at Prairie on June 26-27, excerpts from the Harry Potter books were read by narrator Constance Macy. However, the excerpts did not come with the music. Conductor Alfred Savia’s own daughter, Julia – a self-proclaimed expert on the Harry Potter series – carefully studied the music excerpts her father had chosen and appropriately chose the script that would be read by the narrator during the show.

Four Score and Seven Years Ago

Dean Dorrell, our Abraham Lincoln impersonator from the July 2-4 concerts, has been a frequent visitor to the Prairie stage. Typically he arrives several hours before the concert, sits in his dressing room in his full Lincoln garb, and reads the latest biography on the President he so uncannily resembles. Standing one inch taller than Abe, Mr. Dorrell also keeps a copy of many of Lincoln’s speeches in his top hat (as Lincoln did), and has nearly all of his speeches memorized. He can be seen all over Midwest visiting schools, libraries, concerts and other celebratory functions honoring our 16^th President. And he does this on the side! Personally, he is a very quiet, gentle and generous man. (See photo below – Dean Dorrell as Abraham Lincoln, moments before reciting the Gettysburg Address to a crowd of more than 10,000)

How Does He Do That?

Some audience members may have been to the Rockapella show and heard the amazing sounds coming from Jeff Thacher, the group’s “percussionist.” What they may not have seen is how he makes these sounds. He attaches two small microphones to either side of his vocal chords with surgical tape, and is able to create the low “bass-drum” kicks with his throat, without moving his lips. Only then does he put a normal microphone to his mouth to make the more consonant, percussive sounds. Quite often he can make two different sounds at once – one with his throat, and one with his mouth.

Three Degrees of Separation

Larry O’Brien, the current leader of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, performed with the band in the 60s, when Ray McKinley was the leader. Ray played with Glenn Miller in the Air Force band and acted as its unofficial leader after Miller disappeared in December 1944.

It’s Still the 21^st Century, You Know

Glynnis Campbell, the wife of America’s bass player Rich Campbell, is a published novelist (under the pseudonym Sarah McKerrigan) with 10 books on the shelf so far in her career. She concentrates on writing fiction set within historical contexts, usually taking place between 1100-1500 England and Scotland. She studies the culture, music and even clothing fabrics to make sure that her stories don’t contain any anachronisms. She delves herself into the time period so that it’s nearly second-nature to her. That is, according to her husband, until her cell phone goes off.

Happy 09.09.09!