Once upon a time, an evening at the symphony may have been an interesting pastime for wealthy men in powdered wigs. But today, it doesn’t often top lists for entertainment options. After all, modern concerts feature famous singers accompanied by background dancers and strobe lights. Movie theaters provide an immersive experience with massive screens and booming surround sound. And yet, symphony orchestras across the globe continue to draw crowds to their concerts. So, how do they keep attracting audiences?
Making it accessible
The world of symphonic music is steeped in tradition and grandeur, which can make it seem closed off to new audiences.
In an interview with Muse, Lisa Grow, the vice president of marketing and customer experience at the New York Philharmonic, said, “I think the classical music community stereotype has many barriers, like an insider club where you need to know everything about the music or artists, where the cost of entry is high both financially and emotionally. ‘What do I wear? Do I belong?’”
To address the perceived exclusivity, orchestras often create promotional materials specifically aimed at making the environment less intimidating to first timers. The Alabama Symphony Orchestra created a “concert etiquette series” on Instagram, explaining how audience members should behave at a concert and assuring them that there is no specific dress code. Similarly, the Nashville Symphony offers a “first timer’s guide” on its website.
Sherry Gibbs, the vice president of communications and interim vice president of marketing at the Nashville Symphony, said she makes the symphony more approachable by promoting “low risk” ways for new audiences to experience orchestral music. These opportunities include movie concerts, where the orchestra plays the score of popular movies live as the audience watches the film, and interactive family programming.
Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra Executive Director Natassia Perrine emphasized the importance of pops concerts and holiday concerts that feature music the wider population is more familiar with. “We usually pick two to three concerts that are dedicated to trying to reach a massive, new audience,” she said.
Engaging with the Community
To make people feel like they belong in the concert hall, it’s important for orchestras to engage with the community and build relationships.
TSO interacts with its community by going to beloved local events like The Kentuck Festival of the Arts and Druid City Arts Fest. At these festivals, TSO offers an “instrument petting zoo,” where people can interact with a series of instruments at different stations and learn from the musicians about how to use them. Events like this give the orchestras a chance to directly interact with new audiences and make the orchestra more relatable to them.
Rather than waiting for people to come to the symphony, The Nashville Symphony brings music directly to its community through the “Music in My Neighborhood” series, where it brings free performances and educational programs to various communities around Nashville.
Soon after being named the music director of The Nashville Symphony, Leonard Slatkin showed his support for a staple of the city, the Nashville Predators. Slatkin previously served as music director for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. During an in-game presentation, Slatkin swapped his Detroit Red Wings jersey for a custom Nashville Predators jersey. Gibbs said, “We saw an opportunity to connect his personal interest [in hockey] with the Nashville community in a way that was authentic and expand his awareness beyond the podium.” The moment didn’t go unnoticed. According to Gibbs, the video of the presentation amassed 73,000 views. Slatkin’s engagement with a team that’s such a core part of the city’s culture helped the symphony reach a new audience and showed that it’s as much a part of the Nashville community as any other iconic local institution.
The Charlotte Symphony has leveraged a relationship with its city government to reach parts of the community that may never have been exposed to orchestral music. The City of Charlotte invests in the symphony’s roadshow, where it performs for free to neighborhoods of Charlotte, North Carolina. In an interview with the League of American Orchestras, Charlotte Symphony President and CEO David Fisk said, “We have the city as a 50% investor in [the roadshow] because they want us to use it in particular parts of the city that have been historically under-resourced. By meeting people on their home turf, the symphony proved its desire to enrich the lives of all members of the Charlotte community.
Attracting a new generation
As symphonies seek to expand their audience and reach a new generation, partnering with educators is crucial. Perrine said, “We use education as one of our main promotional and public relations strategies.”
TSO frequently performs at local schools and invites students on field trips to concerts. The orchestra also hosts Young Person’s Concerts geared specifically toward school-age children. One such concert, “The Composer is Dead,” is an interactive experience where, as TSO explains, “young listeners become detectives on a journey through the orchestra.” At “Meet the Maestro,” students in grades six through 12 can attend a TSO dress rehearsal and meet the orchestra’s conductor and musicians.
As a former music educator, Perrine refers to TSO’s educational efforts as her heart and passion, but these efforts also make a valuable impact on the business. “You’re meeting your future audience,” she said.
Gibbs says the Nashville Symphony engages in over 200 education-related programs every year, including performances in local schools, choir and orchestra festivals, and open dress rehearsals for students. Although this is certainly a hefty investment, Gibbs sees it as a worthy one because it builds lasting brand awareness. “It will help with the longevity of the Nashville Symphony and maintaining our relevance for years to come. If you introduce it to someone at a young age, that may become a core memory, and then they remember that when they can make their own decisions about how they want to use their disposable income and the entertainment choices that they want to make for themselves,” Gibbs said.
Beyond building relationships with younger audiences, outreach to schools provides an opportunity to raise awareness among the broader community. Perrine said, “You’re meeting their teachers and their administrators. Hopefully, they go home and tell their families what they learned.”
Making it personal
“Whether you’re selling lip gloss or tickets to the symphony, people buy things from people,” said Perrine.
That’s why it’s crucial to promote the individuals that work so hard to put on these concerts. The Nashville Symphony accomplishes this through its social media posts, which feature musicians in countdowns to upcoming announcements and event promotions. Similarly, TSO’s “Meet the Musician” social posts give audiences a chance to learn about orchestra members’ backgrounds.
Gibbs hopes to “make each of the musicians the hero and give each of them an opportunity to shine.” She recently brought the symphony’s principal trumpet player to media interviews promoting the 2026-27 season. “In the past, we would have just sent administrators. Our CEO would have gone, or I would have gone as the spokesperson for the symphony, but I really wanted to focus on our musicians,” she said.
TSO provides opportunities for audiences to make personal connections with the musicians at events including its pre-concert “Cheers-n-Chat” receptions, after-concert parties and “Meet the Maestro” dress rehearsals. Meeting the musicians in these relaxed settings helps audiences to see them as ordinary people. Perrine said, “We’ve been trying to really put our musicians out there because these are people you’re in line with at Publix, you’re pumping gas next to them. These are your neighbors, so if they’re at the symphony, you can be there too.”
Elevating the experience
Orchestras must distinguish their experience from other live entertainment options to remain relevant.
For the Nashville Symphony, this is especially pertinent, as the Music City offers seemingly unlimited live music opportunities. “I mean, there’s a Cane’s around the corner from our office, and they have a DJ in there,” Gibbs said. “We feel like you can get live music anywhere, but you can’t get it this way. We are the only ones who can present live orchestral music.”
The Nashville Symphony works to ensure its concerts are a reprieve from the hustle-and-bustle of downtown Nashville, where audiences can have a pleasant, peaceful and orderly experience. Gibbs said, “When you come in, we want our ushers to greet you warmly. Things are going to start on time. We are really interested in making sure that when you come into our hall, it’s this calming wonderfulness.”
Gibbs said the 2025-26 season theme, “Step Inside the Sound,” was created to reflect the unique experience of a Nashville Symphony concert. Promotional materials for the season positioned the concerts as “sensory journeys – where music surrounds, inspires and stays with you long after the final note.”
By emphasizing the contrast between an orchestral concert and other live music events, The Nashville Symphony’s promotions make a compelling case for new audiences to give the symphony a try.
Although the art form is hundreds of years old, orchestras are using innovative tactics to appeal to new audiences and preserve the genre, ensuring that orchestral music will continue to impact listeners for generations to come.
