Conference 2023: Commissioning and the Redefinition of Audience

Speaker(s): Ray Angry, Pianist, Producer, Composer; Kathryn Bostic, Composer and Artist; Jonathan Bailey Holland, Head, School of Music, Carnegie Mellon University; Jonathan McPhee, Music Director and Principal Conductor, Lexington Symphony; Suzanne Perrino, SVP, Learning and Community Engagement, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Composer-led projects often lift up individual and collective stories. The most powerful commissions converge artistic vision, community engagement, and audience development to embrace and inspire local creativity. Through these commissions, an orchestra has the opportunity to define itself artistically and establish rich, reciprocal relationships with organizations and individuals within its community.

In this session, you’ll hear from a panel of composers and administrators about recent examples of using the commissioning process as a catalyst for deepening audience engagement. Learn how orchestras across the country are redefining what it means to be an audience member by expanding that connection beyond a brief experience of concert music.

This session is made possible by generous grants from The Amphion Foundation, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and The Wallace Foundation. Photo Credit: Jason Cohn