January: When the Music Goes into Hiding

I wear my Marketing and Box Office hats a lot in January.  (Good thing, too, for it's bloody freezing around here.  I need all the clothing I can find.)  All of the music that surrounded us during the audition and casting process has temporarily disappeared to make way for writing copy and selling tickets.

So, in thinking of ways to describe, promote and create enthusiasm about our upcoming season, I found this. And I'm of a million different minds about it.



And, as we address the thorny topic of ticket prices, it's serendipitous to find one of my favorite podcasts discussing the Psychology of Pricing.  Unfortunately, our thinking has to go far beyond this discussion.  We have obligations not only to our bottom line, but to our donors, our current and potential patrons, and to our art form.  Raise prices to attempt to keep pace with expenses?  Hold the line in sympathy with the economic challenges of patrons?  Cut deep and low to eliminate obstacles in expanding the audience base?  Yes, yes, and yes?  Hmmm.

January is WTOC Alumni Month!

I was doing some surfing to see what our summer festival colleagues are offering for 2010, and I came across a performance of the suite from Candide with WTOC alums Anna Christy and Nick Phan.  Ravinia also features former Trappers Nathan Gunn and Lauren McNeese in Figaro, and Tanglewood's roster includes Stephanie Blythe (Mahler #2), Dawn Upshaw, and Morris Robinson (Mozart's Abduction).