An app for that. Why Columbus Symphony Orchestra now allows cellphones at concerts
Established 164 years ago, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra was the second orchestra to form in the United States. And when the 2019-20 season starts Saturday, it will be the first in Georgia to welcome patrons to use their cellphones during performances — uh, as long as they’re using the CSO’s new mobile app.
Instead of competing against technology, the CSO is promoting it to enrich the concert experience and attract folks who ordinarily wouldn’t attend the symphony.
CSO’s market research two years ago showed an age gap in the audience, Kristen Hudson, CSO marketing director, told the Ledger-Enquirer. The majority of patrons was in the age ranges of 45-and-older and 18-25.
“There were a lot of people in the middle we were missing out on,” Hudson said. “We’re trying to diversify and bring technology to the symphony in a way we haven’t done before.”
Among the app’s features patrons can see during the concerts are:
- Bios and photos of each musician.
- Notes about the music.
- Information about the composers.
It’s available for free download at your device’s app store and the CSO’s website.
The app has a black-lit screen with dimmed white text, Hudson said, to minimize disturbing neighboring concertgoers.
Even some of Hudson’s friends have been reluctant to attend the CSO because of other patrons who frown on cellphone use.
“(Some of my friends) feel like they need to be doing something while they’re listening,” she said. “They couldn’t just listen and enjoy. That might be an issue for those of us who are millennials. So (the app is) making them feel like they’re also welcome in this environment.”
To help acquire the technology from San Diego-based InstantEncore, the CSO received a $2,500 Innovation Grant from the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley, Hudson said.
George Del Gobbo, entering his 33rd season as the CSO’s maestro said, “Anything that encourages people to get to know music better and to appreciate music better is fine with me and should be encouraged.”
He did mention, however, a concern about the app.
“We don’t want the phone to become the center of attention during a performance,” he said. “Sometimes it’s better to put the phone away and just close your eyes and listen.”
Del Gobbo smiled and added, “But that’s a sentiment spoken by an old person who wonders sometimes if we are too attached to our phones.”
And possibly echoed by some traditional patrons, the maestro noted.
“It’s going to be just a question of integrating this activity with the attitude of a lot of our older patrons who think it’s the devil itself they’re sitting next to, looking at a cellphone,” he said. “So that’s going to be an interesting dynamic.”