One of the ongoing challenges facing any arts organisation is its continued audience development. For many in the classical music sector this is something of a Hydra with its multiple faces representing an aging demographic, declining audience numbers, more competition for the audience’s discretionary dollars, fundamental shifts in the way classical music can be consumed, and changed habits brought about by COVID and other factors.
Vincent Ciccarello, Managing Director of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) acknowledges that half of their core audience is aged 60-plus. But as he rightly observes, ‘that also means 50% are under 60’.
