<p>We’ve recently been attending extraordinary monthly concerts at the University Art Museum. The first one started at 9pm and ended after midnight - with Terry Riley by himself on piano in the center of the floor - and the audience lying on sleeping bags and blankets all around him, or perched on the prosceniums above. There were 800-1000 folks there, and only a tiny handful were over 30. Listening to music lying down was great! I was sure, after a long work week, I would fall asleep - but instead it was one of the most riveting concerts I’ve attended. And the huge young audience was enthralled.</p>
<p>Breaking down the proscenium fascinates me.</p>
<p>At another one of these concerts there was a huge amorphous orange sculpture in the middle of the floor. The 500+ (again, mostly young) audience sat, laid, stood all over this strange sculpture, and the music was played in stations all around. And all quite wild stuff - Fluxus from the 60’s, early Steve Reich with swinging microphones - a Ligeti piece for 100 metronomes. The audience seemed to enjoy it all. The experience of experiencing it was a huge part of the whole event - it made the sum total greater than its parts.</p>
<p>The same presenter, for years, has put on a summer solstice event in a local mortuary (designed by Julia Morgan.) Thousands of people, of all ages wander through the mortuary/columbarium at will - stumbling on pockets of music tucked away in strange corners. Again, total enthusiasm from the mixed audience - and an openness to new experiences which are difficult to duplicate in the standard concert hall.</p>
<p>On the other hand, we went over to Mills College to a conventional auditorium the other night to hear a wonderful concert of Julia Wolfe’s works and there was a sparse audience - mostly related to the performers, or old folks like us. It was very disappointing. If the concert had been in a club like Le Poisson Rouge in New York, I know it would have been packed with an enthusiastic audience.</p>
<p>Lots of experimentation is going on out there on ways to reach the audience - when it works, one discovers it can work beyond one’s best hopes.</p>