For the Schubert Club, it’s business as usual
By Ian Hanson
Though attendance is down, a strong donor base and consistent fan support keep the Schubert Club riding high one year after their 125th anniversary, says The Club’s Box Office Manager Tessa Retterath.
According to the Schubert Club’s Web site, www.schubert.org, The Club was started in 1882 as The Ladies Musicale (TLM) and was Minnesota’s “earliest recital-presenting organization.” Soon after TLM’s inception, their purpose shifted from social gathering to live performance.
A goal of establishing “a high standard of musical excellence in St. Paul” was set. Because of that commitment to musical excellence and an eye toward mixing emerging artists with known names, the consistent support of season subscribers has remained strong. 90 percent of The Schubert Club’s house is sold to renewing subscribers and, says Ms. Retterath, “The single tickets tend to sell themselves.” This fan-base, combined with an extraordinarily strong donor base, has made it possible for The Club to continue featuring the best in contemporary classical music for the past 125 years.
Boosted by a year long 125th anniversary celebration, last year’s banner houses brought in young and old alike and culminated with a special performance by internationally-acclaimed cellist, Yo Yo Ma, which swelled the Ordway Center to maximum capacity. “Most of our concerts sell out, but usually there’s standing room left over,” explained Retterath. “That wasn’t the case for Yo Yo Ma and the tickets were twice as expensive as usual.”
Retterath explains that despite the instant accessibility of current media, there is still demand for the pomp and spectacle of live performance. “The most requested seats are front and center where the sound is the worst but they can see the performer’s facial expressions,” said Retterath. Some of the audience members have told me they love it when the performers spit on them; I don’t think YouTube spits yet.”
Retterath thinks it is less likely that the unstable economy is as big of a factor in the attendance drop as the fact that the current performance calendar is shadowed by last year’s season-long anniversary celebration. “We were expecting a weaker year after our 125th anniversary,” said Retterath
Advertisement takes a back seat to outreach in gaining new customers. Deep student discounts and rush-tickets expose a younger generation to the classical music experience and complement what Retterath calls a cyclical fan base. The contemporary classical music audience, she explains, won’t die because as quickly as older audience members phase out, new audience members fill their seats.