Florida Orchestra would flourish if it would only roll over Beethoven
By ERNEST HOOPER
Published September 25, 2003
Members of the Florida Orchestra should thank their lucky stars I'm not musical director Stefan Sanderling.
Oh, it would not be a pretty sight. First of all, I know more about the Fugees than a fugue, more about Con Funk Shun than concerto. I know what I like, and I couldn't help but want them to deliver those songs on occasion.
You can imagine the reaction.
I didn't spend six years at the conservatory to play Atomic Dog on the cello.
So what's my problem? It's pretty simple. Every time I read about the financial struggles of the orchestra, I immediately think I can solve them. You see, I'm convinced the solution is not asking symphony lovers to dig deeper.
No, it's attracting new fans and the way to do that is by playing something new. I'm talking about ideas so far out of the box Carol Morsani Hall would be littered with Styrofoam peanuts.
Take, for example, the Melbourne (Australia) Symphony Orchestra, which collaborated with KISS back in February. More than 35,000 people showed up to hear orchestral arrangements of such classics as Shout It Out Loud, and orchestra members were dolled up in classic KISS makeup. Now, the KISS Symphony CD is on sale in stores everywhere.
Cha-ching.
So why not George Clinton in C minor? How about Dixie Chicks vs. Toby Keith: A Symphonic Battle? The Genius of Donna Summer? The Reign of Prince?
Ask yourself: Do those really sound less appealing than Scheherazade and More?
The orchestra's Super Pop series offers something less stuffy with a season-long collection of shows devoted to Broadway composers and jazz greats, such as Doc Severinsen and Pete Fountain. But I'm ready to blow the lid off that.
Don't get me wrong. I believe in the product. I'm still raving about the version of Aaron Copland's Hoe-Down performed by the orchestra last winter, but some of my friends wouldn't know the difference between Aaron Copland and Aaron Neville unless I told them Hoe-Down is the song from those beef commercials.
I took all these thoughts to the orchestra's season-opening gala at the Performing Arts Center on Wednesday night. Believe it or not, it's not the first time I've presented some crazy ideas to the orchestra folks, but this time I think I have found something they may be receptive to.
Hear me out. Bucs executive vice president Bryan Glazer once told me he would love to have the orchestra perform at Raymond James Stadium on July 4. The idea would be to revive the annual holiday fireworks show the Rowdies and Mutiny used to stage.
I love the idea of marrying sports and symphony. Maybe Jon Gruden could serve as a guest conductor; maybe the orchestra could play a couple of the symphonic numbers familiar to fans of NFL Films. You could dress up the musicians in Bucs jerseys and introduce them in a "pre-symphony" ceremony.
And YOUR concert master, Amy Schwartz Moooooooretttiii.
And the crowd goes wild.
There is a problem, however. We could treat the symphony players like Bucs players, but they don't get paid like the Bucs. Most have out-of-town summer jobs to make ends meet, and it would be difficult to round up the gang for a performance.
But imagine the possibilities. If 20,000 people showed up and paid $10 apiece, that would be a gross of $200,000. If the Bucs and Raymond James, a huge orchestra supporter, would be willing to cover the overhead, the net could be sizable.
And you would surely introduce the orchestra to a whole new set of folks who would fall in love listening to Hooray For the Red, White and Blue while fireworks lit up the sky. Maybe they would even show up for some other orchestra events.
My brilliant marketing ideas, and I've had many, have never failed ... primarily because they have never been implemented. But this one deserves some serious consideration and it's a little easier than having the orchestra play Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit.
