It takes a lot more than a conductor and musicians to prepare for a concert. Today we will learn a little about the "unsung" heroes who work behind the scenes.
We've already talked about the music librarian and personnel manager. Also on staff is an executive director, who heads the fundraising efforts we talked about yesterday. We have office workers who handle ticket sales, an office manager who prepares the musician's payroll and takes care of a myriad of other incidental matters, a marketing person, and stage hands. In addition, there are numerous volunteers who help the orchestra.
Ticket sales are a critical part of our organization. Those who answer the phones are in direct communication with our patrons. Fortunately, we have people who are pleasant, knowledgeable, and patient, when necessary! About 30% of our ticket sales are online and do not involve our staff. Patrons may go to our website (www.OrchestraKentucky.com), choose their seats, and pay for them. I have a feeling that this number will increase as more and more people get used to technology. Speaking of tickets, about half of our audience are subscribers. In the late winter and spring, our staff takes subscription orders, assigns seats, and mails the tickets. You can imagine the enormity of this job.
Our marketing director's job is to make sure that the general public knows about our concerts. Since we have a small budget, we rely heavily on free advertising. We inform area media about concerts via press releases. The releases go to newspapers, radio and TV stations within about a hundred mile radius of Bowling Green. Paid advertising includes direct mail pieces, newspaper, radio and TV ads. Which media we use, depends upon the nature of the concert. If the concert has a strong visual element, we use TV. We also distribute posters and newsletters to get the word out. In addition to traditional means of advertising, we use newer methods like email blasts, this blog, and social media. When we send an email blast about an upcoming concert, it is to people who have opted to receive them. We do not spam people! Social media uses include Facebook and Twitter. To stay connected with the orchestra, you may become a Facebook fan, follow us on Twitter, and sign up to receive emails and direct mail. The email sign up is on the home page of our website, on the bottom left corner.(www.OrchestraKentucky.com).
Our stage crew is responsible for moving equipment, setting the stage before a concert, and striking the stage afterwards. It is a thankless job, involving moving percussion equipment, chairs, music stands, podiums, and risers.
On concert evenings, our staff wears different hats. One person manages the front of house,or lobby area. This involves making sure that the ticket "will call" and sales windows operate smoothly. They also take care of any problems that may arise. The stage manager deals with activities back stage, such as making sure guest artists are on stage at the proper time, cuing the concertmaster to begin the concert, opening the stage entrance doors, etc.
Depending upon the concert, there may be technical needs like sound, lighting, video, etc. The technical director makes sure that the concert looks and sounds good for our patrons.
Finally, many hats are worn by volunteers. For example, all of our ushers volunteer their time to make sure that patrons receive a concert program and find their seats. Our head usher recruits ushers for each concert, trains them, and makes sure that things run smoothly. We also have volunteers who "man" the ticket "will call" window. Board members act as "greeters" in the lobby. Their job is to make patrons feel welcome and to thank them for attending. After all, they could have stayed at home and watched TV!
I'm sure I've forgotten something. The point of this blog is to stress that it takes a small army to produce a concert. Although the musicians tend to receive the credit, they couldn't perform without the many people who work behind the scenes.
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