Symphony patrons Beth Meador, Sarah Hannah. Photo credit: Susan Adcock
The Nashville Symphony offers audiences a little morning music with the debut of its “Coffee and Classics” series of mid-morning concerts. The series launches Friday morning with Aaron Copland’s “Billy the Kid” suite and Stephen Paulus’ “Grand Organ Concerto” featuring soloist Nathan Laube.
“Coffee and Classics” also includes “Haydn & Strauss” in February and “Mozart Masterpieces” in April. Each performance will be an abbreviated version of the evening concerts, presented sans intermission and lasting from an hour to 90 minutes.
Tickets for the series start at $88 for three performances and includes coffee and pastries before the performance as well as parking at LP Field and a shuttle to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
The idea for the series came partly out of research the Nashville Symphony conducted into its sales calls and subscriber base.
What they learned, according to Nashville Symphony president and CEO Alan Valentine, was that each year a number of people opt not to renew their subscriptions either because they no longer drive at night, they no longer feel comfortable being downtown at night or they are unable to walk from available parking spaces.
But the series isn’t just geared toward older concert-goers, it’s also intended for students and others with flexible schedules. Valentine imagines people opting for an early lunch and walking to the concerts from their offices, then heading back to their desks after the performance.
Nashville Symphony begins its Coffee & Classics Series on Oct. 4. Submitted Art
“We didn’t just totally invent this; there are a number of other orchestras around the country that have been doing this very successfully for some time,” Valentine said of the series.
The Minnesota Orchestra is one of those orchestras; their matinee series was “immensely popular” according to Giancarlo Guerrero. Now Nashville Symphony’s music director, Guerrero was formerly associate conductor in Minneapolis.
He said though it may take a while to build such a following for the Nashville Symphony’s “Coffee and Classics,” he believes it will happen with the right marketing and programming.
“These concerts, because they are in the morning, they will have a bit more of a relaxed and even more informal feel to them,” Guerrero said. “During the concerts, very likely I will be speaking from the stage and making brief introductions about the music and perhaps making connections about how these pieces came together.”
The initial “Coffee and Classics” concert begins with the Paulus organ concerto, the final piece in a CD recording project the symphony hopes to release next spring.
Stephen Paulus. Photo credit: Alison Young
Performing and recording the concerto has taken on a “more personal tone” for the orchestra since the composer suffered a serious stroke in July, Guerrero said. It had been hoped Paulus would attend these performances, but that is not possible now. “This whole project is now basically in honor of Stephen,” Guerrero said.
The recording project is also one reason Friday’s “Coffee and Classics” will include the guest soloist from the evening concerts (this won’t always be the case): Guerrero wanted to have an extra performance to draw from for the final recording.
Friday’s concert will conclude with Copland’s spirited “Billy the Kid Suite.”
Guerrero said he felt good about this new season and about the orchestra’s future. “The community has rallied around us and we feel that great support, and that’s what’s giving us the impetus necessary to continue growing and trying to reach more people,” he said.
Nathan Laube. Submitted Photo
Valentine also stressed the goal of reaching more people — and in filling seats. To that end, two additional programs are being offered, one new and one revised.
The “SoundCheck” program now allows college students to attend as many of the 14 classical series concerts as they wish for just $25. “WaveLength,” a new program for the under-30 set, offers unlimited classical series access for $85 per person or $150 per couple. The idea, Valentine said, is to make attending the symphony affordable for those just starting out in careers.
There’s something for everyone else, too: Single tickets for classical series performances now start at $23.
“We’ve tried to make that whole series more accessible,” Valentine said. “You can still pay a lot and get a box seat, but we’ve made an entry point that’s much lower.”
— MiChelle Jones, for The Tennessean
If You Go
What: “Copland’s Billy the Kid” during “Coffee and Classics”
Where: Schermerhorn Symphony Center, One Symphony Place
When: 10:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 4
Admission: $88-$148 for three-concert series
Contact: 615-687-6400 or http://nashvillesymphony.org
