Celebrating 100 Years of Musical Outreach in Scandinavia

Abstract

This article outlines the significant, but less investigated historical development of musical outreach; the professional symphony orchestras effort to introduce classical music to new audiences, especially children and adolescents. Many Norwegian symphony orchestras have held public concerts for 100 years and throughout this period they have set up strategic objectives regarding outreach. Through a series of musical examples from various concerts targeting new audiences, the article draws a historical overview of the different concepts of concerts that have developed from the early 1900s till today. In order to better understand the uniqueness of these concerts, and enable us to appreciate the special experiences they offer, the article provides contributions to a terminology that can make us better able to assess and discuss these concerts on premises that is their own, and not rashly handed down from hegemonic notions of the classical concert experience.

Keywords: Outreach, childrens concerts, school concerts, new audiences, 1B1, Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra.

Affiliation: University of Agder, Faculty of Fine Arts