Open Space Alliance Switches It Up with Summer Symphony
July, 13 2011 • Greenpoint Gazette
North Brooklynites who requested more variety from the summer concert series from Open Space Alliance (OSA) got their wish on Tuesday evening, July 12th.
In a departure from the big-name indie rock bands that have been jamming on the waterfront all summer, OSA hosted its first ever classical concert featuring the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.
“As much as I love the indie rock shows, OSA is about our entire community,” said Stephanie Thayer, Executive Director of OSA. “We have to satisfy all the demographics of our entire community and the constituency that made the concerts popular to begin with.”
Although it’s their third year operating the summer concert series, Thayer still considers OSA to be in the “toddler” stages compared to locations like Prospect and Central Parks, who have been putting on outdoor summer concerts for more than 30 years. As a result, Thayer seeks feedback from the community to make necessary improvements.
“Residents who lived on North 8th Street complained that thousands of people were going through their area when the concerts were let out, so we’ve worked on the exit system so that people go through less residential areas,” said Thayer. “We started doing sound checks later, around noon, and also switched out sound equipment so that bass notes don’t travel as far.”
In addition to satisfying the needs of the community, adding new genres of music like an orchestra to the stage also involves new methods of catering to the performers.
Liz Ostrow, Vice President of Artistic Planning for the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, said that scorching temperatures that evening could have potentially wrecked havoc on the show.
“You can’t put some of these instruments out in 105 degree heat because they’ll literally come apart at the seams,” said Ostrow. “We had the brass performers go on first, as a result, and everything turned out fine.”
Ostrow said they changed their program to address the younger demographic of the crowd. In addition to summertime favorites from composers including George Gershwin and Aaron Copland, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s also threw in pieces more recognizable to the twentysomethings in attendance such as the Star Wars theme and an orchestral medley of Beatles hits.
With the concert receiving positive reactions from those in attendance, Thayer said she hopes to increase the number of summer shows next season.
http://www.greenpointnews.com/entertainment/3543/open-space-alliance-switches-it-up-with-summer-symphony
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