by Courtney Clelland

It's no fantastic revelation to state that the landscape of Austin is changing both literally and figuratively. Entire communities are being planned and constructed as out-lying areas merge to create an uninterrupted continuation of metropolitan area. Technological companies have developed a stronghold in the "silicon hills," furnishing more than 65 percent of the jobs in and around Austin. Austin's population growth estimates, as well as projections of economic growth, far surpass state-wide averages. Travis County alone receives nearly 10,000 new inhabitants each year. Of those, approximately 90 percent are non-white. In the past decade, Austin has become home to a young technology-employed work force as well as a community of rapidly increasing diversity.

Changes this drastic are difficult to ignore. They demand a response from every sector of the city's economy, including arts institutions. The Austin arts community has witnessed smaller arts organizations such as Frontera Hyde Park, Vortex Theatre, Texas Folklife Resources and the Women in Jazz Concert Series, take advantage of Austin's growing population and diversity while retaining artistic integrity and offering quality works. But what are the implications of this economic and demographic growth for the city's more prominent arts institutions, those with the funding to effectively reach mass audiences in a number of ways. Where can we, the rest of the arts community and the people of Austin look to see the response of these institutions manifested in the near future?

Of most obvious importance to the growth of arts institutions is the development of relationships with the public. Perhaps of utmost importance in the process of responding to an expanding potential audience base is the decision as to whether these relationships will be pursued primarily as consumer relationships or community relationships. This decision has undoubtedly already confronted major art outlets in Austin, and it is important for the people of the community to be familiar with the ways in which these outlets intend to serve the public in their answering the call of expansion. Here we'll take a closer look at two of those dominant arts institutions, the Austin Symphony Orchestra and Ballet Austin in hopes of understanding their visions for the future.

Both organizations have eloquent mission statements that employ words like "accessible" and "versatile" and speak of enhancing the cultural quality of life as well as reflecting Austin's local flavor. However, it is necessary to look beyond this superficial gloss and seek more tangible expressions of these missions reflected in local culture and community.

"Expanding our audience is a clear goal for everyone," says Austin Symphony Orchestra's Marketing Director, Nan Schwetman. She describes the two-fold goal of the symphony: to provide the highest quality of musical performance and to reach as many different people as possible. The symphony is taking a variety of approaches in order to reach new audiences, from increasing educational programs to revamping their marketing approach, appealing to both community and consumer sensibilities. In general, the target group the symphony hopes to foster a relationship with is the younger generation. And for obvious reasons: an increasingly younger crowd is responding to the fertile job market of Austin. These Austinites, ranging in age from 20-40, have the potential to be an enduring audience, offering decades of returns.

Music appreciation is for all ages, and indeed, the symphony considers almost no age too young. Hoping to reach "all corners of the community," the symphony has instituted nationally recognized educational programs benefiting Austin area schools beginning with kindergartners and continuing through high school. These programs allow over 80,000 school children to experience live symphony music each year. The education programs include sending musician ensembles to visit almost every elementary school in AISD along with some schools in Round Rock and Pflugerville districts, sending junior high students to Bass Concert Hall for performances, and visits to every high school in AISD and Round Rock ISD. The symphony hopes the programs will serve to introduce young people to classical music in a fun atmosphere and in an up-close and personal manner. It's evident the symphony is using its resources in an attempt to reach out to the community in respect to its educational programs. Also with the potential to fortify community relations is a new annual concert series designed especially for families which combines the symphony's already popular Halloween Concert with the new addition of a Spring Family Concert. Lower ticket prices, casual settings and "kid-friendly" music accompanied by a giant video screen will hopefully make a day at the symphony both more accessible and more appealing to an audience short on time and means.

Nonetheless, everyone has to have a consumer target strategy these days, and the symphony is exerting quite an effort to market their product to those in their 20s to 40s.

"We're looking at reaching out to a younger audience with a more casual lifestyle," says Schwetman. "We'll be stressing a user friendly appeal, we want people to feel comfortable. They don't have to dress up if they don't want to."

An upcoming offering of the symphony, Casual Classics, aims to do just what the name implies and provide a more casual, lively atmosphere in which to present classical music. Another recent offering, Classical Encounters, is designed to attract young people starting out in their careers, providing discount tickets and an after concert party. Classical Encounters hopes to focus on the accessibility of the symphony.

Objective number one, as far as audience expansion is concerned, is luring a younger crowd, but what about plans to reach a more diverse crowd that extends beyond the category of career professionals? "We would like to have programming with a broader appeal," says Schwetman. She adds that this seems to be in accordance with the intent of Peter Bay, the symphony's relatively new conductor. This goal, however, is apparently in the developmental stages of achievement. In its upcoming season, the symphony hopes that by adding some variety in the form of a percussion show and a show accompanied by dancers, it will be able to generate wider audience interest.

Perhaps due to the recent tumult surrounding the departure of its current artistic director, Ballet Austin seemed a little hesitant to engage in any discussion regarding their future plans. Despite repeated questioning, few comments were made on Ballet Austin's current treatment or plans for treatment of the exponentially growing population of Austin. That population has been a substantial factor in the doubling of Ballet Austin's budget over the past 10 years. A considerable amount of their support has come from the Dell Foundation and the technology industry responsible for populating much of Austin.

Elaine Brown, Ballet Austin's Director of Development and Communication, believes that Ballet Austin is already well prepared to handle the diversifying arts community and consumers of Austin. "We've always felt that diversity is important and our programs are designed to target all areas of the population. Diversity is represented on our board as well as with the dancers within our company."

Brown also says she has seen diversity reflected in performance attendance. In response to an increasingly diverse community, Ballet Austin has fostered the creation of ethnically focused support groups. Ballet Amistad, a Hispanic support group, has been operating for the past three years. The ballet is attempting to establish both African American and Asian American support groups. These ethnically segmented support groups were pointed to as the ballet's primary instrument for attracting more diverse audiences. However, the fundamental function of these support groups is to raise money and to promote the ballet. There is of course nothing wrong with this, as it is essential for any arts organization to function. It just may be a lofty aspiration to hope for attracting new audience members in such a fashion. "Accessibility is imperative," seems to be a catch phrase of Ballet representative Brown. "Our primary audience is women ages 25 to 55 but we want to develop an audience with everyone."

Ballet Austin's main approach to attracting a varied audience is to offer a variety of shows. "We offer classical and contemporary ballet. Something like Cinderella may attract more children whereas Kisses was more contemporary," explains Brown, citing Ballet Austin performances as examples. Brown hopes that Ballet Austin's current production of Rodeo featuring western swing band Asleep at the Wheel will project a "local flare," and less of the intimidation that can frequently accompany the classical art forms.

In its efforts directed toward community relations, Ballet Austin has instituted what it calls C.O.R.E., Community OutReach & Education programs that aim to reach school age children and "assure accessibility to traditionally under-served populations." This entails offering arts education and discounted tickets. The School Show Series, one of the C.O.R.E. programs that is available to all elementary schools, allows 20,000 children to see a ballet performance each year. "Leaps and No Bounds," another school program, combines dance with school curriculums and is currently conducted by Ballet Austin in three area elementary schools.

Another organization making an effort to build community relations is the Austin Lyric Opera. The opera offers numerous youth and adult education programs along with programs tailored to attract distinct segments of Austin's diverse population. These specific groups include the gay and lesbian, Hispanic, African-American, and Jewish communities. The pillars of the classical arts in Austin are dealing with Austin's growth with varying degrees of concern, and perhaps, as often is the case, time will be the best test of their methods. However, it is important that the people of Austin, both new and old, have access to and take advantage of the offerings of these arts institutions so that we can effectively judge the motives and priorities of the institutions that exist to serve communities and consumers alike.