Workshop Storytelling in Classical Music

14 April 2023  Theater Heerlen

Maastricht Centre for the Innovation of Classical Music in collaboration with philharmonie zuidnederland and Parkstad Limburg Theaters, Heerlen 

Music can tell stories. In classical music, genres such as operas, vocal music or film music convey these stories through musical means. Concert programs construct stories that are often based on musicological or historical expertise. At the same time, audience members and musicians cherish everyday musical stories: childhood memories, memorable concerts, everyday routines, a hobby that is held dear. People are accompanied by classical music in various ways throughout their lives. Sharing stories can offer new ways to engage audiences and musicians to classical music, to develop new concert formats and to explore non-expert meanings and experiences related to classical music.

In this workshop, the Maastricht Centre for the Innovation of Classical Music aims to contribute to the reflection on storytelling in classical music. The workshop accompanies the concert-experiment De verhalententoonstelling (Stories at an exhibition) that philharmonie zuidnederland will give on Friday 14 April at Parkstad Limburg Theaters in Heerlen. During the day, we will address questions such as: how can storytelling be a means for new forms of audience participation, and play a role in attracting new audiences as well as engaging existing audiences in new ways? What can classical music learn from storytelling in other cultural domains, such as museums, game design, and theatre? What opportunities do digital and online forms of storytelling offer for concert design? How can storytelling be a means to innovate the musical practice in artistically relevant ways? In the morning, keynote speakers will address such questions on the basis of their own inspiring practices, and in the afternoon all participants will take part in hands-on workshops around practices of storytelling.

This workshop aims to bring together classical music professionals such as programmers, musicians, performers, and conservatory students, as well as curators, teachers, and scholars and students interested in audience research. After the workshop program from 11:00 – 15:30, participants are invited to attend the dress rehearsal (16:30) and the concert of the De verhalententoonstelling (20:30). This concert reiterates the storytelling experiment that the orchestra and the MCICM organised in January 2020 under the title The People’s Salon.

The workshop fee of 25€ includes lunch and a concert ticket. To register for the workshop, please fill out the registration form on the MCICM website: www.mcicm.nl