SLSO drops Thursday nights
Some of us have wondered how long it would take the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra to drop its Thursday night series. They’ve never been well-attended, and the last time I was there (last season; the Post-Dispatch no longer runs reviews in the Saturday paper, and I prefer to go on Fridays) the crowd was just pitful.
The Thursday night series will not return in 2008-09. Most subscribers are apparently taking the news calmly — and accepting the SLSO’s generous package of assistance for getting settled with a new night: a pair of free tickets to any one orchestral series concert this season; priority seating in a new series; and six concerts for the price of four.
A few people are loudly unhappy about it. I received some comments from people who’ve been Thursday night regulars for many years, and are, of course, not happy about the change.
One of them demanded, anonymously, “Is this the worst way to treat/communicate with subscribers? Where is Robertson’s leadership on this? Where is Bronstein’s leadership?”
Actually, it seems like a pretty good way to treat subscribers that they want to keep, while being unable to maintain a particular series. And real leadership sometimes has to make tough calls.
Between the Friday morning, Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday matinee series, most Thursday night subscribers should be able to find a good home. If not, it won’t be because the SLSO staff hasn’t tried.
Even a casual observer can see how low Thursday night attendance usually is, although the last one I went to was pretty full for a change. But with incentives like the ones Powell is offering, I’d be thrilled to be switching nights. It seems like they’re always willing to throw some ducats to make people happy (like when the filmed the two SLSO commercials), and this seems to be no exception.