Boston Symphony Orchestra hopes iPads will bring kids back to classical

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Would you sit through one of these if you could play with your iPad?
Would you sit through one of these if you could play with your iPad?
Photo: Wikimedia (CC)

To try to get Millennials to sit through some classical music, the Boston Symphony Orchestra is now handing out iPads to select audience members as they walk into Symphony Hall.

The San Diego Union Tribune reports that instead of asking patrons to silence their iPhones and keep their devices in their pockets throughout a performance, the BSO is actually encouraging its patrons to have a second-screen experience, courtesy of custom-loaded iPads:

As part of an effort to draw in a younger audience, the Boston Symphony Orchestra is loaning select patrons iPads loaded with content specific to each performance.

They’ll be able to view sheet music for the pieces being played, video interviews with musicians, podcasts about the composers and analysis on the works themselves. They’ll also get a close-up view of the conductor from the musicians’ point of view from video monitors set up in the hall.

That sounds remarkably forward thinking for an orchestra which was first founded in 1881. And according to the group’s chief operating and communications officer, it’s the first symphony orchestra to offer customized iPads to its audience.

Personally, I like going to the symphony even without iPads, but I can definitely see the draw. I think it’s actually a pretty fantastic way to try to get people engaged and educated about classical music.

But what do you think? Would this get you to go to a symphony? Let us know in the comments.

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

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