*4.4. Audience Experience*

The study confirmed that musical genre affects audience attendance. Moreover, there appeared to be a correlation between the type of audience member, the ensemble and its musical offerings. With the GM Quartet, the experimental, novel and challenging musical offerings seemed to be what the audience was seeking most of all.

I sort of like that random event as well. (A1)

I was more about—I didn't know any of the music—I had never heard any of it before, so I was surprised that I got into a few of the pieces more than I anticipated that I would. (A2)

For those who attended the classically focused concerts, a marked preference for musical experiences that were familiar to them was frequently observed. They were likely to attend to hear a specific composer or work, or because they followed the artists. For both the SQ Quartet and CK and Associates, this was highly evident.

In speaking about CK's concert, one audience member stated:

Yeah, I guess . . . I attended because I've listened to some Brahms in the past and I really enjoyed Brahms. I like Brahms as a composer . . . just the composer yeah and the instruments. I like stringed instruments. (A3)

Another audience participant speaking about SQ Quartet commented:

I thought it was a very appealing programme actually. Mainly because it was a quartet, yes . . . Yes, and the composers. Particularly Haydn. I knew that that was going to be fantastic. (A4)

While classical music audience responses certainly indicated that satisfying the attendee's pre-existing musical preferences was helpful to building ensemble–audience rapport, audience members often displayed an openness to accepting something different within a program of otherwise favoured items. Although this point was made in many of the interviews, it is epitomised in the following single quotation:

Yeah, I also liked the Philip Glass piece, although I like American minimalism in general. I also liked the first toccata from the last piece, which was the first movement that they played. I kind of liked the jarring nature, but I think I went into this concert feeling pretty energetic, just as my mood when I went into that concert. I was feeling pretty like, I could probably run a lot right now. It was [the music] very relaxing, and I have to admit at first I was like, okay, this is a change of gear here. So, when that more jarring, crazy energetic music came at the end, I felt like, oh, this is more my speed right now. So, that was nice. (A5)

Further to these favourable experiences of familiarity, and just as the researchers were attentive to the transactional communication between the players, so too were members of the audiences. One audience member stated:

I was really compelled to watch how they interacted . . . like musically interacted with each other. (A1)

Another audience member spoke about the guitarists' gestural communication:

I was very intrigued by watching the different players' faces and their playing styles. Two were facially quite expressive, and two were quite neutral. So I don't know why, I was just watching their faces quite a lot to see—just sort of comparing them I suppose. (A6)

This intimacy of proximity was also apparent in the comment of an SQ Quartet audience member, who stated:

It's the intimacy and I love just watching the eye contact and I just love chamber music. (A7)

Intimacy was explicitly attributed to venue design and size by an SQ Quartet player, again revealing the interdependencies among ensemble, venue (in this case its physical attributes) and audience that is characteristic of chamber group concerts:

I think it's that venue . . . Like, it is quite an open but intimate venue so you do feel like you're more . . . part of the performance. And I think that the fact that you [artist] spoke just makes people feel a bit more at ease and less formal. (SQ Quartet P3)

CK was also acutely aware of the audience and the need to help them feel connected, balancing spoken information flow with playing.

I think it is [important]. People often say that they would like some sort of communication with the performer. Some people talk too much, and I'm very wary of going on and on and on. But I think it's important, and I haven't come across a situation where people don't like it when somebody's talking.

CK's audience members noted:

He was very engaging and he was really trying to contact people and it was nice. He was revealing some little things about himself . . . (A8)

I thought it was really good the way he introduced them [the pieces and the co-performers]. He didn't ramble on and it didn't seem insincere or too practiced. It felt very natural and I thought it added some good insights into the piece and the process, so yeah I liked it. (A9)

Demonstrating the benefits of developing followers for chamber musicians, one audience member stated:

I know so many of them and it's printed. I'll go online, "yep, I know them"—the artists. If I don't, I'll look them up and then I'll spend until 3 in the morning listening to them on my iPad. (A7)

### **5. Discussion**

The literature and case study data have presented evidence of the micro- (interpersonal) and macro- (organisational/cultural) experiences among professional chamber musicians, the venues that engage them and the audiences in attendance. The chapter has shown how all invested parties view values related to artistic skills and endeavours, public engagement and entertainment, prestige and financial

considerations. Additionally, as outlined in the transactional approach to business (Patel and Rayner 2015), "knowledge, appraisal and evaluation", or to use other terminology in the current chapter, "skills, affordances and evaluations" are critical to ascribing value in all transactions. The data presented have shown that plans, actions and responses feed the scope, quality and outcomes of music performance ecology.

Emergent themes include the delicate balancing of economic, esteem and diversification values for both performers and venues in planning and accepting the ensemble and its approach, as well as the works to be performed. Musical cohesion, as well as interpersonal social interaction, offers a further point of emphasis at all levels and across all stages of planning and executing the performances. Pivotal factors surrounding the audience experience include depth of emotional experience, a balance between familiar and novel encounters, informality and experience of social inclusion. There was evidence of individual preference towards certain performance elements.

It has been shown that specific and often subtle transactions shape the motivations, planning and execution of ensemble performances. While different stakeholders inevitably have different and varied experiences, their transactions contribute to the virtuous cycle of the embedded environmental, social, cultural, material and technological factors and the actions afforded, which constitute chamber music performance. The "art of ensemble performance" seems to be a distributed process, dependent on critical transactions for all stakeholders. Indeed, in our exploration of the transactional culture of chamber groups, the interdependency of venues, audiences and ensembles in terms of their musicking experiences and behaviour was particularly noticeable.

Of course, following the data collection and during the period of writing this chapter, the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the world. One of the financially most deeply affected sectors was the arts, with live events being cancelled globally. To offer insights into the prospects for the music ensembles and MRC entering the 2021 concert season, and as concerned researchers, we followed up with participants to understand how these challenges were affecting them.

The musicians were surprisingly sanguine, although this should perhaps not be unexpected at all. As shown in this chapter, chamber musicians' performance opportunities vary greatly from week to week and year to year, and so they are no strangers to dealing with uncertainty. Moreover, with portfolio careers involving diverse skills and the capacity to build strong interpersonal relationships, afforded by the transactional skills inherent to success in their chosen career, they are well placed to pivot towards fortuity rather than calamity in their approach to the challenges COVID-19 posed and continues to pose. While their concert income had evaporated, those with teaching portfolios became occupied with adapting their

skills to online delivery and acquiring new technical skills in video conferencing and recording. Others took the opportunity to consolidate their personal practice, learn new repertoires or arrange new music. Indeed, for some, taking the time to "smell the roses" and enjoy being with their families was an unforeseen and positive consequence of strict travel and social-distancing restrictions, including curfew. Therefore, while home isolation meant much less performance work and an associated drop in income from that source, it also opened other horizons with both tangible and intangible benefits.

For the venue in particular, a skeleton staff developed strategies and actions to sustain business, as well as to offer support to musicians. This included a series of digital concerts and online competitions (with entrants submitting entries recorded in their home settings). For them, it kept something of the ethos of the venue alive, offering an opportunity for the performers and engagement for audiences in a new forum. Indeed, transactions that are adaptive and creative enable stakeholders to seek routes to realise "COVID-19 Normal", a future in which the culture of ensemble performance can continue, moderated using socially distanced live performance without intervals and online variants suitable for potential lockdowns.

This chapter has not only shown how vital transactions are to chamber musicians, but also how they exist in an embedded environment and are dependent on the individual's skills and the affordances they share with stakeholders. Moving forward, and as we grapple with the challenges of COVID-19 in the sphere of musical performance, the chamber musician may find this model of their music performance ecology useful as a reflective tool to aid in understanding the nature of the transactions they participate in (see Figure 1).

While our case study involving one venue and three ensembles provided valuable insights and confirmed the value of transactional communication, future studies replicating our methodology but involving different and multiple venues, and expanding to other types of chamber ensembles within the western art music arena, would provide further nuance and enable meaningful comparisons to be made.

and expanding to other types of chamber ensembles within the western art music arena, would provide further nuance and enable meaningful comparisons to be

**Figure 1.** This image shows the transactions among musicians, venues and audiences that are guided by physical, mental and social skills, within an embedded social, cultural, material and technological environment and its affordances. A vital part of this model is dynamic–synergistic flow of informing and transforming factors. (This figure is inspired by van der Schyff and Schiavio (2022) and Davidson (1997).) Source: graphic by authors. **Figure 1.** This image shows the transactions among musicians, venues and audiences that are guided by physical, mental and social skills, within an embedded social, cultural, material and technological environment and its affordances. A vital part of this model is dynamic–synergistic flow of informing and transforming factors. (This figure is inspired by van der Schyff and Schiavio (2022) and Davidson (1997)). Source: Graphic by authors.

J.W.D.; formal analysis, J.W.D. and A.E.K.; Writing—Original Draft Preparation, J.W.D.; writing review and editing, J.W.D. and A.E.K.; funding acquisition, J.W.D. Both authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. **Funding:** This research received no external funding, being supported by University of Melbourne's **Author Contributions:** Conceptualisation of chapter, J.W.D.; case study data collection, A.E.K. and J.W.D.; formal analysis, J.W.D. and A.E.K.; writing—original draft preparation, J.W.D.; writing—review and editing, J.W.D. and A.E.K.; funding acquisition, J.W.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization of chapter, J.W.D.; case study data collection, A.E.K. and

Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. **Acknowledgments:** The authors wish to thank Victoria Lambourn and Stephanie Rocke, who **Funding:** This research received no external funding, being supported by University of Melbourne's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music.

worked as research assistants in this case study. We are also grateful to the venue staff, performers and audiences involved in the Melbourne Recital Centre's Local Heroes Seasons 2019 and 2020. **Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the **Acknowledgments:** The authors wish to thank Victoria Lambourn and Stephanie Rocke, who worked as research assistants in this case study. We are also grateful to the venue staff, performers and audiences involved in the Melbourne Recital Centre's Local Heroes Seasons 2019 and 2020.

manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results. **Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

#### **References**

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Local Heroes Series (LHS). 2020. Personal Communication with Jane Davidson, November 23.


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