{"id":13623,"date":"2024-09-11T18:11:41","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T22:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/demosite2.asurtec.com\/?p=13623"},"modified":"2024-09-12T10:45:12","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T14:45:12","slug":"environmental-sustainability-in-orchestras-what-i-learned-at-classicalnext","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oc.ca\/en\/environmental-sustainability-in-orchestras-what-i-learned-at-classicalnext\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmental Sustainability in Orchestras: What I learned at Classical:NEXT"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

By\u00a0Boran Zaza<\/a>, Director of Communications & Development at Orchestras Canada.<\/p>\n

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From May 13 to 17, 2024, I attended Classical:NEXT<\/a> in Berlin, Germany. <\/span>This is part 2 of a series of 3 blog posts titled \u201cWhat I learned at Classical:NEXT\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>You can read part 1 here: Innovative leadership models in Orchestras<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Small Changes: Great Impact <\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

I can\u2019t remember who said this, but it left quite an impression on me: \u201cEnvironmental sustainability is not about 2% of the population changing their lifestyles completely; it\u2019s about 85% of the population making some changes. This is what will have the greater impact.<\/em>\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Lea Br\u00fcckner presenting at C:N | Photo: Boran Zaza<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During Classical:NEXT (C:N), I had the pleasure of meeting Lea Br\u00fcckner, a violinist, climate ambassador and Instagram influencer<\/a> (no, she is not related to the composer, but I will have you know that composer Gabriel Prokofiev, grandson of Sergei Prokofiev, was at C:N!). Lea was one of the presenters at a conference session titled <\/span>Positive Impact Through Sustainable Concerts,<\/span><\/b> with<\/span> Beat Fehlmann,<\/span><\/b> Artistic director, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz<\/span>, and Asbj\u00f8rn Keiding, <\/span><\/b>Director, Danske Ensembler, Orkestre og Operainstitutioner (DEOO). For the sake of transparency, Beat and Asbj\u00f8rn proactively shared the transportation decision they made to get from their home cities to Berlin to attend C:N, – and that is what inspired me to share mine as well<\/strong> at the end of this blog post. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Green Monday, and Eco-conscious Audiences<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

For the past year, Lea has been the moderator of panel discussions at \u201cGreen Monday<\/a>,\u201d a successful D\u00fcsseldorf Symphony Orchestra concert series presented at Tonhalle D\u00fcsseldorf. The Orchestra dedicated 12 concerts of their season, 1 per month, to an exploration of sustainability, and invited their audience members to join on the path to a low-emission concert experience. At each concert, one environmental topic was presented through a panel discussion, the idea was tested at that concert, and the audience voted on whether they wanted that initiative to continue or not. Initiatives included: having the audience commute to the concert by bike or public transport<\/strong> and adding bike racks outside the hall, reducing the heat in the concert hall<\/strong> by 1.5 degrees, reducing the lights on stage<\/strong>, serving vegetarian food only at receptions<\/strong>, and more!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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D\u00fcsseldorf\u2019s Tonhalle concert hall | Photo: Susanne Diesner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0To add a musical touch to this, a small musical fragment was performed at the beginning of each concert. Eleven composers from all over the world embarked on the experiment of being inspired by keywords such as “recycling”, “energy efficiency” or “digitalization” and transforming them into music that the D\u00fcsseldorf Symphony Orchestra performed every “Green Monday”. At the end of the season, all eleven micro-works were brought together as one large “Green Piece” with transitions composed by John Psathas under the direction of Axel Kober. #Recycling <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe vast majority of the audiences voted YES to 100% of the proposed initiatives!<\/em>\u201d Lea proudly told me. From their experience, I learned that including audiences in the decision-making takes them from a passive role into a partner role<\/strong>, where they feel their voice is heard and that it matters, and that their choices can positively affect the future of their orchestra and their planet. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Additional reading: an interview with Michael Becker, artistic director of D\u00fcsseldorf\u2019s Tonhalle concert hall, about Green Monday: https:\/\/www.visitduesseldorf.de\/storys\/en\/2023\/12\/12\/tonhalle-duesseldorf\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

A Nordic Green Orchestra Guide <\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"\"The most important driver of emissions in the concert business is not the travel of the artists, but of the audience<\/strong>. However, not putting on concerts cannot be the solution! <\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This quote is from the <\/span>Positive Impact Through Sustainable Concerts<\/span><\/b>\u00a0conference session description. In 2022, 36 Nordic orchestras and festivals met in Reykjav\u00edk and signed a declaration of intent<\/a> with the title \u2018\u201cA Future with Sustainable Culture’. A year later, and after discussions among 6 working groups, the Nordic Green Orchestra Guide<\/a> was born. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Asbj\u00f8rn Keiding, Director of Danske Ensembler, Orkestre og Operainstitutioner, believes that the guide is not just an internal working document, and should also be communicated to the audiences.<\/strong> As Asbj\u00f8rn stated during his presentation, \u201cOrchestras\u00a0on their own do not have the worst carbon emissions, [their]\u00a0power is in influencing the audience members as well, and the musicians. That is how you make a change.<\/em>\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The guide contains 6 chapters covering the following themes:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n