Rotterdam has been the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra's home base since 1918. This year is therefore all about the orchestra’s 100th anniversary. Although its musical tradition spans an entire century, the orchestra’s passion has not dated one bit and is more alive than ever. This year in particular, the orchestra is using innovative concepts to target a new group of listeners. ‘Being a young and multicultural city, Rotterdam is home to more and more people who are not part of our traditional target audience. We therefore need to, more than ever before, widen our relevance and reach new audiences,’ says the RPO.
Lazing away to classical music
What is the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra doing to reach new audiences? One example of their efforts is their
Wijk in de Zaal initiative, which sees the orchestra reach out to communities throughout their anniversary year by inviting one hundred people from a different part of the city to each of their concerts. Another successful concept to engage the people of Rotterdam with their orchestra are the Lazy Seats. These large love seats at prominent places across the city let Rotterdammers listen to the orchestra’s music. If you, too, want to laze away to classical music, check
here the list to see where you can find the Lazy Seats.
Ready for the future
This kind of innovation and broadening of its appeal is something that the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra considers a structural and sustainable development in the orchestra’s offering, reach, and social relevance. ‘In a rapidly changing world, we marry symphonic history with current developments. This is how we are perpetuating over three centuries of music in the modern era, to share it with the audiences of today. Step by step, we are achieving the kinds of results that show that we are on the right track.’ One thing is undeniable, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra’s is heading for a resounding future!
