fellows take center stage

One of the main things that sets NOI+F apart from other orchestras is that it is composed of students beginning their careers. When we talk with audience members and long-time fans, we hear that this is one of the things that makes NOI+F so special to them.

Audiences are excited about getting to know these fellows and want to learn about them and their perspective! The Innovation Studio has done a lot of experimentation around how to help foster that connection and is always looking for ways to feature the fellows in a way that feels genuine and celebrates their hard work and unique perspective. Here are a few highlights:

Fellows' perspectives in the programs

We’re used to seeing concert programs with program notes written by an expert, providing helpful context or background information for us audience members about what we’re going to hear. But the musicians playing the pieces at that performance are rarely asked what makes the pieces resonant for them, specifically. In the Innovation Studio, we make it a point to ask the Fellows that we work with to share things like: how they feel when they play the piece, what they like (or don’t like) about it, or images that come to mind. From there, we try to weave in these elements to some aspect of the performance, creating a dialogue between the musicians and the audience members

Orchestra Seating Chart

To help audience members put a name to the faces they see on stage, the Innovation Studio team created a “seating chart” using an easy-to-update material: post-its. Displayed at performances with each fellow’s name in the position that they are seated on stage, the chart also includes a themed fun fact that Fellows would like to share with the audience.

Chamber 2.0 Swag

At an orchestral concert you’ll hear the names of the composers or their pieces in a kind of shorthand — i.e. Beethoven’s Ninth, The Rite of Spring — the way you would a single name pop star (we’re talking about you, Beyoncé). As we designed artifacts to go in the audience’s Chamber 2.0 2022 program bags, we decided to include “collectible” buttons. We used the musicians’ last names alongside key visuals used during the show, but didn’t mention the piece or the composer, as a way to highlight the creativity that the performers brought to presenting their work.

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