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After returning to the concert hall in 2023 and combining the “traditional chamber recital” with Chamber 2.0 we found ourselves in a good news/bad news situation: we had more groups than ever performing in Chamber 2.0 (hooray!), but that meant the night was long – feedback we heard over and over again. As we began planning for 2024, we started asking: how might we create opportunities for all of the fellows who want to participate to be in Chamber 2.0, while also allowing for flexibility for audience members who can’t or don’t want to sit through 3+ hours of performances (on a weeknight!)? Getting up and leaving from a concert hall is conspicuous, but how might we create permission to come and go as you please? What if we were in the lobby instead?
The idea emerged as a bit of a wild idea during a brainstorm, but the more we thought about it, the more excited we got. Chamber Music was originally played in people’s living rooms during house party-type events. The lobby of the Clarice feels as close to a living room as you’re going to get in a concert venue…and we can play that up! Plus, a mingle-y house-party is the kind of thing people naturally drift in and out of!
We had a concept we were excited about, but were very aware of the need to think creatively about the layout of the space. Otherwise, we might just recreate the dynamic of a concert hall, with rows of chairs no one feels comfortable getting up from! Ultimately, we created four “vignettes” throughout the space where performances would take place, encouraging audience members to get up and move for a different view (though they’d also be able to see everything if they didn’t want to or weren’t able to move).
Each of the spaces allowed for different kinds of design interventions, from projections to simple prompts to colorful lights, so each group was able to craft a performance that was as involved (or not) as they felt comfortable with. On the night of the performance, the space was filled with the happy chatter you might actually hear at a house party and each group was given their moment to shine, in a way that felt dynamic and differentiated from the other pieces being performed.
Perhaps our favorite piece of feedback on the night came from an eight-year-old audience member who declared that he “wish[ed] it was longer!”
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