Conductor Roberto Minczuk and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra warm up before the performance.
As the gorgeous opening notes of Also Sprach Zarathustra swelled through the organ, bassoons, and basses at the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra’s Rush Hour concert performance of Music from 2001: A Space Odyssey, I closed my eyes and imagined the scene from Kubrick’s film – the sun, earth, and moon aligning as the opening C transforms into intervals and the brass section joins in.
Then, I was interrupted by the buzz of my phone in my hand. I swiped across the screen to see that my boyfriend, seated next to me, had just tweeted about closing his eyes for the exact same part of the piece – a moment of connection I never would have noticed had we not been on Twitter for the duration of the concert.
I have to stop and note that we aren’t social media addicts, or extremely rude concert attendees. This was the second public performance at the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) incorporating their new “Tweet Seats” program. The concert took place as part of the CPO’s Rush Hour series on May 30th, at 6:30 p.m. The Rush Hour concerts are quick, after-work concerts, intended for newcomers to the philharmonic. An onstage host (in this case Katherine Duncan, host of CBC’s In Tune and Key of A) gives context to the pieces before each one is performed.
To pair with the onstage context, audience members in the tweet seats have an opportunity to follow along on their phones. The tweet seats fill the back couple rows of a balcony – separate from the rest of the audience, so our backlights and tapping fingers aren’t a distraction to the other patrons. It gives those following along on Twitter a chance to read commentary from the Philharmonic as a piece is being performed.
“Atmospheres” is described as: micropolyphony, sound masses, clusters, magma of evolving sound, stasis through motion. #cporush
— CPO Rush Hour (@CPORush) May 31, 2014
In this case, CPO resident conductor Adam Johnson manned the @CPORush twitter, tweeting frequent informative updates about the piece, and answering any questions those of us in the audience had. The audience also connected with other tweeting attendees via the hashtag #CPORush.
@kmoxley they got the score about 2 weeks ago. They rehearse for just 2 days before the concert #cporush
— CPO Rush Hour (@CPORush) May 31, 2014
It was my second time attending a Tweet Seat event at the CPO – they held a trial run for staff back in October of 2013, and I attended their first public event this January. Both times were incredibly positive experiences – I found that getting information on the music through my phone, rather than squinting at my program, really enhanced the experience. According to Adam Johnson, that seems to be the norm. “The reaction so far has been extremely positive,” Johnson said over the phone, a few hours before the performance.
“It’s informative for the audience,” Johnson added, noting that the program is a perfect fit for their Rush Hour events. “It’s earlier, less formal, and the audience is younger. The concerts are a relaxed and chill atmosphere, making them a natural fit for twitter.”
2001 Space Odyssey about to start at @CPORUSH pic.twitter.com/JYWPSMROzJ
— Druh Farrell (@DruhFarrell) May 31, 2014
Tweet Seats aren’t the CPO’s first time diving into the world of Twitter. Back in 2011, the Calgary Philharmonic Chorus paired with Tourism Calgary to make a dramatic choral arrangement of tweets composed of cold weather tips for visitors to the city. The video of their performance quickly became a YouTube hit. For a seemingly formal arts organization, the CPO sure knows how to have fun.
If you’d like to attend a Tweet Seats event at the CPO, they will be continuing the program at their future Rush Hour concerts. The next one will take place in November, and you can stay tuned to the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra’s website for further updates.