Introducing The New Generation Initiative: expanding access to the SPCO for young people

By Jon Limbacher, SPCO President and Managing Director

We’re thrilled to announce today the New Generation Initiative: a suite of new programs designed to dramatically expand access to classical music for young people in our community. Among a wide variety of new efforts, we’re making tickets free to children and students.

We believe our music has the power to inspire, challenge, move and uplift and that everyone, including young people, deserves the opportunity to experience transformational performances, regardless of socio-economic status. We’ve already made our performances accessible through affordable ticket prices and performance venues conveniently located throughout the metro area, and the New Generation Initiative takes this commitment even further. It is the most recent step in the organization’s history of bold moves toward greater accessibility for the community and will set a strong foundation for our continued work to build the audience of the future.

We believe in our music and its ability to enrich lives and its fundamental role in promoting our humanity. We do not believe that our music is only the preserve of a small segment of our society. We believe it has great value for everyone and are committed to sharing it with the broadest possible audience. Of course we recognize that not everyone will be transformed by our music; but everyone should have that chance.

Through generous funding from a small group of individual donors, we’re making it easier than ever for young people to experience SPCO concerts through these new efforts:

• Free tickets to unlimited SPCO concerts for children ages 6-17
• Free tickets to unlimited SPCO concerts for students
• A new three-concert series at Icehouse, a Minneapolis bar, restaurant and eclectic music venue
• A special Happy Hour Concert at the Ordway Concert Hall featuring a happy hour with drink specials and food trucks from 4:30–6 p.m., immediately followed by a one-hour concert
• Young Audience Guest Passes given to current SPCO subscribers to invite young people to concerts for free
• The continuation of $10 best available seats for club2030 members (the SPCO’s free club for people in their 20s and 30s) at nearly all SPCO concerts and an expansion of the number of exclusive post-concert after parties held for club2030 members throughout the season
• An exclusive ticket pre-sale for young audiences before individual tickets go on sale to the general public (August 9–15)

For more about our New Generation Initiative, check out our official press release (PDF).