Over half of UK adults exploring orchestral music this winter, report reveals

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has today released new research suggesting a positive trend in classical music audiences in the upcoming winter season. The report, which found over (55%) of UK adults are interested in exploring orchestral music this winter, 68% of which discovered an interest in the genre through soundtracks, musicals and family concerts.

The research also offers a more positive picture of the audiences of the future, with 61% of under 25s and 57% of 25-34s saying they are keen to ‘discover more about orchestral music’. In terms of genre, 32% of the RPO’s respondents preferred core symphonic repertoire, with the remaining 68% of respondents enjoying family-friendly concerts, film music, soundtracks and crossover music made in collaboration with other genres.

RPO managing director, James Williams, said: ‘This is heartening news for an orchestral world that has won over new audiences during the lockdown era and is evidently having a renaissance with young people. To achieve this, the orchestral world has to adapt and offer a greater number of access points for people new to the genre - and, from this, people can then start a journey of discovery that leads to symphonic repertoire. It's not about computer game music being more popular than Beethoven, it's more a case of how one leads to the other.’

Yorkshire and the Southeast were shown to be the most keen on traditional repertoire, with around 40% preferring core symphonic repertoire. By contrast, in the Northeast, Wales and the East Midlands over 70% of respondents were more interested in other forms of orchestral music than in traditional repertoire. 

This research helps inform orchestras’ approach to encouraging inclusion and diversity within the sector. The orchestra surveyed low-income families, people from ethnic minorities and single parent families and found a preference for other forms of orchestra music over core symphonic repertoire. This suggests that embracing a broad repertoire can help offer a way into classical music for a more diverse audience.