Number of young people interested in music on the rise

A new report published by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has revealed promising statistics for the orchestral sector. The survey, which received feedback from 2,071 adults, revealed that a quarter of respondents were interested in discovering orchestral music – the highest proportion in the last five years of RPO research.

The report, released yesterday, found that the percentage of people aged under 25 that expressed an interest in learning more about orchestral music has risen from 6% in 2022 to 17% this year, the biggest rise in interest in any of the 16 genres included in the survey over the course of the year. Of all 16 music genres included in the survey, orchestral music had the biggest rise in interest over the last 12 months (rising from 15% to 25% this year).

RPO music director Vasily Petrenko said: ‘From our audience research it is clear that people’s hunger to discover new music touches almost everyone in the country - and the fact this interest has risen so sharply since the lockdown era perhaps suggests that people value the role music has played in enriching their lives during troubled times. Further, it is also clear that discovering the orchestral world is not exclusively the domain of beginners, or young people. At every age and level of experience, people want to learn something new, or revisit something old and reappraise it.’

While 95% of people surveyed reported developing a relationship with orchestral music through other genres like film scores and video game soundtracks, 29% of those surveyed reported liking pop music which features orchestral influences. It shows that presenting orchestral sound in a popular music context can attract new audiences to the genre.