rohr(BACH): bach + beer tasting

I'm going to be writing up several reviews in the next few days; this one was from back in April, but the subject is an exciting marketing idea for artists!

rohr(BACH): bach + beer tasting
An exploration of high art and simple pleasures

April 6, 2010

In Rochester, NY, student musicians from the Eastman School of Music were presented with the challenge of making their art more accessible to a new audience. During their weekly Entrepreneurship in Music class, these twenty or so students of varied backgrounds and performance degrees did just that. Armed with few resources outside of the school's coverage of bus transportation and marketing, the students broke into groups and planned venue, marketing, talent, and finances to complete their project.

But first: how to achieve the vision of the project in such a short amount of time. After much deliberation and a few false starts, the students decided to react against the stereotype of stuffiness and propriety by performing classical music in a local brewery. Rohrbach Brewery Co., aptly named for the project, was generous enough to sponsor the event by donating their venue and resources to the class. They engaged in an enthusiastic partnership with the Eastman musicians, even initiating a creative menu based on the music being performed; for example, the darker the affect (mood) of the music, the darker the suggested ale.

The music was performed by all Eastman musicians, with the understanding that the music had to be written by Bach. The talent group found interesting mixes of musicians, anything from a standard J.S. Bach cello suite to the W.F. Bach e minor flute duet to an unconventional trio of two horns and a saxophone player. As expected from a group of conservatory musicians, the music was superb. It seemed to be a new and exciting experience for the musicians and the audience. In the encore of the performances, The Restless Bones trombone quartet played J.S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in d minor, much to the delight of the listeners, who clapped along with the music and shouted out as if in a rock concert. "It was fun to have interaction between the audience and the performers, and not just the stereotypical stuffy classical environment" stated Stephen Houck, member of The Restless Bones. As another student laughingly pointed out, this increase in unreserved audience participation may have been due to the consumption of alcohol, but nonetheless, it was the aim of the project.

Ultimately, the success of the project hinged upon the execution of the event and the quality of the products. The music moved along easily and the Master of Ceremonies, Felix Ungar, kept the audience entertained during set changes. The beer and food were offered at great prices, and the music was free for audience members. A favorite order was the $6.50 beer sampler, which comprised of six tall glasses of the beers that corresponded to the musical selections. The room the event was housed in maxed out after an hour, much to the dismay of curious patrons at the bar in the next room who wanted to get in on the fun and music. Many of the audience members were Eastman students and faculty members, but the class was delighted to see some strangers among the sea of familiar faces.

The reaction of the non-Eastman members was very interesting to note. One curious onlooker gently refused to come into the room because he did not feel that he was dressed properly, despite the fact that all of the musicians were dressed casually in jeans. Perhaps his reservation stemmed from years of exposure to the "high art" mindset of dressy clothes and virtually no audience participation. Clearly this concern is a real detriment to potential patrons of the classical arts world. It is therefore the duty of the arts world to find creative ways to shatter the stereotype for the sake of classical music's longevity.

The rohr(BACH) event was quite successful, and upwards of fifty people had fun combining high art and simple pleasures. Until the classical music issue is resolved, relax with Rohrbach's beer and listen to some Bach!