'It's a good thing it's happening. Classicalive is bringing together diverse areas of classical music and creating a united front which is great for the future'. Adam Powell, Projects Manager at the ABO reflected the thoughts of many standholders at Classicalive, the three day classical music showcase which was held at Olympia from 18th-20th March. Speed-Dating

The idea to hold a classical music extravaganza came from Lauren Sterling, Managing Director of Sterling Events. She was thinking of themes for speed dating evenings which is about bringing people together - and, thinking laterally, so is classical music. Bringing people together through classical music had such potential that she decided to apply her expertise of organising large scale events, usually in the health sector, to the classical music industry. Classicalive is the first showcase of its kind, blending live performance with masterclasses, lectures and displays.

The first thing to hit you when you entered the arena at Olympia, apart from the sheer noise emanating from so many competing instrument stands, was the variety of exhibitors, from Piano show-rooms like Peter Salisbury and Marksons, to CD labels like Clarinet Classics and Universal Classics, to publishers like Stainer & Bell, Rhinegold and MUSO, to Classical Partners, a musical dating agency Ð an echo of the events speed-dating origins.

Of course when you launch such a new project there's a steep learning curve and one of the most frequent comments from exhibitors around the hall was that no one knew quite what public interest to expect.

Having experienced the event, the team from the Trinity College of Music stand said that they were looking forward to a dialogue with Sterling to discuss the many ideas they had about how Classicalive can be developed to reach out to all sectors of the population and help classical music shed its elitist image '...we'd like to use our contacts and work with organisations such as Youth Music, to try and draw in a wider audience'.

Educational content

Education is obviously important to the promoters and Sterling said she had worked with the Department of Education and had advertised Classicalive in teaching magazines but she is planning much more in the way of direct marketing and organised teacher packs for next year. Given the focus on education, a number of students visiting Classicalive shared the hope of Morgensterns, that in future years more orchestras would participate and involve their hugely active education departments in the development of Classicalive.

Orchestral involvement

And it seems clear, having discussed the event with a variety of exhibitors that there are opportunities 'to deve'lop the event even more for the aspiring orchestral musician'. Of course Morgensterns stand, with it's video demonstrations of the services it offers the profession, gave young musicians the opportunity to see how one side of the business works, but greater orchestral involvement would provide many more networking opportunities - surely the basis of Classicalive. The opportunity to meet experienced players and talk to auditions secretaries could help break down some of the barriers faced when having to 'cold call' fixers with CVs.

As it was, for this first outing of Classicalive, the RPO was the only major orchestra to take a stand, and the ABO was left to represent the rest of its members Ð for example, Russell Jones, director of the ABO, took part in a lively discussion with Evelyn Glennie and Jeremy Garside from the LSO, about the future of Classical Music making.

Classicalive was an interesting challenge for Sterling Events with almost 90% of stands, including Morgensterns, being promoted by first-time exhibitors 'It's been a real challenge to address all the marketing, presentation and staffing issues involved in setting up a stand at a trade show and we're very pleased to have taken part' Julian told me. 'Why did we take part? Well it's been a great networking opportunity for us, both with the trade and also with the musicians who have visited our stand. Also the idea of speed-dating appealed to us, as Morgensterns is all about providing instant booking solutions - and having a stand next to the Oxford Cello School provided us with a valuable opportunity to meet and talk to the young cellists taking part in their courses'

As with Morgensterns, David Walters from the Coda Music Centre also found Classicalive an invaluable experience 'This was the first time that the three Music Therapy service providers, Coda Music Centre, Musicspace and the Nordoff ÐRobbins Centre had worked together' Walters explained. He had originally been drawn to Classicalive because Coda's byline 'bringing music to life' was also being used for Classicalive.

When he approached Sterling Events for a mention, he was persuaded to take a stand which then grew in size, turning into a comprehensive Music Therapy area. As there are only 550 music therapists in the country and huge areas which aren't covered geographically, the three centres don't really ever compete, and so it made sense for Classicalive to bring them together on one stand. Walters summed up the Classicalive experience when he told me that 'being here has focused all our attention on how the outside world sees us and how we present ourselves'.

Participation Participation was a key element in the marketing of the show, and many of the members of the public had been particularly attracted by the idea of 'having a go', be it to pick out a new trumpet or just to try an instrument that they had never played before. Families wandering around said that 'it was an opportunity to see what we could have a go at' or that they thought it would be 'good for the kids to see what instruments they might like to learn or take part in for the future'.

As you can imagine the 'having a go' music filled the Olympia arena, often turning into an ear-splitting cacophony as the sounds of pianos, xylophones, saxophones, and computer generated music echoed around the hall.

There was a chance to 'have a go' at all sorts of different instruments, or to compose Ð there was even the Lloyds TSB bus parked and filled with musicians from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to demonstrate different instruments inside. Demonstrations of musical instrument restoration and making were also taking place throughout the weekend and as a student from Merton College of instrument restoration put it ''you have to sow a seed for people to want to come and find out more about what you do'.

The performance areas, promoted to attract audiences, were where the big headliners were placed - Evelyn Glennie, Emma Johnson, Chloe Hanslip Julian Lloyd Webber and Catrin Finch were just a selection of those giving recitals and masterclasses. The programme of lectures looked equally interesting, particularly for the professional or aspiring professional, covering areas such as orchestral management, performance nerves and presentation and performance tips and important issues such as the future of classical music were debated.

So what was the general reaction to Classicalive? It has the potential to provide the profession with a powerful platform from which to evangelise Classical Music by introducing the general public, in a stimulating and non-elitist environment, to a huge and exciting range of organisations and artists involved in the business. Indeed, every angle of the classical music industry was represented in one way or another.

And from visiting the many stands represented at Classicalive it is quite obvious that exhibitors, performers, and audiences were wholeheartedly behind the event Ð everyone was there because they believed that it might be an opportunity to promote classical music in a positive way and to create opportunities to draw new audiences in.

But there were caveats too, a major one being the price of admission Ð it was just too expensive, and although Sterling was quick to draw attention to the £5 Young Person's ticket which spanned ages of 2-22 it was unfortunately still too expensive to bring a whole family in, particularly compared to other large scale events. Sterling said that she has never done anything so challenging and although the dates for next year's event at Olympia are firmly set in the diary, she will be listening to feedback from all arenas to help plan for the future, and while there was disappointment about attendance numbers from the exhibitors, there was a collective feeling that it had been a useful experience and visitors were pleased with what they were finding.

Coriander Stuttard

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