Music in Van Wert

Planes, Trains, Automobiles & Music?

After taking a week off, it’s good to be back home again.  Last week, I was in New York City attending the Association of Performing Arts Presenters Conference.  My expected stay took a little detour and my wife and I ended up with the extended stay version.  Planning on coming back to Van Wert last Wednesday, our plans changed with a nine inch snow fall Tuesday night in Manhattan.  When I tell the entire story to friends, they tell me it sounded like the John Candy scene in the movie “Planes, Trains, & Automobiles.”  If you have ever seen the movie, you know a little about what we went through just trying to return to Ohio.  At times, I felt like I might be in the back of a covered truck being serenaded by a Polka-playing clarinetist.

Well, enough of our traveling challenges.  Besides the travel mess-ups, the conference was a good one.  Many people ask what it’s like going to these conferences.  I thought I might give you a little insight into how things work.  The APAP conference is held in New York City, Manhattan to be specific, because so many of the booking agencies are located there.  It is really the national, if not international hub of artist agencies.  I can easily tell you that the area code forManhattan is 212!

At the conference, there are artists, agencies, and agents who represent everything from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to Weird Al Yankovich, and most everything in between.  I believe there are over 1000 booths spread over three floors in the Hilton Hotel at the corner of Fifth Ave. and 53^rd.

There are literally thousands of performing artists who are trying to sell their talents to presenters like the Niswonger Performing Arts Center.  My job is to try to find and make contact with a number of concerts that I think our programming committee will think our NPAC audiences will enjoy.  I bring back ideas and we start the process of putting a season together for the next season.

A number of factors are considered when selecting concerts.  Certainly, we want what we think many people will enjoy.  We also want to keep in mind ourmission of “entertain, educate and inspire.”  I believe our audiences have found many types of concerts and shows to be to their liking that they might have never considered.  I like to think of that as culturally educating our audiences.  Whether you realize it or not, people of Van Wert and surrounding areas have become more culturally educated than others just because of what we have been exposed to.  Van Wert audiences have been receiving this opportunity dating back many years with the Community Concerts at the Marsh Auditorium and now at the NPAC.  Our local theater productions have also been doing a fine job for years.

Another consideration is pricing.  Routing often affects this.  Agents who have been hired by artists to put together tours are looking for the best routing of their concerts and shows that make financial sense.  At times, we may want a certain artist and the routing just doesn’t work.  Sometimes, we can come back the next year and things work out.  It is also a tedious decision to decide what our market will support as far as ticket prices.  Variety of pricing and types of performances are considered.  We realize we are not New York City or even Chicago or Cincinnati.  It’s always wonderful when the agencies and artists also realize this.  This is when we can land some exceptional, highly recognized concerts for our NPAC audiences to enjoy.

After considering all the above, making and receiving countless emails and phone calls, and then working and massaging the calendar for about three to four months, we are ready to announce a new season.  So, stay tuned because while you are enjoying the many shows and concerts we have this winter, know that there are a lot of people working behind the scenes to put together another wonderful season for 2011-12.

It is also at this conference that I have been able to put the final pieces in place for the upcoming Fountain Park Summer Concert Series.  I think it is now ready to go and we will be releasing that information once all commitments are in place and probably just when you need a nice warm thought in the middle of our coldOhio winter!  And if you need a warm thought, don’t forget about Swan Lake on February 1 at the NPAC.

FINÉ.