Playing to the Cheap Seats
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Mendoza, who’s 28, went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in conducting from Butler University and a master’s from the University of New Mexico. He came to Chicago in 2003 as a finalist for a conducting job at the University of Chicago; he wasn’t hired but decided to stick around anyway, attending a lot of local performances and sizing up the scene. “What I noticed was the audience was full of older people–and I don’t mean middle-aged,” he says. It was alarming to “see nobody in the audience your own age.” When he did spot a rare group of contemporaries at a free concert, they were being booted by an usher from unmarked seats reserved for donors. Wondering why they’d ever bother to come back and pay for tickets, Mendoza knew something had to be done. “This career that I’ve chosen not only is not appealing to young people,” he says, “but tends to be elitist.”
Mendoza has been encouraged by the rapid growth of his board of directors. “I thought we’d go along for years, just me and friends of mine,” he says. “But there are people involved on the board now that have no connection with me. They believe in the idea, and this happened fairly quickly.” There’s no operating budget and administrative work is handled by volunteers, but the musicians–generally about 30 strong, including many Civic Orchestra players–receive modest compensation. Though the orchestra’s main focus is music of the 18th century, in September it will present 20th-century classical pieces by Latin American composers at the Athenaeum. With a budget of $16,000, this will be its costliest program so far. And for those impressionable fourth graders, there’ll be a special school-group matinee.
Three Arts for Sale
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