A symphony performance this month in Denver will launch on a high note as joints and marijuana brownies will replace the wine and cheese more typical of such classy events.
Searching for a new audience and struggling with diminishing financial support, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra is selling $75 tickets to what it’s calling “Classically Cannabis: The High Note Series.” The three fundraising concerts, to be held at a 250-person capacity art gallery, will be bring-your-own-cannabis events. Sixty-five tickets were sold in the first day.
“We think it’s a great opportunity for the symphony to satisfy two of its needs: to reach a younger, more diverse audience and raise money,” said Jerome Kern, the symphony’s chief executive. “We’re not passing judgment on whether smoking marijuana is a good or bad thing.”
Some traditional symphony-goers have derided the series, announced last week, as a sign of desperation and vowed to stay away. But symphonies and orchestras across the country are turning to gimmicks, including webcasts, discounts, music from video games and collaborations with pop artists, to compete for the attention of young listeners.
Colorado’s effort could not only boost symphony coffers, but also help to redefine marijuana’s image.
Attendees of the “Classically Cannabis” series may smoke marijuana, or regular cigarettes, on an outdoor patio attached to the gallery. Food and alcohol will be served, and guests are being encouraged to use a ride-sharing service such as Uber, taxis or public transit instead of driving themselves.
Event planner Jane West said the series came together quickly after some members of the symphony’s fundraising team attended one of her upscale bring-your-own-marijuana events last month. They thought having some symphony ensembles play at one of these events would be perfect, West said.
Through her company Edible Events Co., West has sought to squash the image of marijuana as a drug only used by lazy teenagers. West, who prefers pot to wine, said marijuana helps deliver better awareness of the tastes of food and the sounds of music.
“This is all about promoting adult, responsible cannabis consumption,” she said.
The “Classically Cannabis” series has attracted sponsors, too: Ideal 420 Soils, a New Hampshire-based supplier of pot-growing tools, is the lead sponsor and two local dispensaries, the Farm and Gaia Plant-Based Medicine, have also signed on. Kern said he’s heard no criticism from the symphony’s trustees or other sponsors. But some symphony-goers expressed displeasure, saying that the symphony had sold out to the state’s newest and controversial industry.
“Wow! The CSO just lost all my respect,” Russ Schuett wrote on the symphony’s Facebook page. “Sorry, but I won’t be attending any more concerts after this season.”
Public consumption of marijuana remains illegal under state law. The symphony said that the BYOC concerts will be private parties being held on private property.
The first event, May 23, is described as a journey down the “Pan American Highway” with food such as chimchurri, arepas and Latin delights. The themes for the July 18 and Aug. 15 concerts are Southern-centric “Mississippi Blues Highway” and Asian-focused “Summer Monsoon.”
The series will end with a concert at the 9,500-seat Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Although smoking of any kind is banned at the facility, it’s typical for musicians to notice the unmistakable scent of marijuana in the air, Kern said. At the concert, marijuana-related businesses will set up booths to educate attendees about the drug.
“They’re a new business, rapidly growing, becoming a large taxpayer and they are looking to legitimize their function,” Kern said. He declined to say how much money the pot sponsorships would deliver, but added that “this fundraising series will do better than anything we’ve done before.”
