Pubdate: Sun, 04 May 2014
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2014 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Paresh Dave

SYMPHONY FUSES CLASSICS, CANNABIS

The Denver Concert Series Has Some Listeners Outraged, but Organizers 
Hope to Reach a New Audience.

A symphony performance this month in Denver will launch on a high 
note as joints and marijuana brownies will replace the wine and cheese.

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 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 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.

For the symphony, which has had "Beethoven and Brews" fundraisers 
featuring craft brewers in the past, the idea of switching to 
something more like "Copland and Cannabis" was an easy one.

"We don't see ourselves as the arbiter of moral values," Kern said. 
"We play good music. Cannabis is legal. The industry is legal. The 
people we are dealing with comply with all the laws, and they will 
provide very large financial support."

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 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 on 
private property.

The first event, May 23, is described as a journey down the "Pan 
American Highway" with Latin food such as arepas and chimichurri. 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. Though 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."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom