Project Grant - Round 2

The Memorial Day Concert provides tribute to local veterans and their families. While we do not issue surveys for that concert, we sometimes get feedback on later surveys related to the Memorial Day events. Similarly, the Fourth of July concert provides a locus for people throughout Central Minnesota to congregate and celebrate. The Barden Park Concert series continues a form of Americana that our surveys claim exists in few other places. We survey the Barden Park audiences, and comments from the Fall Paramount Concert surveys this year also reflected civic pride and anticipation of the audience to next summer's concerts. We do not survey the audience at the Sauk Centre concert since we are invited to play there, but the demographics of that audience is always similar to those at Barden Park. Based on the results of last summer's surveys, we expect to again see results that support the preferences of taxpayers when the Legacy Grant was created by voters on November 4, 2008: 1. As always for summer concerts, the patrons come with sometimes three generations within the family, and often bring visitors. It is safe to assume that the market area for Saint Cloud Municipal Band Summer Concert Series does not extend to Germany; Anchorage, Alaska; Eugene, Oregon; Hanford, California, and San Antonio, Texas, but people in the audience reported these as their residential zip codes. To the extent that their hosts took them to Barden Park for an evening rather than to an event in the Twin Cities, if they also went to eat, or even bought a Root Beer Float at the table, they contributed a little to the local economy as well. Thus we provide an event that people of many ages, races and ethnicities enjoy with family and friends. 2. We play a variety of music that the majority of our audience prefers, but we also try some types of tunes that just one person suggested. Those with limited exposure to specific types of music will have the opportunity to broaden their interests. 3. We also provide commentary on the pieces we play, thus offering a bit of musicology to the audience. 4. We intend to continue entertaining our audience, and with surveys keep a pulse as to their preferences and how well we are doing.We tried a few photographs last time. I'm not sure they worked well, but we will try these again. The Fourth of July Concert is not a good venue for surveys as people are spread out in front and in back of us and on the other side of the river not only enjoying the music but also waiting to watch fireworks. However, we do get comments about the July 4th Concert on Barden Park and Paramount surveys. We will again survey the Barden Park audience, possibly not as often as last summer. Even though we tried different questions on each survey, some people said they filled out enough surveys and just wanted to listen to the music. Nevertheless, the survey demographics did not change from one week to the next, and in general, comments were consistent. In addition, individuals in the audience often chat with band members after the concert--either coming to the show mobile directly after we finished or staying to chat after we've packed up. Often the best feedback is from the informal chats, and we ask band members to share these qualitative evaluations with the rest of the band so we can share them with the granting agencies.