Ignacio Barrón Viela on the Reno Philharmonic and Innovation in Orchestras

Classical music can sometimes be seen as a bit stuffy or unapproachable to some audiences, but people have been listening to symphonies for hundreds of years and despite the obvious and valuable connection the past, orchestras are also looking to the future and exploring how to reach more people. This week on Renoites, Conor sat down with the new President and CEO of the Reno Philharmonic, Ignacio Barrón Viela. Viela most recently worked for the Billings Symphony in Montana, and took over the role here in Reno in 2022. On this episode, we talked about how to reach new and younger audiences, appealing to younger musicians and music fans, how a business background and love of music led to an orchestra management career, the power of learning an instrument for improving attention span and listening ability, early music education in schools, integrating popular culture with the Reno Phil through events like live-music Ghostbusters and the consistently popular Pops on the River, and much more! You can learn more about the Reno Philharmonic, including all their events, at their website http://www.renophil.com  Make sure to subscribe to Renoites wherever you get podcasts and follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/renoites and if you'd like to support the show financially (it really is the only way for the show to continue existing) you can do so at http://patreon.com/renoites If you have suggestions for future guests or episode topics, or feedback in general, email [email protected]