Yes, You Can Make Classical Music for Everyone

Marna Seltzer asks: 'How can we make this feel relevant to more people? How can we make it more diverse? How can we remove the barriers?'

Gallicantus performing at Princeton University Concerts Up Close. Andrew Wilkinson

There is a long, long list of reasons not to attend a classical concert. Two hours is too long. You sit too far away to see what’s happening on stage. You don’t know any of this music and won’t be able to relate to it. Where would you even start?

Marna Seltzer has heard it all. In her 25 years of producing concerts, she has heard about every perceived barrier that potential audiences have come up with, and at Princeton University, she’s been experimenting with how to do away with them.