Listening and Audience Education in the Orchestral Concert Hall

By investigating music listening and learning of audience members in three orchestral concert hall settings in Australia, the study theorises how relationships, social interaction, space, programming and technologies are curated to support audience engagement and learning of music within the concert hall. This work contributes to philosophical understandings about the importance of music education for developing audiences and innovates phenomenological research methods through mindfulness practices. The findings illustrate the need to redefine perspectives on learning in public spaces like the concert hall, recognise the diversity of audience experiences, and the opportunities for learning and engagement present in the art form.