Are the answers to Boston Symphony Orchestra's audience problems in South Dakota?

The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s months of internal disputes have moved to contract talks, but a larger challenge remains: its shrinking audience. The article looks to South Dakota for potential answers, focusing on the small South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, which has nine full-time musicians and pays others per performance. In 2022, The New Yorker highlighted the group as “one of America’s boldest orchestras,” citing music director Delta David Gier, 66, and his community-centered approach. The piece notes the BSO’s scale—its budget is bigger and it has far more full-time musicians—but says orchestras across the country face the same audience decline. It compares innovation efforts elsewhere and quotes Gier on learning what fits the region, starting by understanding who lives there.