The symphony orchestras and other classical music organisations can give concerts again. After a period of silence, the audience is back in the halls. Questions about the meaning, impact, financing and legitimacy of classical music have only become more urgent as a result of the pandemic.

In the Artful Participation project, funded by the NWO/SIA Smart Culture programme, research has been done into artistically relevant forms of audience participation in symphonic music. Academic research into innovative approaches to audience participation was combined with artistic research in the form of concert experiments. Maastricht University and Zuyd University of Applied Sciences collaborated with philharmonie zuidnederland in the project.

With the presentation of our research we want to contribute to the current debate about the meaning and relevance of classical music. We do this by examining our research from three angles: social impact, collaboration and artistic value. In addition, we will highlight our results and experiences from the NWO Smart Culture agenda.