knowing the orchestra members

The other day I was thinking about why I find it more enjoyable to listen to one group rather than another. Obviously it’s always more enjoyable to watch a more talented group, a more musical group, and so on and so forth. The one reason though, that I find uniquely significant is the aspect of familiarity with the performers. These days I think orchestras and performing groups in general like to encourage their performers to associate with crowds, talk a little about themselves and their background, and try to be more connected to their audiences. Often you’ll see pages in the programs specifically devoted to “Meeting an Orchestra Member.” In the two cities I went to conservatory in, I enjoyed listening to one of the orchestras much more than the other, and I wondered why. Both orchestras are top notch (although in my opinion, I thought one of them was a little better, ha). While it could be argued that one of orchestras was actually was more musical, talented, or something else, I realized that the main reason I enjoyed watching the one orchestra more was because I knew many of its members much better on a personal level. Many of the musicians were faculty at my school, people I worked with in a one on one level, or were even previous schoolmates of mine who had won positions in the orchestra. I was able to watch the orchestra from a whole different perspective than the average audience member. I knew the players on a far deeper level as people, and it really made a difference in the whole experience. I know this sounds a little silly, but I’m really serious. It was really entertaining to watch them perform and I was truly able to relate to their performance and appreciate what they were doing much more. Not to mention, since you would often see them on a daily basis, you would see them before and after the performance, which is also another important aspect of relating to someone's performance. It’s hard for me to really explain this feeling, unless you can experience it yourself, and unfortunately most people won’t, unless they spend personal time with orchestra members. These days, while orchestras seem to be making an effort to bring the audiences closer to the performers, it still doesn’t seem to be the same as actually knowing them personally. It is certainly a step in the right direction, and I think they should keep doing it. Unfortunately, this is one of the main problems in connecting audiences with performances, and I wish I had a better answer.