Thank you to the 262 people who took the Candide Survey. The VocalEssence staff analyzes the results and uses the information to plan for better performances in the future. Below is a summary of the results.

• 40% of attendees were attending their very first VocalEssence event, and 26% of respondents attended VocalEssence concerts more than three times per year.
• The top three reasons for attending the Candide performance were: “to hear the work of a specific composer,” “to revisit a familiar work/hear music I already know and love,” and “to be emotionally moved or inspired.”
• According to the data, this performance will stick with audiences for a long time. The performance had a huge emotional impact on the attendees – one of our highest scores ever – of 4.4 out of 5, and 90% discussed the performance with others afterwards.
• A majority of people felt welcome at the performances. On a 1-5 scale for how welcome the audience members felt at the concert, 95% gave a score of 3 or higher, with 64% giving the highest score of a 5.

COMMENTS FROM SURVEY RESPONDENTS

• “The level of musical quality and artistry was very high, more than most theatrical performances. I’d seen Candide done in the past by a theater company without the musical depth brought to this production. I came to this for the music piece and knowing a performer, but I plan to return to more VocalEssence concerts.”
• “Having the performance set as a radio play was BRILLIANT! Watching the sound effects was so much fun. The soloists were amazing. I have heard the music before but had no context for it. It was great fun filling in the story.”
• “Remarkable performances by all. We’d pay to watch Bradley Greenwald read the Omaha phone book! The best of all possible performances by all!”
• “‘Glitter and Be Gay’ nearly brought me to my feet!”
• “This performance was one of the best I have ever heard. We hear lots of music and see many performances throughout the year – Minnesota Orchestra, Cantus, Jungle Theater, Guthrie – but this was very unusual (the setting of a radio show) and truly totally enjoyable. Very talented actors and singers, orchestra, and chorus.”
• “I loved the collaboration between two arts organizations. I would be really happy to see more collaborations between VocalEssence and Theater Latté Da. As a long-time fan of VocalEssence, I think this was an extraordinarily successful collaboration. More, please. Casting. Ingenuity of adaptation.”

WORD CLOUD

Below is a word cloud that includes the words that audience members used to describe the concert. The larger the word, the more it was used by survey respondents.