The Art of Sound Programming: Partnering up and Harmonising Stakeholders’ Needs and Wants

In this cross-sectional case study, we dive into the different aspects that involves artistic programming in the classical music industry. Through eight semi-structured interviews with artistic programmers and artistic directors from six different (subsidised) classical music organisations in Amsterdam, such as concert halls and festivals, we get an insight of the connecting role of the artistic programmer within the symbiosis of the cultural sector. Topics such as quality uncertainty, quality assessment and stakeholder management are addressed with special focus on the policy mandates from the policy report of 2021- 2024. These mandates include “the fair practice code” and “inclusion and diversity”. We found that the mission statement of organisations plays a central role in their operationalisation. We also found that the dominant strategy of programming is partnering up in order to share costs and risks, exchange ideas and making a bigger impact through reaching a broader audience. This study is a good steppingstone for future research in the field of artistic programming, a topic that has hardly been covered in academics.