By Tiffany Sulester
As tickets for the 2013-2014 fine and performing arts season go on sale June 11, the scheduled performers are revealed. However, these performers reach an older audience with more discretionary money compared to the college-aged students on the North Central College campus.
According to NCC’s fine and performing arts webpage, famous celebrities such as Kenny Rogers and Bill Cosby will be performing in North Central’s Pfeifer Hall.
Kenny Rogers is due to perform on Dec. 21, 2013. Bill Cosby will be performing on March 29 next spring. The band Foreigner is also scheduled to perform on November 17.
Bryan Lynch, the fine arts director, helps select and manage the fine arts performers and musicians. According to Lynch, the goal is to reach the 25-40 year old demographic.
Lynch states, “That’s exactly the kind of demographic that every performer wants to reach. They have discretionary income so they can spend 85, 90 or 100 dollars on tickets for a concert that they want to see.”
According to the U.S. Census records, approximately 50 percent of the population of Naperville is between the ages of 25 and 54 years old.
Elizabeth Stewart, a sophomore, explains that she’s heard of a couple of the scheduled performers, but not many.
When asked whether or not she would see any of the scheduled performers she stated, “As a college kid, I don’t have any money to go spend on tickets.”
According to NCC’s fine arts webpage, individual ticket sales range from $15 to $125 depending on the performer and the quality of the seat.
Also, Lynch explains that he tries to reach as many demographics that as possible by scheduling certain performers during certain times of year and by sectioning performers into series.
NCC’s fine and performing arts website shows that the events are generally split into five different series: performing arts, classical, jazz, contemporary, cabaret and family.
In addition, the webpage states that the public can purchase tickets to attend all the events in a series or the public can choose the À la Carte series. The À la Carte series allows a choice of five performances from any of the series.
According to the webpage, series prices range from $50 for the family series to $260 for center row tickets for the performing arts series.
Furthermore, Lynch stated that an advisory group made up of him, trustee members, and representatives of the City of Naperville meet to decide on a cross-section of the types of performers the public will like.
Shannon Sinclair, an incoming junior, stated, “I’d really like to see Bill Cosby, but I probably wouldn’t spend money to see the others.”
In addition, Lynch explains that to get these performers, he must go to two conventions a year and talk with performers’ agents to determine whether or not the performer will come to North Central.
However, Lynch states that getting performers to come to North Central can be difficult.
This is because the performers aren’t on tour during the year Lynch wishes to schedule them. It is also because the performers may go to a different area where they believe there is more income potential.
