Symphony for moms

Earlier at a dinner party, I overheard a conversation among a few expecting mothers and mothers who have young children. They are all between the age of late twenties and early forties, all highly educated women. Some of them are classical concerts lovers and used to attend concerts regularly before they have a family and they expressed their disappointment of not being able to attend concerts regularly anymore. A mother explained that she would need to plan weeks in advance to attend a concert: to find out the information about the concert, then book a nanny for the time she would be away during the concert, and coordinate all the same with another mom who she goes to the concert with. She mentioned that time and planning is one factor that stops her from going to the concert, but money is another factor. A $25 concert ticket suddenly become $60-$80 for the evening for hiring nanny and a night out.

Going to concert should be a relaxing and enjoyable experience, just because you are a mom and have a family should not make it so much more difficult. Most symphony orchestras offer kids and family concerts, but what if the moms or dads just want to attend an adult concert like they used to? Isn't accessibility to quality music is part of the mission for many symphonies?  Perhaps a free babysitting service at the concert hall will be a solution to all? Young professional parents can still enjoy a classical concert or even getting single tickets at the last minute will not be impossible because they could not find any babysitters last minute. Ikea offer a children's corner for kids while moms and dads do their shopping, why not the symphony, theater, ballet or opera?