Bryan Series subscribers were quite positive about the Yo-Yo Ma program Oct. 26, and they offered some very constructive comments in the post-event e-mail survey.
About 60% of the subscribers who purchased tickets to the bonus event responded to the survey. 79% of respondents were very satisfied with the speaker's presentation and 72% were very satisfied with the event overall.
About 350 comments were offered, falling into several major categories:
- 27% of respondents said they wanted to hear more music and less talk (for the record, Yo-Yo Ma spoke for 58 minutes and played for 19 minutes, with a 20-minute Q&A after the presentation).
- 11% said they had difficulty hearing the presentation.
- 6% said the program, or some element of it, was "too long."
Oh, and 99% of respondents said they would be interested in participating in focus bonus programs.
Some thoughts: Yo-Yo Ma agreed to present a lecture with a limited solo performance as part of a two-day trip to N.C. with a concert on the second night. As he indicated in the sound check prior to the program, this was his first full-fledged lecture--a rarity, indeed. The sound system was judged satisfactory by Yo-Yo Ma prior to the event, however, his generally soft voice did not project as well as we hoped and we regret that. In terms of the length of the program, the speaker is in control once the presentation starts. We would love to have a great program that runs 75 or 80 minutes each time.
Among the many positive comments we received was this one:
"Yo-Yo Ma's warm and humble stage presence and the way he used the Bach and his cello to present the message made me feel as if he were speaking directly to me. He helped me gain greater understanding of the power and importance of music flowing in and through all. I don't doubt that was the experience for most of those in the audience."
Thanks again for your post-event survey responses!
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