Barcelona Symphony Orchestra’s concert at the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam next ‎Sunday, which is virtually sold out, will bring L’Auditori’s 2017-2018 programme to a close. ‎There has been a 2% rise in audience numbers since this season a total of ‎‎382,772 people have passed through L’Auditori’s concert halls, 6,100 more than the previous ‎season. Of this figure, 115,779 came to see performances by Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, ‎‎154,446 came to activities or concerts run by the Servei Educatiu, 50,698 attended special ‎seasons run by L’Auditori (its Antiga, Cambra, Sampler Sèries, Escenes, Amplificats, Sit Back, ‎Jazz Sessions and Orquestres Internacionals seasons), 22,277 came to see Barcelona ‎Symphony Band and 40,292 attended events organized by third parties. Throughout the ‎season, 512 concerts have been held with mean occupancy figures of 75%, ‎‎2% more than the 2016-2017 season. ‎

‎The two symphonic ensembles based at L’Auditori maintain their audience figures ‎and occupancy rates‎
‎Barcelona Symphony Orchestra has given a total of86 ‎concerts (74 as part of its music season, 6 extraordinary concerts and 6 chamber ‎concerts), with a total audience of 115,779. This figure is almost identical ‎to the 115,815 of last season. Some of the season’s highpoints include the screening of West ‎Side Story accompanied by a live performance of the soundtrack, a concert by pianist Maria ‎João Pires and the premiere of Inkscape by composer Hèctor Parra. ‎

For its part, Barcelona Symphony Band, which gave 19 ‎concerts (one less than the previous season), has maintained its seating occupancy ‎rate of 76%, with a 22,277 rise in its audience. Substantial headway has ‎been made in the activities run by the Servei Educatiu (with activities for ‎families and school children and participatory events), attracting audiences of ‎‎154,446 people to L’Auditori, 9,000 more than the previous season, with a 3% rise in ‎average occupancy rates compared to 2016-2017, when rates stood at 83% as opposed to the ‎current figure of 86%. ‎

‎Excellent attendance to the concerts given as part of the Música Antiga and Cambra ‎seasons‎
The Música Antiga season, with 11 concerts (one less than last season) ‎and such noteworthy highpoints as Bach’s Saint Mark Passion conducted by Jordi Savall, had ‎total audiences of 9,966, that is 600 more than last season, together with a ‎‎63% occupancy rate. The audience figure for the Cambraseason rose by ‎‎4,000 to a total of 10,155 spectators at its 23 concerts, eight more than the ‎previous season. The occupancy rates for its concerts rose by 4% to an average of ‎‎67% (as opposed to the 2016-2017 season’s 6,125 spectators and average ‎occupancy of 63%), thanks to concerts like the series of string quartets by Beethoven, ‎performed by the Casals Quartet. ‎
In addition to the Música Antiga and Cambra programmes, one of the season’s highlights was ‎an extraordinary concert given by the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, ‎which was a total sell-out.‎

‎Growing spectator numbers at the second edition of the Emergents Barcelona ‎Music Festival ‎
The second edition of the Emergents Barcelona Music Festival, a music festival for ‎emerging Spanish and international talent, had total audience numbers of 5,457 ‎people, 500 more than last season. ‎
This festival offers chamber, symphony and jazz music concerts in collaboration with some of ‎the country’s foremost music institutions. This year, it promoted projects like the ‎‎creation of the Jove Capella Reial de Catalunya or the presentation in Barcelona of ‎the promising young cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason.‎

‎L’Auditori extends its music outside its concert halls to over 127,447 spectators ‎‎‎
In addition to the programme that L’Auditori offers at its concert halls, during the ‎‎2017-2018 season, a total of 145 concerts were held at other venues, extending the ‎music it offers to127,447 spectators. Mention must be made of the work ‎of L’Auditori’s Servei Educatiu, with participatory projects like Cantània or ‎Cantagran and family concert tours, which were enjoyed by a total of 100,000 ‎spectators. Another highpoint outside L’Auditori’s concert halls are the ‎‎concerts given by the OBC on La Barceloneta beach, with audience figures of over ‎‎14,000 people , and the concerts held this year inSant Cugat, Lleida and ‎Tarragona. Barcelona Symphony Band attracted 5,000 spectators ‎with the programme of Concerts a la Ciutat it gives each year. Likewise, it ‎is important to highlight the concerts given as part of the Sampler Sèries in some of ‎Barcelona’s leading contemporary art centres, such as the MACBA, CCCB, Fundació Antoni ‎Tàpies and Fundació Joan Miró. ‎
‎During the 2017-2018 season, L’Auditori’s programme of art-related concerts have ‎been attended by 512,039 people, 3,500 more than last year.‎