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Symphony of Choice: The Crowd-Composed Concert event image
Wu Tsai Theater, David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center, Upper West Side, Manhattan

Symphony of Choice: The Crowd-Composed Concert

The audience votes the setlist and Jonathon Heyward conducts whatever wins — Lincoln Center's choose-what-you-pay orchestral experiment.

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ClassicalInteractiveChoose-What-You-Pay

This is the rare orchestral concert where the program doesn't exist until the audience builds it — you vote on repertoire drawn from the Festival Orchestra's summer season, and Jonathon Heyward conducts whatever the room chooses. It's a playful, low-stakes on-ramp to Lincoln Center's summer of music, priced choose-what-you-pay so the barrier is whatever you want it to be. If stuffy classical protocol has kept you away, this is the night designed to break it.

What to expect

A full orchestra in the Wu Tsai Theater, live audience voting between works, and a genuinely unpredictable program stitched together in real time. The concert doubles as a preview menu for the Festival Orchestra's summer season, and it's simulcast free on the lobby's Hauser Digital Wall.

Good to know

  • Choose-what-you-pay ticketing — pay more or less than the suggested amount
  • Take the 1 train to 66th St-Lincoln Center; the hall is directly across the plaza
  • The concert is also simulcast free on the Hauser Digital Wall in the Geffen Hall lobby
  • Live captioning is available on personal devices, plus a hearing loop and Braille programs
  • Fine for classical newcomers — the voting format is built to be casual

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Common questions

How does the voting work?

The audience chooses from a menu of works that preview the Festival Orchestra's summer season, and conductor Jonathon Heyward performs the winning picks — effectively assembling a new symphony live.

Do I have to pay full price?

No — tickets are choose-what-you-pay, with options to pay above or below the suggested price. There's also a free simulcast in the lobby.

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