The aging demographic for the performing arts is a pressing issue in the arts community. Now FineArtsLA.com has taken a small step in countering this trend with Forty Unders, an audience-development marketing program aimed at those on the naive side of forty.

The program consists of free event tickets and CDs donated by Los Angeles arts organizations.

Officially announced in January 2008, Forty Unders was tested in late 2007 and received tremendous response from L.A.’s arts entities, many of which donated up to 10 seats for their events.

Participants have included the Los Angeles Ballet, Long Beach Opera, Jacaranda, Pacific Serenades, Harmonia Baroque,  Dilijan Chamber Music Series, Alternative Opera Theater, California Philharmonic and Camerata Pacifica.

“I got the idea after attending a concert by Jacaranda, one of L.A.’s most exciting chamber series,” says FineArtsLA founder Christian M. Chensvold. “Although the programming was contemporary and adventurous — qualities that should attract a young and hip audience — the combined age of the crowd was 64,000.”

While the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Opera draw respectable numbers of younger audience members, many smaller chamber-music series — often where the most exciting music is heard — struggle to attract younger audiences. “In many cases, I could’ve made it Fifty Unders and it would still be cutting edge,” says Chensvold.

Forty Unders giveaways take place about once a week, usually on Mondays. When a Forty Unders post goes up, the first readers to e-mail the site win the tickets. “It’s an easy way for anybody to log on and win tickets to an event they may feel they can’t afford, or which they’d never thought of checking out. With any luck they’ll become fans and tell their friends, helping groom the next generation of arts patrons.”

That next generation includes Sam Mendizabal, a college student who manages Forty Unders for FineArtsLA. “After I won a pair of tickets in Forty Unders’ trial run, I became hooked on chamber music,” says Mendizabal. “And when I missed out on ballet tickets, I went out and bought some anyway, for my first night at the ballet.

“I hope now as manager of Forty Unders I can get other young people to experience the same addiction to live music,” Mendizabal continues. “It can be that first taste that makes the difference.”

Here’s some feedback from Forty Unders ticket winners:

I think what you are doing is a wonderful idea. I myself am 25 and have never been to a concert (well R&B, various reaggae concerts etc). I have always said I was going to attend the Walt Disney Concert Hall, or any
other concert hall for that matter, and still have not. My boyfriend who is a musician loves to go to concerts and I would love to get tickets and share them with him.

I just came back from seeing Orpheus and Eridice in Long Beach. I went with my older sister, who , like me, has never seen an opera before. It was an amazing experience, and I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity! You’re doing a great thing for the community!