If you've never been before, going to the orchestra can seem like a scary proposition.

Composer names can be challenging to pronounce, clapping can be inappropriate where it would usually feel natural, and the urge to sneeze or cough can create a heightened sense of anxiety.

To the ASO’s recently appointed audience development coordinator Kane Moroney, the orchestra isn’t scary at all. But he does remember a time when it was new to him.

“I didn’t go until I was 15 years old. And it totally changed my life, I was absolutely blown away. I had that experience which triggered what I became most passionate about. It’s just one of those things,” he says.

“People might not ever go because they don’t feel that there’s an opportunity to. So this is allowing them to come and experience the orchestra in a different way. You’ve got the concert before hand which is one of our regular concerts, and afterward, a unique way to round out the evening with food, drink, music and art.”

The event supplies some things you are probably already familiar with (live art by Matt Stuckey, food by Jessie Spiby, transport by EcoCaddy) and eases you though the rest.

“At the after party… you can have some time to talk about, and digest the experience.”

Kane runs us through the pieces that will be performed by the orchestra on the night. The Bartered Bride by Smetana, Symphony No 7 by Dvořák, and Brahms’ mighty Violin Concerto, which was once considered almost unplayable. The description ‘almost unplayable’ left us wondering too… Luckily Kane will be present at the after party to explain.

All this is included in the regular concert ticket price. Not so scary at all really.