Audiences for the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra increased by 53% in 2017, according to the most recent RTÉ Annual Report.

The NSO’s audiences rose from 60,940 for 75 performances in 2016 to 93,411 for 82 performances last year.

According to RTÉ, the increase in RTÉ NSO figures is due to events such as Harry Potter at the 3Arena in December and performances of The Legend of Zelda and ET at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, but also an increase in audiences for the Friday-night subscription series for the 2017/18 season.

RTÉ Concert Orchestra audiences
Audiences for the RTÉ Concert Orchestra dropped by 36%, from 111,512 for 76 performances in 2016 to 71,088 for 77 performances in 2017.

The decrease has been put down to the absence of the orchestra from events such as the 2FM Christmas Ball and the decision to omit figures from Culture Night in 2017 as they were approximate.

RTÉ Contempo Quartet performed 40 concerts in 2017 to 2,563 people and RTÉ Choirs played to 1,120 people over 7 performances. See further details in the table below.

Summer Trad with the RTÉ CO
The RTÉ CO has recently announced a series of summer concerts featuring Irish traditional musicians, including Seán Keane (10 August), Paddy Keenan, Frankie Gavin and Dermot Byrne (11 August), and Zoë Conway and John Mc Intyre with guests Bill Whelan, Mick O’Brien and Dónal Lunny (16 and 17 August).

The RTÉ NSO, which is currently recruiting for a new Leader, has just announced its 2018/19 season featuring Maxim Vengerov, Bryn Terfel and Ray Chen.

RTÉ’s Orchestras were recently the subject of an external report which recommended that the RTÉ NSO become a state cultural institution separate to RTÉ. The Government has requested that the relevant departments bring forward proposals for the move.

For more on upcoming performances, visit https://orchestras.rte.ie/