School Of Not Rock

The California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco didn’t plan on dedicating a lot of time to concert promotion but, hey, if it makes money, why not?

CIIS has been hosting approximately 10 concerts per year, mostly the “world music” brand, although organizer Karim Baer is cautious using that term. The college was founded in 1968 but has roots in the Bay Area from 1950 and Alan Watts, one of the seminal names in translating Eastern philosophy for the Western world.

But around 2003, the college started to raise money through music. Like a lot of schools, CIIS has always had lectures, workshops or performances to supplement income and bring awareness to the institution. It found a niche in San Francisco when it began integrating music and poetry in a yearly performance that involves poet/translator Coleman Barks backed by various instruments.

Now it has performances by acts like The Soweto Gospel Choir that recently drew 2,000 people to the Paramount Theatre and did 10 concerts last year from Iraqi musicians to Tuvan throat singers.

Apparently this is the right market.

Baer – who was brought on board to head up the Public Programs – has a full-time employee who manages the social networking and Internet marketing necessary for the concerts.

“Postering has been important,” Baer said. “We’ve made it a point to have really attractive posters for everything we do because they’ll be seen where other cities are more dependent on cars. Social networking has been a big thing. We do a monthly newsletter. Just today we started a BART and muni [bus system] campaign that should help brand the school.”

Of course, not all of the concerts are successes. Baer has learned some of the basics – like checking the calendar for competing events – the hard way. The only difference is, they’re not exactly events like high school football.

“About a year ago, we hosted a really interesting performance with Rahm AlHaj and Alam Khan,” he said. AlHaj is an Iraqi refugee who plays the oud, and Khan is the son of sarod player Ali Akbar Khan.

“I talked to management. There were some tour issues but we picked a day and got a theatre in late September. All of a sudden, three weeks prior, I learn it’s both Rosh Hashanah and Eid ul-Fitr. Jews nor Muslims would attend.”

Unfortunately for CIIS, neither of the musicians observe either holiday, so they couldn’t warn Baer. The show was “not a flop” but nowhere near the expected success.

“So, I made a mental note: Always look for Rosh Hashanah and Eid on the calendar.”

Baer said the concert schedule has grown organically, with a little help from percussionist Zakir Hussain whose father was a friend with school founder Dr. Harida Chauduri and who hosted a night of classical and Indian music. That was followed by two sold-out nights at the 962-capacity Palace of Fine Arts.

“Our traditional audience has been the typical person who’s been going to yoga, doing meditation, interested in holistic health,” Baer said. “Now we’re getting into an audience much more interested in the arts purely for the arts. That’s definitely causing us to reach out in new ways.”

Baer says the CIIS program is no longer the “new kids on the block.”

“When I go to Western Arts Alliance Conference or the APAP conference, I definitely meet new agents who are starting to hear of us where I used to have to do a lot of explaining,” he said.