Theoroi: (pronounced thee-uh-roy)
The Greek word used for lovers of sights and sounds whose job it was to journey to festivals as ambassadors and announce and invite others to these celebrations. 

Have you ever enjoyed a concert and felt inspired to let your friends know about it? Or wanted to attend a performance but just didn’t know how to choose from the overwhelming options? The Schubert Club has developed a new initiative, Theoroi, a pilot group of 26 young individuals, ages 21-35 who together attend local cultural performances over the next season. As a Theoroi, their commitment is to spread the word about their cultural experiences through interactive social media outlets of their choice, such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, etc. The group pays a nominal ticket fee, and The Schubert Club subsidizes all other expenses.

The program is designed to reach young people through the communication vehicles that they use every day as a “journey to festivals and announce and invite others to the celebrations” – the root of being a Theoroi.

Theoroi is more than just attending performances together and tweeting about it, however. Each event has a social component, such as a dinner or catered event before and/or afterward, and an educational component with speakers and artists who help interpret and educate the group about the experience. Already, Theoroi has created new friendships amongst the members and a deeper understanding of the performances they have attended.

In a time when professional performing arts have risen to an amazing quality, arts organizations struggle to attract new audiences to share in the experience. Theoroi is creating a buzz through social media, spreading the word about the rich, live arts in our community. “Theoroi, bringing a bit of culture to social media.”

This project is being coordinated by The Schubert Club with a grant from Knight Foundation.