Cellphones are hardly applauded in concert halls, where it’s considered gauche to have them turned on, much less to pull them out during a performance. So at a recent Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra concert of classics like Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, it was a little surprising when the conductor instructed audience members to take out their phones.

Symphony administrators had decided to let the audience choose the encore by text-messaging votes: “A” for Aaron Copland’s “Hoedown,” or “B” for Wagner’s prelude to Act III of “Lohengrin.” (“Hoedown” won by 23 votes.)

“There was a little hesitation on the part of the musicians at first, like, ‘What?’ ” said Samuel Banks, a 28-year-old bassoonist in the symphony. “It’s the cardinal sin to have your cellphone go off during concerts. It’s better to fall asleep than to have your cellphone go off.”

The symphony, faced with aging patrons, is trying to appeal to a younger audience. And, like other arts organizations, it is trying to make performances more interactive, adding a sprinkle of “American Idol” to the temples of high art.

Along with the Indianapolis Symphony, the New York Philharmonic has also asked audience members to choose encores via text. In recent New York performances of Mozart’s “Così Fan Tutte” by a small opera company, attendees used text messaging to decide which couples would end up together. Museums, too, are using mobile technology in audio tours.

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