Go ahead. Clap at the wrong time.

You could even cough, sneeze or guffaw at inappropriate moments. The folks with the Akron Symphony Orchestra don’t care.

In fact, they know they’re doing their jobs when there is clapping between movements: They got someone who has never experienced classical music into a seat at E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall in Akron. And they’ve enticed another person away from his or her smartphone, laptop, iPad or other device for live music.

“It’s OK to just experience it for what it is,” said Paul Jarrett, executive director of the ASO since 2012. “Clap at the wrong time — that’s awesome! We know that someone there is new. If there are people there in jeans and a T-shirt, it’s OK. Just come. We still have work to do as an industry to bring people to hear the music.”

That message of inclusiveness is echoed among ASO staff and others in Akron who acknowledge the city — known for its gritty, industrial past and sleepy downtown populated mostly by University of Akron students — is on the cusp of a renaissance.

It’s attracting millennials, young professionals and even baby boomers who appreciate the ease of living in Akron and Summit County. And the ASO wants to capitalize on the new energy while keeping its longtime fans.

“With all the energy in the arts sector right now, it’s the perfect time to introduce people to the orchestra,” said Heather Roszczyk, the new director of marketing and public relations for the ASO, during a recent interview. “We have been reaching out to the community. This could go down as one of the most collaborative seasons in the orchestra’s history.”

Here are just a few things ASO is doing to keep its longtime music fans and attract new ones:

Browns ticket swaps. To make fans of the hapless Cleveland Browns a little happier, the ASO offered a deal in which anyone could bring a 2015 Browns ticket stub to E.J. Thomas Hall, and the staff handed off one seat to the Dec. 11 holiday pops show, conducted by music director Christopher Wilkins.

Gospel get-together. The ASO continued its 23-year tradition of “Gospel Meets Symphony,” bringing “together talent from all over the region and makes us one community year after year.”

Brain music. The group brought psychiatrist and pianist Richard Kogan for a “Music and the Mind” concert in February. Kogan performed and lectured about creativity, the brain and the dark side of creative genius.

Crowdsourced creativity. The ASO helped to create a sonic phenomenon with composer Clint Needham for Sounds of Akron, a symphony using sound submissions from the public. It premieres April 16 at E.J. Thomas Hall.