| Zeb,
Ed is off gallavanting about the globe as is his want and asked us to keep an eye on things. That's why I'm answering in his collumn about this particular subject.
The symphony orchestra is undergoing a set of changes in philosophy. How are they going to approach fund raising, young person's concerts, outreach to an evolving American public and the huge immigrant population that has little knowledge of traditional classical music, programming of new music... many things. The orchestras that are doing okay are looking at those changes and reacting.
As long as we continue to teach our children about classical music and get them involved by putting instruments in their hands along with baseball gloves, slide rules, paint brushes, telescopes, and history books we'll be fine.
We try to compare ourselves with European models and that's folly. Europe is where the bulk of what we play comes from and we relate to that music as Johnny-come-latelies relatively speaking. That music is part of their culture just as jazz is part of ours. The point is, we have to learn to develop our own culture of enjoying, selling, promoting, teaching. It all boils down to financial support. I'm not a fan of supporting professional arts performances through government subsidies. It's artificial and the public doesn't learn to support it other than with ticket sales. That's not enough. Ones heart has to be invested in music for it to thrive not just survive. We need more corporate examples like Texaco who, for years, brought us the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts my MYS students listen to on saturdays after Youth Symphony rehearsals. See what I mean, how it all links together? That's what I mean by selling.
Huge, huge subject and this is just one viewpoint. The bottom line is that I have the utmost faith that orchestras will be around for us to play in but we still have to practice and get the gigs.
ML |