Originally Posted by noonan

My point is that I believe the experience provides the education. And the value in education is not to score high on a standardized test or to be groomed into a valuable consumer of classical music and BMW's. Creating your own contexts and connecting things for yourself is important. Those in outreach are realizing that young audiences are looking at Beethoven in the context of the pop music they are familiar with. Several years ago at Rice, Eric Booth, author of The Everyday Work of Art and consultant for Juilliard's outreach program gave a talk. I inquired whether the best orchestras in this country should really spend their valuable time and talent playing the theme from Disney's Mulan. His reply was that yes they should because film music fits into the comfort zone of many people's contexts. And while you've got them in the seats, find a bridge that connects Mulan to other, less familiar musics. Instead of lecturing about new music to 5th graders, find a way to bridge the familiar to the unfamiliar.
As you let them integrate the new into their current context, you create a much stronger bond in their minds, and yours. This type of learning requires more creativity from teachers and students, exactly what the arts should cultivate.
Using the diversity of musical styles to enrich audience experiences and context will ultimately be more valuable than trying to compete with pop music for market share.