ProAm

Now this is what I perceive the problem to be. Classical music requires thought and study. Our schools today seem to be more concerned with "how do you feel about this" rather than teaching students how to think.

(I'm somewhat biased because I taught high school math for a while. Math is like playing an instrument in this regard - it takes hands-on practice. Which takes time and effort.)

For the vast majority of the high school students that I saw, effort was not on their "To Do" list. And it was not required for most of their courses, either.

It's much easier to listen to Britney or Eminem than Schubert.

I think we need to increase exposure. Free concerts in schools or malls; many of the big symphonies do this during the summer. But it's tough to find the money for this -- players in lesser symphonies rarely make enough to live on and the symphony association itself usually doesn't have any extra money. You really can't expect the players who are barely making ends meet to volunteer their time.

You need money to develop an audience and you need an audience to create revenue...