TMers,
GordonH makes a very compelling statement over in the Orchestra/Solo/Chamber Music room in the thread entitled foreign players:
“Where I live we have very high standards of brass playing. Kids start learning as soon as their second teeth come in. They can't learn strings or woodwind till they are twelve, anyone with musical ability gets put into brass classes. Our local youth brass band have been European champions several times and make commercial recordings. There are a dozen (or more) cornet players in my small town who can play all the solos out of the back of the arban in concert or competition.”
I live in a fairly affluent town in New Hampshire that boasts a prestigious Ivy League college. The median income here is $72,470, and the median income for a family is $99,158. In spite of our wealth we don’t have a trumpet teacher in the area and I don’t know of a decent one within 100 miles. I’m on the road, as many of you know, far too often to take local students, and thus those who wish to have private lessons turn to the local band director who used to play the trombone. I’ve discussed the erosion of American culture briefly with a number of candidates over the past month (they appear like rabbits anticipating next week’s primary). All agree that it’s a problem, but most are focused on larger issues: health care, general education, the war, and the economy. I’m not anticipating change from Washington anytime soon. Change will have to be sparked from within.
Gordon’s statement, in my opinion, well summarizes the great cultural divide between America and many other places in our world. I remember being astonished at the level of 18 year old applicants when I taught at the Royal Academy of Music (London) in the 90’s. We rarely had to teach the nuts and bolts of trumpet technique there (except natural trumpet – a required class for all), leaving a clear path towards concentrating on musical matters.
Related to this discussion is a point made by Manny some time ago here when he remarked that you couldn’t turn the television on when he and I were growing up in the 60’s without hearing great trumpet playing. Here are a few examples of cartoon and sitcom scores:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94x9RO8JgTA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBno9rWZhnU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUV3da9hV_8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVwFADi4Y38
I’m sure that some of you could nominate countless others. Take a careful listen today and tell me what you find.
Music education resonates far beyond the concert stages -- please read these salient points
http://www.menc.org/information/advocate/facts.html and yet, as we all know, funding has been eroding tremendously over the past thirty years and amateur organizations, such as those found in the UK, have rarely been able to fill the American breach.
What can we, as a musical community, do? Please discuss.
Best,
EC