Posted by Dragomir on May 05, 2003 at 09:44:36:
In Reply to: Saving orchestras posted by David Mills on May 04, 2003 at 22:28:15:
You know, I'd be happy if mothers would sing to their babies. Some of the band kids I work with know practically NO melodies at all. They grew up with rap. If pop music keeps going the way it's going, classical music will be strictly for the blue- and white-haired geriatric crowd. A "musical instrument" will mean a guitar, keyboard or drums, maybe a sax.
Gene Pokorny made a great point to the tuba younguns at last year's HPNWBBB: Get out with your horn, go to the schools, volunteer and try to reach the kids. It's how you're going ensure your own survival as a musician. To this poster, that was the single most valuable piece of advice offered during the whole weekend.
In a way, a symphony orchestra's like a pro sports team--if the municipality is flush enough to afford one, fine. Otherwise, let supply and demand take care of things. It might well turn out that the symphony orchestra will be come an artifact of 19th century excesses. Maybe we'll eventually get to the point where orchestras exclusively become touring road shows--you know, if this is Tuesday, it must be Peoria. If there's a demand for the music, it'll get filled somehow.
But it seems that we've spent entirely too much more time on developing more professional musicans than we have audiences to hear them. The world really doesn't need any more professional musicians--the supply has far outstripped the demand. What's needed are more amateur musicians and music aficionados who want to listen to the music.