Posted by Leland on October 24, 2000 at 15:16:45:
In Reply to: Are orchestras dying? posted by Scott Roeder on October 24, 2000 at 07:15:43:
It costs a person a LOT to even imitate an orchestra musician, but not that much to imitate a baseball player. Thousands of people attend baseball games because they themselves know how to throw, catch, hit, and run (even if they can only do it badly), and can identify with the action on the field.
People still talk about the Sousa band these days because they traveled. Do orchestras go on tours? If they do, why do I never hear about them? Why should I even need to ask the question?
And, yes, our best-attended band concert at school was our Sousa-type concert. Go figure.
A whole lot of things to think about, and I don't think the "serious" music culture itself is immune from blame.