Posted by Jason on June 18, 2000 at 02:01:30:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Who is he? posted by Jay Bertolet on June 16, 2000 at 15:02:09:
"...a dinosaur waiting to become extinct." Boy, how many times have I considered changing my major from music to engineering. I have extremely enjoyed this thread. It has opened my eyes to many things that I had previously just put off in the back of my head. All these issues are very pertinant to todays musician, especially those of us who play classical music.
I agree, we should find some way to broaden our base of listeners. With all the hubbub we hear about getting arts in the schools today you would think there would be a resurgence of interest in the classical art form. I did a research paper last year on the dicline in popularity of classical music over the past few years. Boy has it declined. I can't recall any stats right off hand but from all the info I could find, sales of recordings has dropped and attendance of public performances has decreased.
However, I did find some hope in the efforts of orchestras, like the St. Louis Symphony under Leonard Slatkin, sending some of its members out into the schools to educate kids about what we do. There are also other organizations that are making similar efforts to educate the public and revive what we may call "real" music.
But realistically, are we beating a dead horse? The age we live in is changing so rapidly and modern conveniences are making music something you push a button for. I wonder if what I am persuing as a career really IS "a dinosaur waiting to become extinct."
It's next to impossible to get two degrees, one being in music.
Now, I didn't mean to ramble on and get everybody down in the dumps about the future of playing the tuba, but I'm just making a little reality check and agreeing with what Jay has already said so well. I ended up taking a bit of a pesimistic(sp?) view point without realizing it. I hope we find a way to get people interested again in what we have to offer.
-Jason "I'll not have many friends after this" Harrell