I’d gladly shell out $50 to see a U2 concert, if only I could afford it when they’re around. However, as a classical pianist (on the side) myself, I too am saddened to see the rapid decline of interest in all things symphonic and orchestral. I see an emerging trend in high school concert bands to perform soundtracks instead of symphonic works, and even many of the local semi-professional or college groups throw an increasing number of pops pieces into their concerts at strategic times for the sole purpose of drawing and maintaining a crowd. Sadly, even the public radio station that my radio picks up spends far more of the day recapping the traffic on I-95 than playing music.
One thing I’ve tried to do to combat the trend of increasing disinterest in classical music in my students is to play something that fits the mood while they’re reading, or working in groups, or writing in journals. I’ve noticed that they seem to focus a lot better with just a little bit of background noise, and several of them have actually asked for recommendations of good cd’s to buy. There is hope yet!
Kris
Oct 22 2003
05:39 am
I’d gladly shell out $50 to see a U2 concert, if only I could afford it when they’re around. However, as a classical pianist (on the side) myself, I too am saddened to see the rapid decline of interest in all things symphonic and orchestral. I see an emerging trend in high school concert bands to perform soundtracks instead of symphonic works, and even many of the local semi-professional or college groups throw an increasing number of pops pieces into their concerts at strategic times for the sole purpose of drawing and maintaining a crowd. Sadly, even the public radio station that my radio picks up spends far more of the day recapping the traffic on I-95 than playing music.
One thing I’ve tried to do to combat the trend of increasing disinterest in classical music in my students is to play something that fits the mood while they’re reading, or working in groups, or writing in journals. I’ve noticed that they seem to focus a lot better with just a little bit of background noise, and several of them have actually asked for recommendations of good cd’s to buy. There is hope yet!