Monday, May 13, 2013

...To Put On A Circus

"Perhaps we should mourn a little that good music, well played, is no longer enough to draw audiences". This is something I've been talking about for a while with people that I meet. It was Eric Harrison of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette said yesterday in his review for the final pops concert of the Arkansas Symphony.

The concert was a great one, Cirque de la Symphonie, but it is sad to see that the fullest house outside of the ritualistic Christmas concert is the one where the music is showcased the least. What has happened to cause such a drop in live symphony concert attendance?

It's not the high prices. A symphony ticket will cost you $15-$30 while a pop rock concert will cost you nigh $100 or over.

It's not the time or day. Symphony concerts offer Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons.

It's not the lack of recognizable literature. You've all heard portions of this music in commercials, cartoons, restaurants, etc.

It's not the dress code. Symphonies now put on concerts like Beethoven and Blue Jeans so feel free to come as dressed down as you like.

It's not the lack of skill and preparation to behold on stage. These musicians on stage have trained their entire lives and rehearsed individually for weeks and together multiple times to put on just one show.

It's not that there are too few performances. Some symphonies perform every week, some every month, but they perform many months of the year so finding a concert is not difficult.

It is...Necessary to mourn. (click to read the article)

But it's also necessary to inspire our younger generations to appreciate classical music past and present. It's not all written by dead people. There are living composers whose works are premiered today! Take your children, your nieces and nephews, your neighbors' children, buy tickets for children at your local school or church. Spread the love and joy that classical music from yesterday and today can bring to the lives of the upcoming generations.

Let's mourn and then let's renew our spirits and rekindle the fire lost; lest it die away and be lost forever.


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