How Tuba Players Are Going To Save Classical Music

[Drew McManus]

Just a note to the tuba players here about an article I’m writing for my column at Arts Journal. The piece is entitled “How Tuba Players Are Going To Save Classical Musicâ€

[Mark]

When I read your post, the fiist thing I thought of was a talk that Gene Porkorny gave at the the Big Brass Bash a couple of years ago.

He said that it was up to us to keep society interested in music. He believed that one way to do this was to encourage everyone, especially children, to play an instrument (preferably tuba [my addition]).

[Stefan Kac]

Orchestra concerts are often static experiences; you sit, listen, and go home. Patrons are kept at arms length from the performers who create the art and are not provided the tools to develop any real confidence in feeling comfortab le with judging what they are listening to.
In the end, I would like to see the inclusive environment, much like that at tuba conventions, become infused into the standard orchestra concert experience. I want people attending orchestra concerts to feel c omfortable with what they know and realize that the orchestra hall is an environment where they can feel comfortable learning about classical music. In turn, this will all help move classical music back into the cultural consciousness.

I guess I never before considered the fact that I actually like orchestra concerts the way they are. No beer being spilled on your jacket, no cheerleaders running around, etc. etc. Most every proposal people throw out there to "save" classical music involves introducing something extramusical to the concertgoing experience. Why? If we who create the music decide that it's not good enough to stand on its own, how can we take ourselves seriously? If you feel excluded as an audience member, you are missing the point (granted, I understand that a vast majority of the American public IS missing the point, hence the debate, but the root of this problem has much more to do with factors OUTSIDE of classical music than those INSIDE of it. The concertgoing experience hasn't changed significantly in a couple hundred years. Why is it no longer good enough for new generations of listeners?)

Awaiting flames...u e

[Drew McManus]

Stefan, no flames. I think those are valid observations. I should probably clarify that I'm suggesting that you turn the orchestra lobby into a circus so much as making the concert experience more conducive to social interaction and welcoming toward new patrons. If you go to a tuba convention there's always a large number of people that know what's going on but there's no shortage of people that have questions. The good side is that there's always someone willing to tell you what's happening and why it's great.

Awhile back I wrote about starting an orchestra docent program that would begin to establish the same sort of helpful individuals in concert halls: http://www.artsjournal.com/adaptistrati ... html#76306

Thanks to everyone for the feedback so far, it's been very helpful.

Drew

[Chuck(G)]

Back in the days before recorded music and radio and TV, there was far more involvement by the community at large in making music. And any scheme for saving classical music is going to have to involve people who like to make music as well as listen to it.

Consider the situation with some sports. On the face of it, baseball is an incredibly slow-moving boring game with lots of nothing happening much of the time. Yet it's a huge business--mostly due to fans who have played Little League or even sandlot ball.

Here in town, we've got an elderly gentleman who encourages do-it-yourself music. He single-handedly puts on a summer concert series in the park and provides a Saturday afternoon venue for small groups to play. One Saturday it might a dulcimer ensemble or a string quartet, the next an "all comers" gathering sight-reading some Renaissance music with a bewildering variety of instruments (I've doubled the cello on euph on occasion). Some of the allegros may be more andante, but it's great fun and gives folks a chance to play in an informal setting.

What I tell kids about music is this: Playing a musical instrument is one of the very few acceptable means of self-expression left in our world. Increasingly, the emphasis of our society is on passive consumption--go home and watch the tube and stuff your face seems to be all too common today. I suspect some think that attending a symphony concert is just a variation on the same thing. Indeed, even the applause seems to be automatic.

So, if your idea of classical music is packing a 2500-seat hall with the orchestra off in the distance, good luck. But if you think that classical music is about making music whatever one's skill level, there may yet be hope, tuba players notwithstanding.

[Mark]

Indeed, even the applause seems to be automatic.

Even standing ovations! I can only remeber a few performaces in recent times when the audience did not give a standing ovation. I can remember even fewer performance that actually deserved one.

[Mark]

I went to see Blast! a couple of years ago. One of the best things they did was to send a group of percussionists out into the lobby at intermission and have them play in the middle of the crowd.

I liked this so much that, at our next orchestra concert, I got permission to go out into the lobby during intermission and play show tunes on my tuba. It was a big hit and our orchestra has been sending individual musicians and small ensembles into the masses at nearly every concert since then.

BTW, we set up a donation box near where the musician(s) are playing and donations have increased.

[Rick Denney]

Most every proposal people throw out there to "save" classical music involves introducing something extramusical to the concertgoing experience. Why? If we who create the music decide that it's not good enough to stand on its own, how can we take ourselves seriously?

During my musical development, I was exposed to a variety of classical and other forms of music. The first classical music I like was Beethoven and Tschaikovsky, and then only the most accessible of their works. I can now enjoy a far greater range of orchestral styles, but I have to say it is an acquired taste.

For most of us, the first beer we drank was bitter. It took a bit of practice to get past that first impression.

One of the things that helps make some progress through the learning curve is some explanation of what is going on and why. We understand this because we have some musical training, but we can't depend on building an audience if we assume that all audience members have that training.

Many orchestras provide a pre-concert presentation by either the music director or one of his assistants, and in my experience these were poorly advertised but reasonably well attended and appreciated. There is a lot of room to incorporate some musical learning experiences into the concert-going process.

We sophisticates hate verbal discussion during the concert, but I'll bet there is a way to provide it without we sophisticates getting in the way. For example, one of the concerts in the series (Sunday afternoon?) could be the learning concert, where the music director provides discussion interspersed with the performances.

Of course, lots of maestros are as bad at verbal presentation as they are good at musical presentation, but surely there are available stand-ins.

One thing is for sure: You can't present a concert of Bartok to classical-music beginners and expect them to "get it." It takes a more comprehensive strategy.

Another item is even more sure: Knowing about music is part and parcel to appreciating it. Therefore, I disagree with the notion that learning about music is "extra-musical".

Rick "who thinks the average football fan knows far more about football than the average concert-goer knows about music (but still the football game comes with discussion), and this knowledge is key to enjoyment" Denney

[TubaRay]

"I guess I never before considered the fact that I actually like orchestra concerts the way they are. No beer being spilled on your jacket, no cheerleaders running around, etc. etc. Most every proposal people throw out there to "save" classical music involves introducing something extramusical to the concertgoing experience. Why? If we who create the music decide that it's not good enough to stand on its own, how can we take ourselves seriously?"

No beer? No cheerleaders? Now I believe I understand why orchestras are having such a difficult time financially. Unfortunately, there is some seriousness in my questions. These things, like it or not, sell. To address the "why" above, the "why" is because there are not enough of us who like that purity, to be able to pay all the bills. We need the financial help from those on the fringe.

To put this another way, I will draw from my experience as a school band director. If I gear my program in such a way as to attract only those students who are REALLY into music, I don't have enough people to fill the band. So we have a band trip, pizza parties, etc., so that we can attract those on the fringe. They like band OK. It just isn't enough to persuade them to participate unless there are some other benefits. As for me, the band director would have had to fight me to keep me away, but I was a special case.

Back to the orchestra, if we "purists" will give a little for those that need it, perhaps they will help pay for the orchestras of our country to continue to exist. I am willing to compromise a little. I am not ready for the cheerleaders, yet.

[Chuck(G)]

No beer? No cheerleaders? Now I believe I understand why orchestras are having such a difficult time financially. Unfortunately, there is some seriousness in my questions. These things, like it or not, sell. To address the "why" above, the "why" is because there are not enough of us who like that purity, to be able to pay all the bills. We need the financial help from those on the fringe.

Which puts me in mind of Peter Schickele's "New Horizons in Music" where there's a blow-by-blow sportscast of a Beethoven Fifth performance, complete with a referee, time-outs and a penalty box.

Some beer and hot dogs would be just the thing...

[Leland]

I played 2nd tuba in Symphony Fantastique in a concert in the middle of Nebraska, and the first half was this ridiculously obtuse flute concerto.

The whole thing could have been a bore for the audience, but the conductor prepared them very well, giving insight into what they were about to hear, the context of the pieces, and the composers themselves. He never sounded pompous, but was genuinely enthusiastic, and gave the audience the impression that everyone on stage, including himself, was enjoying what we were about to do.

The crowd loved the whole thing.

Mark's mention of Blast!'s "Jamitors", and his subsequent suggestion of bringing musicians into the lobby, seems reminiscent of when people would play music for family at home.

The gap between the brightly-lit stage and the dark seats can get pretty wide, sometimes feeling like the audience is watching a movie. Getting out there, close enough to shake hands, is certainly a way to close that chasm. It definitely works for the Canadian Brass.

[Steve Marcus]

...the world of orchestral music has grown colder and excluding toward its patrons, as though they willingly want them to feel stupid or incapable of understanding classical music. Orchestra concerts are often static experiences; you sit, listen, and go home. Patrons are kept at arms length from the performers who create the art and are not provided the tools to develop any real confidence in feeling comfortable with judging what they are listening to.

This scenario is more reminiscent of the big city orchestras than the "regional" professional orchestras. The very nature of the regional orchestras is such that they exist to cater to the local/suburban clientele. They do so through more convenient venues, free parking, interesting and affordable subscription programs, etc.--but NOT by compromising the musical quality or integrity.

In the Chicago area, there are several fine professional regional orchestras that consist of excellent freelance musicians. Most of these orchestras attract a healthy audience and are relatively strong financially, despite the fact that their ticket prices are far below those of the CSO.

Consider the situation with some sports. On the face of it, baseball is an incredibly slow-moving boring game with lots of nothing happening much of the time. Yet it's a huge business--mostly due to fans who have played Little League or even sandlot ball.

To the credit of Deborah Card and the current CSO administration, there is a strong movement to make the CSO more community-friendly. This may have led to the departure of Maestro Barenboim, along with his vitriolic comments about the state of the arts in America. But the next Music Director of the CSO won't just blow into town twice a year for a few weeks of "residency." Instead, he/she will actively promote the CSO as "Chicago's orchestra," just as the Cubs and White Sox belong to Chicagoans. After all, that's what the regional orchestras' conductors do to great success. And it doesn't detract from the musical product!

[Tubainsauga]

I believe the reason that classical music seems to be in decline is the fact that it has become largely static. We seem to be revisiting that classics without giving any new music a try. I remember reading an interview with Eric Whitacre (btw, he is my personal favorite composer) and he said that he really wanted to write for strings in an orchestral setting but because of the nature of modern orchestras, they would be played once and never played again.

Perhaps, if we start to give more room for new music, people we be more interested.

(Also, the most interesting part of a live performance in my mind is often the introductions to a piece. They can pique peoples interest and that one little tidbit of information can keep an audience member interested.)

[tubalex]

You wouldn't believe how much the concert going experience has changed in the past 200 years...

look, the idea of having a regularly performing orchestra for the public first started in the courts (regularly performing) and then in theatres around europe following the french revolution and the rise of the middle class (for the public).

the Messiah was just about the first mass performance piece, requiring a larger hall an enabling a larger audience than the courts had been enabling. this work was a major exception to the rule.

by the end of the 19th century, following a relatively peaceful time, even including the bloody unification of germany, the viennese public was simply not going to hear the philharmonic. why? for the most part, because the concerts were subscrption, and the seats were too expensive, and too elusive to buy. the concerts were almost never packed because they were subscription, and the people who could afford these could also afford to go only when they felt like it. the philharmonic gave very few "public" concerts, that is, non-subcription with cheap seats. the public didn't come even to these. why? because the programming didn't actually appeal to the uneducated classes.

about this time there were "volksconcerte" being organized outdoors in vienna. historical accounts of these include much snacking and drinking and talking, and only the sweeping music of Bruckner, not the intricate music of Brahms, could get these laypeople to put down their plates and listen for a bit. I will not get into the huge topic of what music "for the people" really is, but lets just say that there have been hundreds of views expressed and many times when classical music, GREAT classical music, wasn't coming off as entertaining as well as vaudeville, movies or rock concerts.

but that's not the point, is it? Haydn and Mozart were writing for a specific audience. Although their music can generally be appreciated by uneducated people, there is an element of form and transcendence in listening which only comes with a familiarity with the language of music. even though Beethoven did manage to get out of the music on demand type of composing, his works are still vastly more interesting to someone who can follow sonata form, modulations and motivic development and recall, than to someone who likes the ode to joy and doesn't get why B9 doesn't end after the chorus sings.

at the end of WWII the military band program had expanded greatly, and upon returing home the indigenous band programs increased along with it. This led to the band programs dwarfing the orchestral programs in our schools. I enjoy bands, but the literature is different, and a generation raised on sousa is not going to first and foremost want to go hear John Adams or even Bartok and then have a lively discussion about the progress of music from an educated, understanding view point.

so that, along with soloist and conductor fees, has helped put us where we are. I for one believe that the system used all over europe, where the government helps fund so many orchestras with the same sense of duty as funding libraries, is a system which is more suited to an enlightened and progressive society.

we should never have to denegrate art to the point that people who are incapable of appreciating a very complicated thought, are suddenly pleased right off the bat. early in the romantic age the composer became like a priest of society. music led people, and the people who chose to be led for more than an hour grew, the audience grew and in some areas fantasic support came and is still lasting to this day.

oh boy, could I go on.

I'm trying to get together an article myself, on the development and puropose of beauty in music from the baroque to the 20th century. It will be published in a couple journals and I hope it will serve as a sideways dry run for my dissertation. My major is performance, but my two minors are music history and baroque aesthetics. I've discovered, among other things, that the questiong of the death of the orchestral audience in america is a very complicated one. let's just make sure we are making the most thought-out and progressive decisions we can, when we decide alternatives to letting the art stand for itself.

flame on, ladies and gents.

-Alex Lapins

[Drew McManus]

Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to write in with their point of view and observations. I think eveyone will be very pleased once the article is published.

In the meantime, please don't hesitate to send something my way if you ahve a thought about all of this.

Drew McManus