A number of people have asked me to be more specific about ensembles, so here I will elaborate.
Just to keep interest in future blog posts, I will be focusing next on maximizing configuration, e.g. free-standing school within an urban area, school within a university, and so forth.
Maintaining a full-sized symphony orchestra is strangling a number of smaller music schools. The human effort and amount of scholarship money dedicated to enroll oboists, bassoonist, violists (violists, too) and bass players are substantially taking away from the teaching and nurturing of music. This draining of resources to maintain orchestras will have a long-term detrimental effect on music in our society. It may already have had this effect.
Some schools can maintain orchestras, by dint of their size, endowment and reputation, but others cannot. And, if one looks at the successful trends in classical music performance today, the eclectic ensemble is gaining prominence, and market share. Shouldn’t these smaller music schools transition to a chamber music/eclectic ensemble focus, and devote their resources to the making and teaching of music, not the crazy stressfulness of enrolling specific instrument players? And, I would think these schools could field a semi-pro orchestra two or three times a year to play traditional full orchestra repertoire – at much less expense that what it takes to enroll a first-class bassoonist.
All for today – –
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