After a couple weeks trying to think outside the box about the future of orchestral performance in America (without getting too ridiculous about it), I kinda couldn’t take it any more. Was this just an exercise in futility? Was the case of the modern-day symphony just so screwed up that it could never be fixed? My psychic’s line was busy, so I asked Google for a prognosis. Based on my highly unscientific analysis of search results for things that are dead, I feel that while it may be true that someone bludgeoned the orchestra with a candlestick in the library while no one was listening, such thinking might also just be a distraction from the real challenges facing these ensembles while adding drama to conversations at cocktail parties. As it turns out, lots of popular things are also dead. A sampling:
Paul is dead.
God is dead.
Fun is dead.
Print is dead.
Ska is dead.
Blogging is dead (again).
Humor is dead.
Irony is dead.
“Authentic” is dead.
Privacy is dead.
Jazz is dead (commercially).
The internet is dead (as an investment).
Joking pushed aside a smidge, much of the conversation about the survival of the orchestra evolved hand-in-hand with chatter about its relevance to contemporary audiences. I was thinking about this when I saw the Green Day clip from the TONY awards: modern audience expectations and values, the appreciation for uniqueness of voice vs virtuosity, and um (love or hate the bravado required in the example above) stage presence. Even the Broadway performers as compared with the band were a striking illustration of the situation…no wonder people are confused/let down when 80 musicians of exceptional skill fail to deliver the whollop that five guys, some electrical appliances, and a sophisticated light board can generate in 30 seconds. I’m not talking about quality, I’m talking about the connection that has to happen first or the rest is neither here nor there. Can the orchestra get there while preserving its core mission/ideals? How?
Well, as we cruise into the grand finale of the orchestra r/evolution, the League is getting very American Idol about the festivities and is inviting the general public to steer the opening day conversations of the gathered orchestra administrators in Atlanta. Do your part to influence the future. Vote now.
It’s the challenge of technology. Anyone can be a performer now, with today’s software and connectivity. Orchestras have to compete with computer-generated surrogates (Broadway touring orchestras are mostly electronic, film composers don’t need orchestras to generate orchestral scores) and bands. Bands have to compete with DJs. DJs have to compete with consumers who have been empowered by iTunes and other music services, legal and illegal. Radio hosts have less clout as connoisseurs, with all the avenues available now to consumers. I believe orchestras will have to embrace multimedia. Live accompaniment for classic films has been popular. Opera and interpretive dancers enhance the experience. Light shows, anyone? Eclectic younger composers, who have embraced elements of jazz, pop, ethnomusicology, including improvisational solos, should be nurtured. Avant-garde ideas, where handheld devices of the concertgoers are integrated into the performance, might attract the young, who prefer interaction. There are many possibilities. Unfortunately, the days of polite, passive listening are numbered.