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October 10, 2008
The Unsung Success of Classical Music?
Sometimes I'm afraid it's much too easy to get sucked into the pessimism surrounding the current financial state of arts organizations. In the past year, multiple smaller orchestras have declared bankruptcy or have acknowledged huge losses and shrinking budgets. But is this true across the board? Is there still hope out there for the future of classical music? Or is it a dying art, with audiences getting increasing smaller and older?
In his article in the WSJ, Leon Botstein paints a very positive picture for future orchestras, accompanied by a few suggestions for success. As someone who frequently attends concerts, either by the Detroit Symphony or various groups brought in by the University Musical Society, from La Philharmonia de la Scala to the San Francisco Symphony, I acknowledge that yes, audiences are made up mostly of older adults, but they always have been-this is not a new trend. And at the UMS concerts here, one can find a plethora of students drawn in not only by decreased ticket prices but by the value of hearing the phenomenal groups live. The same goes for the DSO, which is pioneering a new ticketing program for anyone under 37, allowing them to get fantastic seats for just $11 to almost any concert. By eliminating the issue of price, both organizations are able to show that there is an intrinsic demand for high quality live music, it just has to be accessible.
Botstein's early examples in the article of packed concerts involve places like Vienna-where classical music is not an adults-only tradition, but one that has been embraced by the general public for hundreds of years. What we have to do is translate that appreciation to the US. There are more musicians than ever-certainly more than could ever get jobs in good orchestras, even with the increase in orchestras, and to me, that says that classical music can thrive, it just needs to get through financial issues and find innovative ways to get beyond budget constraints caused by slacking ticket sales. It's encouraging to see someone so well-respected with a positive outlook on the future, which makes it much easier for me to keep one as well.
Posted by srelder at 04:25 PM | Comments (0)
October 05, 2008
Welcome!
Finally, Arts Enterprise is represented in the world of blogs! If you haven't heard of our exciting organization, we're a fairly new group on the University of Michigan campus that strives to bring together the arts and business. My name is Stephanie Elder, and I am currently the Director of Membership for AE and also take part in the planning of Beyond Talent Workshops (or BTWs) that seek to inform music students of unique career opportunities and pathways through workshops and lectures from speakers all over the country. As an extension of this mission, I thought it would be great to point members to interesting articles involving the arts and AE's mission on this blog.
The great thing about Arts Enterprise is that it deals with such a wide array of topics-anything is fair game! We are interesting in anything that involves using both sides of the brain, trying to forge a connection between The Art of Business and the Business of Art. So I will be on the look out for articles (ArtsJournal anyone?) that are interesting or thought-provoking and share some of my thoughts. I'd love to hear yours as well so please leave comments! Also, I'm always open to suggestions and links to stories I may have missed. Enjoy! Below is a picture of members of the exec board, along with Faculty Advisor Mark Clague and University Musical Society President Ken Fischer receiving an award from the Ginsberg Center for "Outstanding Campus Impact" in the Spring of 2008.
Posted by srelder at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)