Brass Musician has a very good article today on a particular skill that will take performers far: being adaptable in classical music.
I often forget that simply discussing music with other musicians brings me great joy. Today I found myself discussing what makes performances successful and worthwhile in our ever-changing society and culture.
The focus we found ourselves revolving around was the performance of classical music in a small recital setting, and what turns out to be applicable for other larger classical settings.
Different genres
For every genre of music there is a sub-culture that follows and enjoys it. It seems a goal that classical and jazz musicians have aside from growing in popularity or getting a more musically fulfilling gig, is to bridge the gap between people who don’t listen to classical (and jazz) music and those who already enjoy it.
There seems to be a bigger push in the past 15 or so years to try and make classical music more popular (as there has always been, really). The fact is, there are people that are not going to like any sort of classical music–that is true of any genre.
Classical music – traditions
How do we get non-classical music listeners to enjoy (or at least open up to) classical music? We need to be more adaptable performers, and to be a performer, solo or ensemble, big or small, is to adapt to changing culture and redefine what it means to be a performer.
What do you see when you go to an orchestra concert? You see well-dressed attendees and clapping only after the end of pieces, the orchestra taking bows, and a traditionally strict sense of guidelines to which the audience is supposed to adhere.
best of luck to you