The Symphonic Dilemna
I went to the symphony often while I was growing up. I was very lucky that my teacher was in the Oregon Symphony and my mom and I were often the recipient of her comp tickets. One of the stories my mom likes to tell of my childhood is the time we went to the symphony and I leaned over the railing of the dress circle to exclaim, "MOM! Look at that cellist! He has no hair!"
I still frequent the symphony- not as much as I would like but more than most of my peers who are at my age and place in life. When I go, I always look for the kid, the mini-me, who is hanging precariously over the railing looking for the man with a cello and a shiny noggin. Instead I look around and see a beautiful concert hall filled with beautiful people largely over the age of 50.
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, home of the Oregon Symphony, in downtown Portland, OR (12/11/14)
So where are all the kids, the me's from 15 years ago? Where are all my peers who I grew up in youth orchestra with? Where are all the young professionals in the prime of their life getting their weekly dose of culture and discovering their tastes? Where are all the young parents in their forties bringing their kids to the symphony to share their love of music with the next generation? Where is everyone???
Those of you who know me personally know that I have struggled with many parts of my upbringing. There were so many moments where I couldn't figure out if my background was a blessing or a curse. This is the journey of a first generation only child, whose parents were almost 40 by the time the child was born. There's a culture gap and a generation gap, all on top of being an only daughter. I have spent many nights lying awake pitying myself and criticizing my parents; I still struggle with certain conversations and events. (This could be a whole post in itself) However, after many years and many late night venting sessions with my close friends, along with perspective that only time and experience can bring, I can honestly look back and say that my parents did everything they truly believed they could toward my best interests. Getting back to the topic at hand, one of the things that I am most grateful for is their constant willingness to expose me to the arts. I don't know if it would have been the same without my teacher's comp tickets, but fortunately I'll never have to find out. They took me to the ballet, they took me to all the Christmas programs they could find, and obviously, they took me to the symphony.
So when I ask, "where is everyone?" I have to remember that my perspective is unique in so many ways. Though my parents never took me camping, they were willing to camp out in line to see my favorite violinist perform. Though they never got me tickets to see Britney, or Christina, or even the Backstreet Boys (whom I didn't actually know existed at that time anyway), they would happily get me tickets to the Oregon Ballet Theatre's Nutcracker every year. Though I had never been allowed to go to a movie theater before the age of 11, by that point, I had already played my first solo on the stage of the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (not to talk about the number of concerts I had attended). I still get a sense of peace when I walk into the lobby of the Schnitz as if I'm coming home. It's where I would go to find the bald cellist, and my inspiration. And I would walk out after a show tired and ready for bed with the emotional satisfaction I can only find in live music.
My happy place- eagerly anticipating an Oregon Symphony performance of Prokofiev's "Cinderella" at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (11/3/14)
Now I may have just been the weird kid. But I LOVED going to the symphony. I have no idea if that is something that one is born with or if that is cultivated. However, I have never seen a child not appreciate hearing Orpheus in the Underworld. Even adults will bop their heads in time. My parents clearly made it a priority to take that compulsion and transform it into love for live performance.
When I look up the synonyms of the word "symphony" on the Merriam-Webster Thesaurus website, these are some of the words I find: balance, coherence, concinnity, consonance, symmetry, and unity. Now I'm not actually familiar with concinnity so I looked it up and it is defined as: "harmony or elegance of design especially of literary style in adaptation of parts to a whole or each other."
These are all such beautiful concepts. I know that the word symphony doesn't refer solely to the group of people on a stage, so I'm going to ignore that very literal definition for a moment. These words are positive concepts that any orchestra is proud to embody. None of these are achieved without respecting each other, listening to each other's differences, and agreeing upon how to use each unique person or talent as part of a whole. When you play in an orchestra, you learn to lead and learn to follow. You learn to be responsible for your own playing while also doing what the conductor suggests. You learn how complex human emotion is and how important it is to communicate those feelings. So why, why are more parents not emphasizing music classes then complaining of children who don't respect their classmates? Why are school districts cutting fine arts education and then wondering why their students don't feel a commitment to keeping up their grades and test scores? Why, as a society, are we so willing to accept that music education is an unnecessary expense then question why our children, the next generation, are unable to empathize with their neighbor, feel compassion, or express negative emotions without violence?
The Oregon Symphony taking a bow at a children's concert featuring "Peter and the Wolf" at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (4/19/15)
I believe that the orchestras are doing a lot to attract the younger generations. I see more young soloists, more programming of recognizable music, and more children's concerts than ever before. This past spring, I watched a performance of "Peter and the Wolf" like none I had ever seen before. The story of Peter is a classic that I grew up on. I had it in picture book form which came with a CD that had the narration and the music. I listened to it almost as religiously as I watched the VHS of the Nutcracker every Christmas season. But the version that the Oregon Symphony presented for their children's concert in April was incredible! And, get this: the hall was sold out. Completely! That tells me that there are enough young people who want to go to the symphony.
The thing about young people, though, is that there usually has to be an older person with the younger person. How many parents, older siblings and mentors are willing to put in the effort dedicated to going to a live performance? Besides the cost of the ticket, it requires transportation, scheduling of activities around the event (homework, meals, soccer games, etc.), arrangements for other children, dressier clothes for most, and, possibly the hardest sacrifice, turning off electronic devices for close to 2 hours. To quote a viral YouTube video, "Ain't nobody got time for that!"
I don't know about you but I think we've GOT to make time for this! Our kids are growing up in a society where they don't get to experience the transformative power of music because we are too busy worrying about which profile picture is going to get us the most likes. I think we can all agree that our civilization is getting less civilized. We as a generation need to redefine our culture. I truly believe that we can find the answer to harmony in society through music and the concepts it lends itself to- and there's no better place to start exploring than the symphony.
So have you been to the symphony lately? Or the ballet? Or any live fine arts performance that utilizes a group mentality? I can't promise you'll be "converted" the first time you go. There are even times that I attend a concert after which I walk out a bit dissatisfied. But do you stop watching movies because one doesn't make you laugh as much as you expected? Do you stop listening to a singer just because one of their albums falls short? Do you give up on an author just because they didn't take the story line in the direction you thought it should go? No, you, I, we all go back, optimistic, hoping for something new and improved. So though I can't make any predictions about your first try, I can promise that you will find your genre of classical music. And when you do, it will change your life. I challenge you to go look for the most accessible orchestra near you. Look for the cellist with a little too much baby oil on his head. And maybe, just maybe, you'll discover a little more about humanity along the way.
The Portland sign at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, in Portland, OR (9/20/14)