“Classical music is very, very much alive.... ”

"....But it is going to demand that people think about it creatively.”  Thus said conductor Michael Tilson Thomas as he continues to defy many current trends and attracts audiences to sometimes thorny programs offered by the San Francisco Symphony, which he has led since 1995.  The eternally youthful 66-year-old maestro is also the founder and artistic director of Miami's New World Symphony, an orchestral academy for gifted young musicians.

His modus of thinking creatively includes using, rather than eschewing the modern technologies that are a part of our daily lives.  An August article in the NY Times, seen in its entirety here, notes that Mr. Tilson Thomas believes that "today’s digital media constitute a magnificent tool for amplifying the universal messages of classical music."

He has some very good ideas that are working within his sphere of influence.  Would it be that other conductors and musical organizations might be so embracing of the world around them rather than shunning it.