One of my "kids" does (really) good...

Will Roseliep

It seems as though the former members of the Dubuque Youth Symphony with whom I maintain most contact are principal cellists:

• Michael is working for a software firm in the Madison, WI area.
• Margaret is expecting her first child (if she hasn't had it already).
• Emma is deeply involved in the Berklee School in Boston.
• Will is working for WGBH in Boston and is media director for the Cambridge Philharmonic, a small start up led by Emma's husband.

The most wonderful thing is that all are still making music, in some way or another.  I have to think that their shared first teacher, the venerable Sr. Carolyn Schlueter, is looking down with pride.  

Thus it was interesting to read a great article about Will in today's Telegraph Herald.  He just self-published a book, The Libertine's Guide to the Classical Music Revolution.  It's available on Kindle at Amazon.  Not owning the contraption (nor in any particular mood to buy one--I like actually turning pages!), Will sent me a pdf.  It's a good read--a quick read--in which the author takes on the culture and climate that classical music has created and how (basically) we can get out of the rut we've found ourselves in.

From marketing plans borrowed from successful indie and pop labels to ditching the staid dress codes of the nineteenth century, Will isn't afraid to take on anything and everything.  You see, although he openly admits to liking lots of different music, including metal, punk and hip-hop, I sense that his heart resides where mine does:  in the classics.

In the big picture, author Anthony Frenzel notes that there are three lifelines that can help to save the art form.

1.  Changing the way that recorded classical music is consumed.

2.  Making the concert experience more appealing to a wider variety of people.  A colleague from the Quad Cities recently wrote to me:   The problem with symphonies is not the music - it is the presentation. My grandson knows and likes many of the classics, because he grew up with them on TV, in movies, and video games. But you'll never see him at a QCSO concert because of the image the symphony projects, which is entirely foreign to todays' younger people.Why the hell our symphonic musicians must wear tuxedos is way beyond me. To the young, this screams ancient, stuffy behavior that they are simply not interested in. Think about it - what are tuxes for? Formal occasions. Id the music formal? HELL no!  But our symphonies will survive only in the largest population centers, where they will find enough formal-loving folks to stay in business.  Wealth and the elite are what this formality means to the young. And in a culture where many of those who run today's most prestigious, successful companies go to work in jeans, formal occasions suck.At least our conductors have managed to actually talk to and recognize that there is an audience out there, and that helps. But it is far from enough to keep our beloved musical groups alive.If they are to survive, they need to change - and fast!

3. Better preparing classical performers before they enter the professional world.

Will is a fine writer. He has great ideas for groups ranging from the Pumpkin Center Quartet to the Philly Orchestra. I hope that all of them will listen.