In America, I haven't found any lack of interest in lute or early music from the broader public. Many people who are intimidated by perceived ritual and stuffy atmosphere of standard classical concerts are drawn in by the look and sound of early instruments. Some marketers have recognized this: early music is quite well represented in classical music station playlists. (I've just been invited to give a one hour interview/lute performance on our local public radio station here in Rochester, for example.) My own solo concerts and performances by the student early music ensembles I've directed have drawn healthy crowds. This is good, but there are larger issues. The problem is lack of support - if not outright hostility - from the "mainstream" classical music establishment. While my perception of what I and other early music performers do is that we play classical music, many, many "official" classical musicians do not share this view. Indeed, at colleges where I was employed, significant public response was ultimately detrimental as it drew the flagrant ire of at least two tenured professors with great influence in the departments. Both of these professors actively petitioned against having any early music performance activities at their respective colleges, ostensibly on the grounds that it distracted students from giving full attention to the "real" program of instruction. (One of the professors had the gaul to tell me to my face, "You're not a real ensemble because you don't play in parts." WTF? The majority of what we performed was renaissance polyphony!) I think they were afraid we were making them look bad. Concerts were not free to the public; box office receipts showed that we were bringing in actual revenue. And maybe, just maybe, my esteemed senior colleagues were jealous also of the fact that students were learning and having fun. Oh well, those professors are still there doing the same old thing and I am still struggling very much to find work years later. Good for them. Chris
Dr. Christopher Wilke D.M.A. Lutenist, Guitarist and Composer www.christopherwilke.com ----- Original Message ----- From: gary <[email protected]> To: lutelist <[email protected]> Cc: Sent: Saturday, August 3, 2013 4:06 AM Subject: [LUTE] Re: general public Lute awareness I got into early music 'cause I hate crowds. My jazz performances were attracting too many people. Of course, you heard about the lutenist who won the lottery. When asked what he was going to do with his winnings, he said, "I'm going to work 'til they run out." Early music, like jazz and chamber music, is a niche market. Upon being asked how one can make money in music, Henry Mancini said, "If you want to make money in music, go into band uniforms." Gary On 2013-08-02 05:17, [1][email protected] wrote: > I have done the same for a small baroque orchestra at the University > of Sao Paulo, USP, > with little gain as well. The group has a lute and a theorbo in it. > Any hints are welcome. > We have thought everything from flash-mobs to pairing music with food, > theater, baroque dance, text, whatever... > So far our biggest hits have been opera and baroque dance, costly > events which we cannot do on a regular basis > due to budget size. > Ernesto Ett > 11-99 242120 4 > 11-28376692 > > > > On 31.07.2013, at 22:46, Bruno Correia <[2][email protected]> wrote: > > Dear members of the list, > > I have been at pains trying to raise interest in our beloved > instrument down here in Brazil. I've given speeches, played solo and > chamber concerts... but despite all efforts the general public and > also > the musicians (professionals or amateurs) simply don't get turned on. > It is a sad fact that the lute and the early music performance > practice did not reach the University here. So we don't exist > academically speaking. > > Would anybody be willing to list some strategies that could be used > to > help disseminate the lute and its repertoire? > -- > Bruno Correia > > Pesquisador autonomo da pratica e interpretac,ao > historicamente informada no alaude e teorba. > Doutor em Praticas Interpretativas pela > Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. > > -- > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > [3]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. mailto:[email protected] 2. mailto:[email protected] 3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
