Back to the original premise:
> 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.
I have run into this dilemma trying to program early music as a
board member for a small-town local non-profit that presents a
series of "classical" music concerts. The attitude of violinists,
etc.
who prefer Brahms seems to be one of disdain for EM.
While concert attendance in our community is totally unpredictable,
these board members are all too ready to point to "lutes" as an
example of low numbers, even though there have been lower
numbers for 19th and 20th century concerts. ( ... never mind the
blizzard or sub-zero temperatures that probably had an impact! )
Some on this board have even put forth the notion that "duos don't
draw audience, but trios or more will". There is absolutely no hard
data to support this, but they believe it anyway, even though one of
their pet performers (that happens to play a lot of Brahms)
consistently draws well and is - a duo!
Absurd, and one reason that I stepped down from that board.
How can the early music community begin to change these perceptions?
Tom Draughon
Heartistry Music
www.heartistry.com
Chris Wilke wrote:
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
Tom Draughon
Heartistry Music
http://www.heartistrymusic.com/artists/tom.html
714 9th Avenue West
Ashland, WI 54806
715-682-9362
--
To get on or off this list see list information at
http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
