Once a month, I attend a classical music performance by the Kansas City Symphony. A sea of gray heads bobs around the lobby, and a few outlier parents tote young children around. This is the scene I witness time and time again as I prepare to enter the concert halls to experience the music I love so dearly–the same music that is slowly and steadily becoming a lost and outdated art.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, orchestras suffered severe losses in revenue and attendance. In San Antonio, orchestral directors were forced to cut annual salaries by nearly a third. While this drop was sudden, orchestral music has been in a steady decline for a long time. Being a pianist and a musician, it is no longer a surprise for me to hear a fellow musician in my youth symphony remark on their disinterest in classical music. Yet it is no coincidence that classical music as a whole is slipping away from young people.
It has everything to do with the narratives we choose to share with one another. Everybody is familiar with certain stigmas about classical music: it is for old people; it is an elitist art. With an average audience that consists of less than 30 percent of people that are under age 40, more steps need to be taken to attract a wider audience.
Obviously, orchestras need to focus on younger audiences. We can continue to include modern and experimental composers, and offer student discounts and special shows. But the more important and more difficult thing that must occur is a shifting of viewpoints. People view classical music in a different way than other genres. When “pop” and “indie” took on different meanings than they initially had, people allowed the transformation to take place. “Classical,” on the other hand, continues to carry the same connotation it has always had: boring and untouchable.
Some argue that in order to modernize and save orchestral music, it must undergo a complete transformation. They say that if people aren’t listening to Mozart and Mendelssohn anymore, we have to change the music. However, I have to disagree. We have to change the way we listen.
Art is meant to be a release from societal standards; we have no need to complicate it with ageism or elitism. All music is incredibly valuable and relevant to our society, and it must remain one of the things we do not need to come to with any special knowledge or skills.
In a complex world where we are constantly bombarded with messages and information, we forget about the most precious and important things. Simply being present is a rare thing and can take us far, and bring classical music where it needs to go: forward.
