So we need to change. We keep hearing that ….

The specter of a declining place in American culture has hung over classical music for decades, but the threat has become more urgent now. One big reason: A National Endowment for the Arts study found that just 9 percent of the American public attended at least one classical concert in 2008 — a nearly one-third drop from 1982.
Perhaps even worse, classical music is becoming a cultural afterthought beyond the insular world of musicians, presenters and devotees.
In an era of celebrity obsession, the genre has failed to produce one bona fide star since Pavarotti.

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If one day you’re in and the next day you’re out, as Heidi Klum says on “Project Runway,” then classical music is out.
Put simply, the field is in trouble.
How bad is it? Even some of the genre’s most ardent supporters are questioning the need for all but the country’s largest and most influential orchestras.
“What, if anything, justifies the existence of a regional orchestra in the 21st century?” wrote Wall Street Journal columnist Terry Teachout in a June column that caused a stir in the symphonic world. “Many people still believe that an orchestra is a self-evidently essential part of what makes a city civilized. But is it true?”

(I’m not certain I’d say Mr. Teachout is an “ardent supporter”. I respect him, but I’ve never seen him as a suppporter of classical music. Visual art? Yep. Theater? Definitely. But classical music? Not so sure.

RTWT and see the suggestions for change.

… at least the conclusion wasn’t that we over 50 folks should retire so younger people can step on in. Whew!