Sunday’s (7/7) Reno Gazette Journal published “Thoughts on the future of orchestras’ relevance,” an essay by Scott Faulkner, executive director of the Reno Chamber Orchestra and a monthly arts columnist for that newspaper. He writes, “In June, I attended the League of American Orchestras’ annual conference in St. Louis. The theme for this year’s gathering was ‘Imagining 2023.’ As the Reno Chamber Orchestra just completed a very successful season, we find ourselves in the interesting position of knowing that change is essential and inevitable while at the same time enjoying a moment of unparalleled success.” Faulkner identifies six points that he believes are key to orchestras’ continuing relevance: “all orchestras are local”; “the power of the music we play … Beethoven and Mozart will be relevant forever. Much great music is being written today—but traditionalists need to accept that some of the most culturally resonant music of our time comes from film and video games”; “the power of the live, shared experience”; “great playing is crucial (but it won’t be enough)”; “different delivery systems might be necessary … The music is sacrosanct; the trappings are not”; and “importance of music and arts education … it is settled law that people who have arts education are better for it. Period.”
Posted July 10, 2013
