From my personal experience, my parents had to struggle and re-shuffle money to pay for private lessons with top symphony musicians, pay to constantly upgrade and the general maintenance of my instrument and endure travel experiences to different orchestra activities. Is this why we don't see minorities, excluding Asians, in today's classical world? Do minorities not have the resources for their kids to be artists or because of the limited resources provided to minorities in general, they aren't willing to take the risk to invest in the kids as artist.
Looking in orchestra, its amazing that classic arts is still classified as a privileged and wealthy craft. But what is most surprising is how orchestra especially is dominated by Asians. A lot of my friends are first generation Asians however, they are still preserving to become the top musicians. I think that it goes far beyond cultural differences and perspectives and basically boils down to expectations. From my experience, in the black community we are not expected to become top artists because it sooo out of the norm. There is no stride to become classical artists. My entire life I have always been asked, "Why not Jazz." My question back is Why not Classical? Because jazz derived from African origins, I guess it is more familiar and seems more 'normal' for minorities to engage in jazz music.
Classical music is simply something that is not taken serious in minority communities and now it is really starting to become a big issue. Although competitive, there are several values, lessons and skills that are embedded within classical music and I really think that minorities need to start exploring these options. I am very familiar with the big outreach programs to encourage minority artists to become more engage in their craft but this clearly an issue that needs to start at the root -our community and our homes.
I completely agree with your blog about minorities and classical music.If you survey the average group of black students, especially boys,they typically want to be a rapper rather than a famous violinist. I think this tends to be the case because writing down lyrics in a journal and making a quick beat is cheaper, and thus more achievable, for poor minorities than purchasing an expensive instrument and paying for lessons. Although I like the sound of a good bass and appreciate Wayne's catchy and personal lyrics, I would like to see more black and Hispanic students participating in the fine arts.
ReplyDelete^Agreed Jasmine, I am a black student who has played the violin since elementary school, but I have always noticed that the non-minority students had better access to private lessons and instruments of higher quality. This is something that needs to be addressed by music programs.
ReplyDeleteAs the only black participant in my school's wind ensemble, I can definitely relate to this issue.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Jasmine's point that many back adolescents (especially boys) would rather rap about completely unrelatable subjects instead of picking up an instrument and learning an actual art form.
Very interesting. I completely agree that a big reason why minorities are not represented in the classical world is because of expenses. Buying an instrument and paying for lessons and classes may be seen as an added burden. If there was a program that was successful in lessoning the financial burden I think it may draw more minorities towards it.
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