Upload
vuongtuong
View
219
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Subscribe Log InU.S. EDITION Friday, August 30, 2013 As of 11:56 PM EDT
Comments (2) MORE IN NEW YORK-CULTURE »
What's This?Popular Now
A Field Guide tothe Perfect Nap
Support Builds forU.S. StrikeAgainst Syria
Syrian OfficialCalls for Talk,ThreatensRetaliation
Opinion: Stephen Moore: Obama'sEconomy Hits His Voters…
NY CULTURE August 30, 2013, 11:56 p.m. ET
Classical Music, Modern ProblemsNew York City's Three Major Conservatories Work to Prepare Its Students for theCompetitive Realities of the Workplace
News Sports Culture Real Estate
Home World U.S. Business Tech Markets Market Data Your Money Opinion Life & Culture N.Y. Real Estate Management
Unions Might Find
a Friend in City
Hall
1 of 12 2 of 12
Singer Shoots for
the Moon
3 of 12
Developer Lands
Dumbo Bid
Police Chafe at Scrutiny
4 of 12
Article
1
2
3
4
TOP STORIES IN NEW YORK
By CORINNE RAMEY
On the first day of classes at Mannes, the music conservatory of the New School,
incoming freshmen milled around the lobby. Granted, it was only the first day, but
what would they do after graduation?
"Be the principal trombone in the New York Philharmonic," said Di Wang, a 20-year-
old Mahler fan (the third and fifth symphonies, to be exact) wearing a Nike "Linsanity"
T-shirt.
"Play piano, everywhere," said Javier Ortega, 19. "Be a concert musician, and
hopefully a soloist."
"Be a composer and scholar and activist," said Angel Asangsaerhanda, 19.
Today's classical music landscape, and
the one these students will enter in four
years, looks vastly different than that of
several decades ago. Orchestras
across the country have suffered
bankruptcy, strikes and lockouts, and
audiences are graying. For many
performers, the National Endowment for
the Arts and CDs have been replaced
by Kickstarter and Spotify.
"Back in the day, the assumption was,
'Well, I'm going to be a trombonist, and I'm going to play in a large orchestra, and
that's going to be my life,'" said Joseph Polisi, the president of Juilliard. "It sure
doesn't work that way now."
Interviews with a dozen incoming
Mannes freshmen yielded certain
patterns: Students who play orchestral
instruments anticipate symphonic
careers. Composition majors and, to a
lesser extent, pianists were likely to list
several activities—teaching, performing,
Cassandra Giraldo for The Wall Street Journal
The Mannes School of Music
Enlarge Image
Email Print
Share 9
News, Quotes, Companies, Videos SEARCH
Opinion: Best ofthe Web Today:Obama's Cakewalk
Show 5 More
Available to WSJ.com Subscribers
Don't Miss
Weather Journal: It'll Feel Like Fall SoonIt will start to feel a lot more like fall on Wednesday,after the region saw a muggy start to September.
Mother of Slain 1-Year-Old Mourns Her Sonas Police Search for KillerNew York City police on Tuesday continued to huntfor the alleged gunman who shot and killed a 1-year-old boy in Brooklyn, as investigators hopedthe child's father, believed to be the intendedtarget, would cooperate in the investigation. "My baby didn'tdeserve this. I just wish he had come back," the child's mothersaid.
Live Blog: Watch the Democratic Mayoral Primary DebateLive
Bill de Blasio Holds Commanding Lead in New MayoralPoll
Bloomberg says Electric Zoo Organizers Have a “StellarRecord”
See AllRSS Feed
More in New York CultureA Death Staged Over and Over
5
Stephen Elop: NextMicrosoft CEO?
S&P Accuses U.S. of Suing to AvengeRatings Drop
More Employers Overhaul Health Benefits
Microsoft CEO Hunt Looks Tame
[?]
New York to Trump:You’re a Fraud
BMW Drivers ReallyAre Jerks, StudiesFind
Hough: Thanks toGamers, Take TwoCould Go Up 30%
Real-time coverage of greater New York
film scoring, owning a coffee shop—thatthey could imagine in their futures.
Leaders of New York's three majorconservatories—Juilliard, Mannes andManhattan School of Music—allacknowledge the need for pre-professional training that addresses theprospects and realities of a competitivemarketplace. Much of this involvespreparing students for what MannesDean Richard Kessler called a "D.I.Y.
world," one in which musicians create their own performance opportunities.
Today's economic kick-in-the-pants is not necessarily a bad thing. "I think the semi-crisis we're in could be one of the best things that could ever happen to classicalmusic," said Manhattan School of Music President James Gandre, who believes thegenre is viewed as so sacred that it's hard to break from conventions.
Juilliard and the Manhattan School take similar approaches, both offering electiveclasses, mentoring and workshops. Juilliard also awards grants for summerentrepreneurial projects.
"I'm not a fan at all of legislating entrepreneurial qualities," said Mr. Polisi. In perhapsthe musical equivalent of sneaking kale into a smoothie, Juilliard instructors do thingslike asking a member of the orchestra's viola section to talk to the audience during aninformal performance, he said.
Violinist Glenn Dicterow, who teaches at Juilliard and chairs the Manhattan School'sorchestral performance graduate program, said that about 90% of his students enterwith dreams of a solo career. When, by the second or third year, he has careerdiscussions with them, most will suggest a career as a chamber musician.
This is not terribly lucrative, he tells them: "You'd be better off as an electrician."
"What's left for us to do to make a living?" he asked. "We love our craft." (Job-searchtip: Mr. Dicterow's day job, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, will be openafter he retires from the orchestra at the end of this season.)
Mannes, once among the most conservative music schools in the country, ismandating a different approach to pre-professional training, whether students like it ornot. The school has revamped its curriculum and plans to move into a building on 13thStreet, near the rest of the New School, in fall 2015.
Starting this semester, performance students will be required to study improvisation,composition and entrepreneurship. The school will reduce the number of pianists andvoice students while doubling the number of composition majors, which Mr. Kesslerbelieves will contribute to the school's new focus on contemporary music. "If youdon't want it, don't come to Mannes," he said.
Mannes will also add new ensembles like a technology-based iOrchestra. Itscurrently loosely defined existence is a puzzle, and meant to help students thinkabout ways of changing traditional music practices, said Mr. Kessler. "All thesequestions? That's why we're doing it," he said.
There is an economic component to Mannes's motivation as well. It will no longer offerliberal-arts classes, instead requiring students to take those courses in otherdivisions of the New School. Not only will the quality of the classes be higher, said Mr.Kessler, but musicians will meet students in other disciplines. He hopes the changeshelp the school develop a competitive edge and unique identity that will help withfundraising and recruitment.
There has been dissent from some students and faculty. But most college students
Cassandra Giraldo for The Wall Street Journal
Freshman piano major Margaryta Popova, 18, atthe Mannes School of Music.
Enlarge Image
Broadway ShowsLincoln CenterMetropolitan Opera
NY PhilharmonicAmerican Ballet TheaterMuseum of Modern Art
In Concert, Keeping the Vibe Going
'Raisin in the Sun,' Revisited
Post-Punk, Still Ready to Kick the Door Open
An Experimental Dialogue
Related Topics
Rebuilding Lives WorkshopCounseling and Educationwww.rebuildinglivesworkshop.com
Dr. OZ Weight Loss TrickOz Reveals #1 Miracle In A Bottle To Shed Belly Fat WithoutExercisehealthylifestylereports.com
Counseling East WichitaExperienced, caring, confidential counseling in East Wichtia.www.eastwichitacounseling.com
Content from our Sponsors [?]
EHOW
How to Get aStudent LoanForgiven
EDUCATION PORTAL
5 Online SchoolsThat Don't RequireA GRE
BANKRATE.COM
10 richest membersof Congress
JOIN THE DISCUSSION2 Comments, add yours
MORE INNew York-Culture »
You Might LikeWoman Tries to Sell Daughter’s Virginity
Statistics and surveys shine little light on realrates of rape
For Rich Mainlanders, Hong Kong LosesLuxury Luster
The Seven Deadly Sins of Investing
Superstorm Sandy's long shadow: as summerdraws to close, much of Jersey Shore strainsto attract old crowds
Content from our SponsorsWhat's this?
Didn't Take The GRE? 5 Online Schools ThatDon't Care (Education Portal)
Which Schools Offer the Easiest OnineDegrees? (Education Portal)
Harvard Is Still Hard To Get Into: LSATScores At Top Law Schools Holding Steady(LawSchooli)
8 College Degrees That are Worth the Cost(Salary.com)
The Top 25 Apps That You Should Use in YourK-12 Classroom (K-12 Tech Decisions)
don't have a sense of the real-world skills they'll need after graduation, he said. "Theygraduate and get hit by this brutal brick wall: 'How come I don't know that, how comethey didn't teach me that?'"
Without taking a single entrepreneurship class, some are already thinking aboutsubjects like fundraising.
"I want to earn lots of money and then organize a charity foundation for talented kids,"said Mannes pianist Margaryta Popova, 18. How will a pianist earn lots of money,exactly? "Teaching, playing, winning competitions," she said. "Or I could marry a richman."
A version of this article appeared August 31, 2013, on page A20 in the U.S. edition of The Wall StreetJournal, with the headline: Classical Music, Modern Problems.
Don't MissHave More Sex,Make More Money
Shark Eats Shark inWild New Photo
Five U.S. StatesWhere People Drinkthe Most Beer
How North KoreaGot Hooked onCrystal Meth
Email Print Order Reprints
Wall Street JournalFacebookTwitter LinkedInFourSquareGoogle+YouTubePodcastsRSS Feed AppStore
Back to Top
Customer ServiceCustomer Center
New! Live Help
Contact Us
WSJ Weekend
Contact Directory
Corrections
PolicyPrivacy Policy
Data Policy
Copyright Policy
Subscriber Agreement& Terms of Use
Your Ad Choices
AdvertiseAdvertise
Place a Classified Ad
Sell Your Home
Sell Your Business
Commercial Real Estate Ads
Recruitment & Career Ads
Franchising
Advertise Locally
Tools & FeaturesApps
Newsletters and Alerts
Graphics & Photos
Columns
Topics
Guides
Portfolio
Old Portfolio
MoreRegister for Free
Reprints
Content Partnerships
Conferences
SafeHouse
Mobile Site
News Archive
Jobs at WSJ Copyright ©2013 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Editors' Picks
Subscribe / Login
Makers of Glass PipesShowcase Their Works
A Most Dangerous Journey The Greek Yogurt CultureWar
Data Expert: No MorePrivacy
Bamboo Battle Spreads
Community rules
JOURNAL COMMUNITYAdd a Comment
Track replies to my comment
View All Comments (2)
To add a comment please
Log in Create an AccountYour real name is required
for commenting.
CLEAR POST