What's going on with the classical music industry and how it might affect orchestras as we know right now.
The Classical Music industry as we know it right now is in very serious trouble. Attendance at live concerts has gone down very significantly in the past few years, with even the most avid concertgoers only attending about 1 - 4 concerts per year. Because of this, Classical Music has fallen down to the very bottom of the 12 popular music genres in the current millenium. Because of this, some colleges and high school music programs are already facing the wrath of being shut down due to budget cuts because many non classical music fans see music programs as a waste of time and deem them completely unnecessary in everyday life. Unbeknownst to them, this not only affects young musicians, but experienced ones as well.
Famed Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini (March 25th, 1867 - January 16, 1957) conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra in 1952
Classical Music and the Modern Symphony Orchestra have been around for many, many years, and was once the musical genre that ruled the world. In concert halls, there were some of the finest orchestras in the world; in the theatre, the main genre that hailed was the opera. In those centuries we know of many famous composers and conductors as well, that brought to classical music a whole new meaning to the genre, keeping audiences on the edge of their seats as they listened with anticipation.
In recent years however, the magic that is classical music has been starting to dwindle rather quickly. Attendance at concerts had already started going down in the early 2000's, with classical music making up only 3% of market music sales in the US, but as of 2024, the market music sales coming from classical music has now dwindled to 1%. For many musicians who have a career in this musical field, this is a huge red warning flag. With attendance going down, many musical ensembles, especially in schools, have had to start making large budget cuts to cope with the low attendance, leaving many classical musicians out of a job in sharing their passion for performing great music to the masses, which leads to high amounts of unemployment.
How can this issue be resolved, then? Well, there are several ways to possibly save the classical music industry and get more live performance attendance. For example, if there's a local orchestra in the area you live in, and the tickets are either free or extremely cheap and the organization is asking for donations, if you can, take some time to donate some money to their organization. In the classical music industry as well as any others, anything helps to keep orchestras and other ensembles running. In terms of joining the orchestras, join them whenever you can, even if they are taking auditions. This is especially true for smaller orchestras like us at The Bolingbrook Philharmonic, who are constantly looking for players to join their ranks as paid or volunteer members.
While the classical music industry is in great peril currently, that doesn't mean there's nothing that can be done. In fact, simply going to a concert given by an orchestra itself can help put us in the right direction towards keeping classical music relevant in the 21st Century and hopefully beyond. Many of the current genres of music today have seen some type of inspiration from classical music, but unfortunately this genre of music has been pretty much abused and left by the wayside. With the help of continued support from our patrons, no matter how big or small, and with the help of new future members who are inspired by what orchestras do and joining their ranks, the classical music of the yesteryears has a larger chance to stay relevant and survive.
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