The Crisis of Classical Music in America: Insights from Music Education & Musician Training | Exploring Challenges & Solutions for Classical Music in Modern Society

Robert Freeman was the Director of the Eastman School of Music when I enrolled in the doctoral program there in the mid-90's, so I was very interested in what he had to say about the world of classical music in this book. What I found was a fascinating and well-written account of his career and a plethora of important advice for those who are involved in any way with the classical music field.Perhaps the most important portion of the book are the chapters dedicated to the advice he would give to parents of prospective music students (collegiate), music students, music faculty, music deans, provosts and presidents, and foundation directors. Dr. Freeman's vast experience as a music administrator in higher education--someone who has dealt closely with all of these constituencies--makes him uniquely qualified to dole out such common sense advice in this area.As the title of the book suggests, there is a crisis surrounding classical music in the US. This has been documented and discussed by many over the years. According to Dr. Freeman, one of the primary causes of this is that music schools are producing far too many graduates for the number of actual jobs available to them. Instead of simply closing down these schools, though, he suggests that they begin alter the way they train their students. For example, rather than having students spend an inordinate amount of time on solo repertoire for instruments that do not have a lot of it (tuba, trombone, bassoon, etc., compared to piano, violin, voice, etc.), schools should be training them to be more versatile musicians so they are not so limited when they graduate and enter the professional world. He also discusses the benefits of a higher level music education for students who may want to follow another professional path once they graduate. Music schools would do their students a great service by making sure these other opportunities are obvious to them. The bottom line--the world needs good musicians, but not just at the professional level. Amateur music making at a high level is very important as well.For me, this book was inspiring. As an administrator in an Ivy League music department, I often struggle with balancing the need for strong musical training with the notion that we may be preparing students for professional futility. Dr. Freeman's ideas helped me reframe (and reaffirm) my role in our students' musical lives. If you are a student (or the parent of a student) considering attending a conservatory or school of music, please read this book! It won't discourage you from that path, but it will help you consider all of the possibilities available to you. I can't recommend this enough.