ON THE INHERENT ELITISM OF CLASSICAL MUSIC

I want to start off by saying, I get it. I get that classical music in inherently classist, that it is regarded as a high-art form by nature of the people it excludes and its history of exclusion and oppression towards women and people of color. Does it mean that classical music shouldn't exist, that it's not worth trying to salvage despite this history?

To answer this question, to which I fully believe there is no simple answer, I turned to my own experience.

I was fortunate enough to have grown up with the lessons I needed, incredible teachers and mentors, and a great instrument. But I didn't grow up wealthy by any means. By the time I was in 5th grade and my sister in 3rd, my parents were fortunate enough in that we didn't have to pay for private lessons, theory or ear training, music history or even orchestra and ensembles. They were provided to us through a New York City public middle school, and then high school.

I recognize my privilege, and I also recognize being fortunate enough that my parents invested while I was young, and knew what resources were available so I could sustain a high level of education going forward. But I also know that the barriers to classical music, are similar to barriers anywhere else in the world. The irony is that the barriers to entry are often highest in the arts - where as we know, there is a ton of talent and very few jobs. Private lessons, training schools, materials, extra classes, summer programs, the list goes on. These disciplines all strategically exclude those who cannot afford and do not possess the information needed to understand what resources are available. And that's not okay. That's why organizations that focus on making music education accessible and affordable to every child - I believe - are the most crucial element to how we can strive to do better.

What this exclusion cannot dismiss however, is the benefit that classical music brings to people. That it brought to me, and that it has brought to so many people. I have never cared so much about something, have never felt such a sense of camaraderie, of belonging and of pride in who I was until I embraced being a musician. Taking music seriously led me to become a student who felt a sense of purpose and who felt capable of achieving more than what I was told I could. Yes, the Western canon of classical music is incredibly and at times blatantly racist, exclusionary and oppressive. But should that discredit all that being a musician means to me?

Does the field as a whole demand a complete restructuring? Absolutely. The methods by which these institutions - orchestras, concert halls, opera houses, music schools and conservatories - are kept running (especially in the US) is through catering to the demands of the wealthy. And because these institutions struggle to stay afloat, money ends up ruling all decisions made in all sectors of the arts. I don't think this is okay by any means, but I do think this is simply a reflection of inequality and the structures of power and privilege at play in every part of society.

Which is to finally say - no part of our world is free from elitism, from histories of oppression and from promoting systems of inequality on a daily basis. Classical music included. What I do believe, is that the answer is not sit idly by. To recognize this and call it a day. There is value in the art form, for me and for the many people who have benefitted from it but who also understand that restructuring is necessary.