Two Challenges for Arts Organizations

Challenge One – Self-aggrandizement

Symphony orchestras and serious music in general have many challenges today almost all of which relate to money. The public at large, and many patrons of serious music, are under the impression that if an orchestra fills up the hall every night their financial problems will be over. And the same goes for many orchestra executive directors who think their job is to present the highest level of music performances possible and pay for them by selling seats and writing grants. In today’s economy, orchestras will still face a deficit. In the last two years it has become more and more obvious that orchestras need to cultivate a group of patrons that are sincerely devoted to the arts. This raises several issues which should not be a surprise to anyone. Ever since the French composer, Guillaume de Machaut’s well known dinner with Charles V in 1361, musicians have had to have patrons. However, in today’s economy we need to start cultivating a new generation of patrons by changing music education in schools. I have mentioned this several times in past articles so I will not go into great detail here. But suffice to say we need to stop teaching music as an activity and begin teaching it as an art. If we do this, we will raise a new generation of donors that, 50 years from now, will give money to music and the arts. But, of course, that will not solve today’s problems.

Robin McNeil lives with his wife in Littleton where he teaches piano privately and continues to do research on the French composer Théodore Gouvy and the Medieval Mass. McNeil is an honorary member of the Institut Théodore Gouvy of Hombourg-Haut, France; president of the Piano Arts Association; and a member of the Henry Bradshaw Society (for the preservation and publication of rare liturgical documents). Read more of his work at OpusColorado.com.