I recently attended a conference in Berlin called “ClassicalNEXT” which tackled the issue of the future of classical music. It was very stimulating and filled with people from all over the globe. A real collective “think”.

I collaborated with a colleague from Finland hosting a roundtable discussion about innovation in music education including virtual tools and AI. Finland assesses music education and performance through peers more often than teachers.

As the world turns faster with the advancement of AI and its impact on everything, traditionalists have mixed reactions to this new tool and its implications. Some embrace it and see its potential for adding value to music and music education and others feel threatened by it and fear it will destroy traditions and steal ideas. One conclusion I heard from a presenter was that AI won’t take your job. People who know how to use AI will take your job. That was powerful and speaks to the task at hand: learn about it and how it might help you to be more efficient and get more ideas or….fall behind!

So what is the future of classical music in this new arena? One could ask about the relevance of all traditions in Arts and Humanities as AI dominates the conversation. I believe its future is strong and may be even stronger in the context of this new chapter in human development. The guidepost for these changes is always going to be about a moral compass. People can use technology for good and bad. We need to work hard to make sure that it is used for good. UNESCO has done a great job spelling out the ethical development of AI and I highly recommend visiting this resource. Here is a URL to that resource:

https://www.unesco.org/en/artificial-intelligence/recommendation-ethics

I ran a concert hall for over 20 years and have witnessed a lot concerning all of the music genres. From my perspective, there are a number of challenges to the future of classical music:

1. Music Education: start young and establish the normality and appreciation for it. If a child picks up a violin now, they will likely support an orchestra later. They also did “that” and it becomes normalized and not privileged.
2. Live music: get young people out to venues and establish a habit for going to them. Let them experience not only the music, but foster a sense of community and connectivity throughout the time they are there.
3. Elitism: provide opportunities for classical music to be performed throughout communities and make it affordable or free.
4. Musicians: don’t just show up and play and then disappear. Go out into the audiences whenever possible (before the concert, intermission and afterwards) and cultivate ongoing relationships with them. Talk about life, meaning and the music itself. Take the focus away from the performance outcome and focus on the emotions and intent, reactions and questions.
5. Technology and AI: Technology has been with classical music for quite some time now. With the introduction of every new possibility, there have been those that are in fear and look to the past, and those who get excited and look to the future. Cultivate curiosity and engage with innovation. Become masters of it and see what is useful. Lead the innovation and don’t let the industry around classical music be led by the industry of technology. Even offer to co-develop it.
6. Embrace fusion and innovation in music composition: Try to keep an open mind. Everything was new at some point and listeners either resisted or embraced the novelty.
7. Interpretation: as Chick Corea once said to me: “Classical Musicians take themselves too seriously”. Is it a bad performance if the ornament comes before the beat or on it? Was the tempo unorthodox? Was the articulation out of “style”. Does any of this really matter? Is someone going to die from this? Is quality going to suffer if someone doesn’t get it right? We get so wound up with the “truth” that we forget the creativity and experiential part of music making. Cut some slack and listen to different perspectives; highly schooled or not. Foster music making and perspectives. It will make the art former richer!
8. Attention spans: as we know, they are limited for many these days. Talk about the pieces you are playing and guide the listener. Don’t make it a “lecture” recital, but an open dialogue for preface and reaction. Don’t be afraid to have a conversation with your audience.
9. Formality: let them clap where they like. Get used to it. Jazz musicians did and do. Lots can happen in a theatre. Young people can make noises at inappropriate times, someone could cough or sneeze, someone might need to get up at an inappropriate time and leave. Don’t glare and make them feel unwelcome. Try to find ways to foster a collaborative audience experience that includes real humans together and not the unrealistic expectations of silence. I’m sure everyone has their disruptive moment during a performance!
10. The Genre: Classical Music is just music. It’s not until society tells the uninitiated that it is something else that it gets its elitist reputation. I ran a free afterschool music program “El Sistema Aeolian” for 14 years. We once took the kids to perform and interact with a budding group of Elementary Teachers at Teachers College, Western University. One of the teachers in training asked: what do you do with the prejudice against classical music. I responded: “Thanks a lot; they haven’t learned that yet!”
11. Recordings versus Live: one isn’t better than the other. If a listener enjoys listening to recordings, it isn’t wrong. You shouldn’t tell them they are missing something. Invite them to a live concert and let them make up their own minds about the ways they want to enjoy music.
12. Advocacy: there is growing research to show that the study of music and especially classical music helps with cognition and develops many skills that benefit people throughout their lives.. It’s not the authentic reason to study music, but a side benefit. Learning and playing classical music is about the joy factor!

These are a few ideas I have about the future of classical music. I would love to hear your perspective; traditionalist or not!