Creating the next generation of attentive, informed, sympathetic classical music listeners is a big job—one that most performing arts organizations grapple with (at a minimum) or take on as a cause (at best). While the obvious answer to attracting anyone to classical music—particularly younger people—might be free or low-cost tickets, the spark of interest needs to be present and ignited well before the curtain goes up.
A young girl will likely be more interested in hearing a symphony concert after she gets to see a viola up close and ask questions directly of the violist. A young boy might find his own inspiration when he hears an operatic tenor for the first time and learns that the tenor began by singing in church. Importantly, these children may also discover that classical music isn’t elitist and boring at all—rather it’s engaging and accessible.
Performing arts organizations that get their musicians out of concert halls and cathedrals and into schools and libraries have an incredible opportunity to ignite that spark. This “road show” approach often yields the desired result – getting those same little listeners into the more traditional venues over time. And while the pandemic certainly put this type of approach on hold, community engagement is back in full swing within the East Tennessee region.
Today’s focus is on two organizations that are actively employing this strategy: The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO) and the Amadeus Chamber Ensemble (ACE).
Recently, KSO musicians visited four Seymour public schools, performing for over 700 students. They presented KSO’s Classroom Q’s program titled “Great Composers,” featuring music by classical masters Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, and Haydn. Performances showcased KSO’s Woodwind Quintet: Devan Jaquez, Claire Chenette, Gary Sperl, Zach Millwood, and Jeffery Whaley and one of KSO’s string quartets: Kyle Venlet, Jennifer George, Jennifer Bloch, and Adam Ayers.
KSO musicians were also at the Knox County Library Farragut Branch for a Musical Story Time. The invitation read, “Come sing, clap, and count along as we learn all about the ocean and its sea creatures!” What toddler could possibly resist? Over 120 young listeners came to hear a KSO string quartet perform snippets of Debussy, Mussorgsky, Smetana, and Beethoven, while narrator Kathryn Paden read children’s stories.
KSO Executive Director Rachel Ford said, “An integral part of KSO’s mission is offering educational opportunities throughout East Tennessee. We reach over 30,000 school children annually through our youth orchestra, choir, and chamber music program; large scale performances such as Young and Very Young People’s concerts; and school visits. The smaller, more intimate school-based performances allow our musicians to make connections with students and ignite that spark that can lead to studying music as a life-long enjoyment!”
The Amadeus Chamber Ensemble used two of its recent Cathedral Concert Series programs – “Verdi in the Cathedral” and “Mozart! An Operatic Feast” – as catalysts for extending its community reach. Over 600 students at Knoxville’s Sacred Heart Cathedral School (SHCS) and the Episcopal School of Knoxville (ESK) had the opportunity to hear ACE’s guest artists from around the country.
At SHCS, singers Rochelle Bard, Aaron Short, and Christian Bowers performed familiar religious works by Fauré, Bach, and Malotte, as well as operatic selections by Verdi and Puccini. “These opportunities in our schools have a profound, but not easily quantifiable, impact on our children – mine included,” said Glenn Kahler, Director of Music and Liturgy at The Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. “But I can tell you that as a result, we’re seeing an ever-increasing presence of families with young children at our Cathedral Concert Series who are excited to attend and moved by the experience we offer.”
A few months later at ESK, singers Maria Brea, Jacqueline Brecheen, Kara Cornell, Kirk Dougherty, and Aaron Keeney shared music from seven Mozart operas. As noted by ESK Head of School Jack Talmadge, “I believe this is one of the best ways to bring exposure to classical music and to set the hook for a new generation of classical music lovers.”
Maestro Brian Salesky, veteran of more than 1,000 education and community engagement performances in East Tennessee, hosted and accompanied ACE’s school performances. Said Salesky, “Community engagement should ignite the imagination, whet the appetite, and instill a lifelong love of the arts. It is also vital to our donors that we aren’t just producing concerts in spectacular venues, but that we’re also bringing music to children in our community.”
ACE and the KSO will offer students the opportunity to share the stage on April 16, when the Knoxville Symphony Youth Choir and the St. John Neumann Catholic School Choir join ACE for “Hallelujah Handel!” – a concert that will feature these two youth choirs in Handel choruses with full orchestra and soloists at St. John Neumann Catholic Church.
