Shelf Life: Laughter and Remembering

If you present such clear findings to a classical-music naysayer, he may grudgingly admit that things aren’t too bad after all—at least for now. “But what about future audiences?” he will ask. With perverted relish he will point out that within many classical-music audiences, one usually finds a good deal of gray hair. The average age of concertgoers is at least in the middle years, and there are often few young people. Who will be the audiences of tomorrow?

These worries, too, are unfounded. How many students today are majoring in music within America’s colleges and universities? What would you guess? 5,000? 10,000? According to carefully administered surveys given by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), there are almost 100,000 music majors today, and their numbers are growing. Most of these young people are studying the standard classical literature: Bach, Beethoven, etc. To be sure, many will not find jobs in the competitive world of music, but they will all continue to love classical music and support its continuance.

About the Author

Michael Potemra

Michael Potemra was a literary editor for National Review.

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If you present such clear findings to a classical-music naysayer, he may grudgingly admit that things aren’t too bad after all—at least for now. “But what about future audiences?” he will ask. With perverted relish he will point out that within many classical-music audiences, one usually finds a good deal of gray hair. The average age of concertgoers is at least in the middle years, and there are often few young people. Who will be the audiences of tomorrow?

These worries, too, are unfounded. How many students today are majoring in music within America’s colleges and universities? What would you guess? 5,000? 10,000? According to carefully administered surveys given by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), there are almost 100,000 music majors today, and their numbers are growing. Most of these young people are studying the standard classical literature: Bach, Beethoven, etc. To be sure, many will not find jobs in the competitive world of music, but they will all continue to love classical music and support its continuance.