The great disconnect.

Why are people of all ages studying music in record numbers, but not equally attending live concerts? Its a modern phenomenon worthy of examination and, in doing so, deserving of thought.

Although the explanations for this behavior are numerous, music teachers know that at the center of all the reasons is one universality: people love being engaged in the process of music making. To many, going to professional concerts requires a different set of skills and expectations. To them, studying and playing music in their own communities is quite satisfying; it is sufficient. But in truth, it is not enough. Professional music teachers know that advanced listening is critical to the musical learning and growth process.

So, how do we engage our students whether they're age 5 or 85--so they will choose to attend live concerts and learn from them? How do we encourage professional music presenters to think creatively to bridge this "Great Disconnect"? Considering both perspectives will be essential if we are to find credible and enriching solutions.

Let's start with the presenters, who do, by the way, work hard to attract these potentially valuable concertgoers. Solutions to date mostly have included altering the time, location and format of concerts. Additionally, professional musicians have been coached to be more audience-friendly, show the enjoyment they experience while performing and be available to audience members in more casual and social settings. Information-enhancement devices of all sorts, including preprogrammed hand-held organizers, have been developed to engage audience members' intellectual curiosity. All these efforts are very much appreciated, and many of them work to some degree. However, presenters have not addressed the ultimate challenge: how to engage audience members in the music making itself.

We could muse on halcyon times when all young people received adequate, if not excellent, music instruction in public schools and when they attended concerts because it was the pinnacle of music experience. This story is told over and over. There are some elements that are true, but by and large, this story can only be told about upper-middle-class neighborhoods outside major metropolitan areas with first-class performance organizations--during a time when one parent worked and could get home in time to pick up his spouse and return downtown by 8:00 P.M.

Today, people are choosing their "entertainment options" very selectively and carefully. The days of buying the season subscription, regardless of its content, because "everyone else did it" or because business contacts dictated it, is over. Now, there have to be compelling reasons to take oil the expense and effort of attending a live concert. To those who study music, we must make the reasons clear and profound.

To engage our target group, a first step would be to involve them in music choices. I continue to be impressed by former Eastman Director Howard Hanson's ingenuity during the Festivals of American Music when he asked audience members to vote and comment on each of the new works being presented. Hanson then brought back audience favorites the following year. He asked the audience for input, listened and rewarded them for their care. Perhaps a combination of audience commentary on pieces selected by the professional presenter, as in the Hanson case, combined with audience-generated programming ideas would partially remedy the Great Disconnect.

I also am deeply impressed by the makeup of audiences when orchestras do large choral works. Each member of the amateur chorus brings along a minimum of three family members or friends. This combination of professional and amateur, clearly delineated, also provides a model for solutions. During tours of the Eastman Wind Ensemble in Japan, young people who are studying for the Japan band contest are invited onto the stage at the end of the concert to play their contest piece with the Wind Ensemble. The intensity of concentration and response is overwhelming--and one has to stand in line for tickets to a sold-out concert.

One can imagine works commissioned and specifically written to actively engage musical amateurs in the community. I know of an opera that includes three scenes, one for each acr, written in collaboration between the composer and school children and then inserted artfully into the overall work. The effect is not only stunning artistically, but incredibly inclusive and engaging.

As music teachers, we also must promote and encourage attendance at live performances. It's easy these days to promote the Great Disconnect through neglect. We are teaching a student the Bruch G Minor Violin Concerto, but when the soloist comes to town to play that piece, we don't go he extra mile to ensure our student gets to the concert. We're just too busy to make the arrangements.

My experience with presenters tells me they will enthusiastically encourage music students to attend their concerts. It really is a matter of making contact and establishing the network needed. I have known some music teachers who work in collaboration with presenters to provide reduced-cost or free tickets, maps to concert locations, free parking, transportation tips, special greetings on arrival and so forth. It truly can be a remarkable collaboration.

I describe here a needed and necessary partnership, one we must work on now or lose the important broad scope of musical activity and expression in our communities. People need music. People love music and want to be involved in it. It's essential we involve them in both the active role of playing, singing or dancing, and the equally active role of listening to music in its myriad traditions.

During the coming months, AMT will presents visionary articles from leaders on the future of the arts and music. It is our hope that you find these articles intriguing, thought provoking and challenging. Your responses, endorsements, disagreements and other comments are solicited.

Selections from reader's responses will be included in a future issue of AMT. Share YOUR vision for the future through AMT! Send e-mail response to [e-mail].

James Undercofler is the dean, Howard Hanson Memorial director and professor of music education of the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester. His background includes teaching and administrative positions in Minnesota and Connecticut.