In honor of Carnegie Hall's 125th Anniversary, the iconic performance hall has been assembling an eclectic series of events, some celebrating not just the venue's past, but its future as well. In the interests of spreading the joy of classical music to a new generation (and ensuring a full house for decades to come), Carnegie Hall invited forty second graders from Hamilton Heights School for a surprise classical concert performed by members of the Ensemble ACJW. The enlightening results can be observed in the video below.
The second graders were invited up to Carnegie Hall's Resnick Education Wing on behalf of the Weill Music Institute for a performance of selective classical works, all detailed on programs issued to the children to follow along with. When one of the members of Ensemble ACJW announced, "Today we're gonna play a lot of different music for you," it seemed clear that the intent of the performance was neither to bore nor belittle the children. Among the pieces performed were the "Allegro non troppo" from Brahms's Piano Quartet No. 3, Ligeti's Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet, and the Scherzo from Mendelssohn's Octet. Surely a pleasing sight to any classical music fan, the second graders (though initially skeptical) soon reacted to the music on an almost primal level, either caught in a trance or cavorting about uninhibited.
Generally speaking, it's not difficult to spur a child to dance. Still, for many educators, classical music doesn't leap out as the first genre they'd choose to elicit such a reaction. Instead, a safer choice is usually to provide children with more pronounced rhythms and singable melodies. Exposure to classical music is reserved for the later developed, and even so, rarely in the context of danceable themes. Robbed of positive experiences with the genre, older children are then less likely to attach themselves to classical works with fondness. Ironically, this act of delaying exposure may be the single greatest reason why classical music isn't more popular with younger generations. NPR tackled this issue in 2011, but dispelled the notion that classical music is inherently unapproachable. In a pointed observation, the author (a parent) wrote: "Smaller fry have yet to absorb the (false) notion that classical music is stuffy, snobby, or boring. It's just sound, as far as they're concerned. If they can dance to it, all the better."
The 125th anniversary of Carnegie Hall seems to mark a turning point for this practice of withholding art to young children by instead choosing to trust their intelligence and appeal to their innate sense of rhythm. Carnegie's resident Ensemble ACJW--which already specializes in partnerships with New York City Public Schools--appears to be strengthening this mission with its suprise and potentially life-changing performances.
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