It’s been about a year since I wrote a blog post about the lack of respect afforded to musicians in today’s society.  This manifests itself in many different ways, from people walking past an invisible-because-out-of-context Joshua Bell playing in a subway station, to the begrudging of actually paying musicians for their services.  But one of my pet peeves is the treatment of classical music as wallpaper (nice wallpaper, to be sure) at public events, and classical musicians as potted plants, decorative items to be set in a corner for ambiance and then ignored.

Time for another installment.

I recently attended a nicely catered, elegant social event held by an organization that supports nonprofits.  One of their causes is a successful and nationally respected youth orchestra; another is a dynamic organization providing underserved inner city youth with creative outlets and training in various urban arts media.  The youth orchestra had provided a string quartet and the urban arts organization sent a group of hip-hop dancers.

Following the opening program speeches, the guests (numbering about a hundred) all gathered in a huge circle for a 15-minute performance by the hip-hoppers.  The talented young dancers treated us to some really impressive (and in several instances downright terrifying) routines accompanied by recorded music from a portable CD player, while the guests clapped and cheered wildly.

The young musicians in the string quartet, who were about the same age, were situated in an overhanging floor one story above the rest of the event.  They played for 20 minutes to a half hour, while the guests ate, drank, talked, and largely ignored their presence.

The young caterer who moved through the crowd with hors d’oeuvres received more attention.

This is a fairly typical scenario for classical musicians, but the double standard was particularly evident on this occasion.  Student artists from one genre were treated with respect while those from another were treated with indifference – literally within minutes of each other.  

I don’t begrudge the student urban artists their moment in the spotlight.  They were excellent, exciting, and captivating.  Nor is it my intent to criticize the guests or the event coordinators.  Treating classical music as background music is commonplace in this day and age.   And I'm guessing neither the students nor the youth orchestra administrators who sent them expected anything else.

What I would like to do is raise people’s awareness.  

Music in modern society has become, by and large, background for other activities.  We plug in our ipod or living room stereo or desktop radio and then we do other things while the music plays – whether it’s to classical, jazz, or pop.  

And I get it that classical music is, for many people, less immediately accessible than hip hop.  Appreciating its beauty, power and energy requires concentration and attention.  Much of the time it is not visually exciting; the musicians are concentrating on the sound, blending with one another, and going inside the music, so they don’t move around very much.  But while the physicality that goes into it may be less obvious than that of hip hop, it is no less real and rigorous.

There is a time and a place for music to be ambient.  I like listening to Jimmy Smith on my ipod while I wash the dishes, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind a bit.

But when it’s being created before our very eyes by live human beings – especially young people – let’s not treat it as background music.  Let's take the time to be quiet, listen, and give it our full attention.

After all, you never know when you might be hearing the next Joshua Bell.