Clarinetist and ACPA researcher Michael Drapkin recently received Eastman School of Music Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research Grant of $2000 for his project "Combatting systematic racism in the symphony orchestra through the Brooklyn model."
Restructuring Classical Music
The project Combatting systematic racism in the symphony orchestra through the Brooklyn model ties into Drapkins research Restructuring Classical Music which he is currently doing at the Acacemy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA).
Classical music in the United States has been declining since the 1960s when the Ford Foundation funded orchestras during a time when great classical artists like Heifetz, Bernstein and Stravinsky were household names.
Today, classical music has moved almost completely out of public awareness and we now have the phenomenon where wealthy contributors donate to the New York Philharmonic, but their concerts are filled with empty seats. Professional orchestras have declined in number, yet our colleges of music continue to graduate roughly 15,000 music performance majors annually, preparing them for orchestra jobs that virtually do not exist.
This dissertation will come up with models and methodologies that will preserve the availability of great classics while developing and proving in performance solutions to these problems, including addressing the Baumol Syndrome and Rightsizing, The Brooklyn Model and Extreme Scoring. These will address many of the economic, ethical, mainstream and compositional issues facing classical music.
