Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

The New England Youth Ensemble performs at the Ward Theatre Foundation's Christmas Benefit Concert, held at the School of Music, Edna Manley College of the Performing Arts, Arthur Wint Drive, on Sunday, December 10, 2006. - photo by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

Fighting stereotypes of elitism, classical music has struggled to be accepted by mainstream audiences. Ignorance on many levels has clouded many persons' views.

Rosina Moder, lecturer for recorder at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts and chairperson of the RCA Music Foundation, says that perceptions of the School of Music have contributed to this misunderstanding. Moder says that when the school began it was staffed by teachers from Europe who placed a heavy emphasis on classical music, overlooking Caribbean music. This reflected a time when Jamaican music was seen as fit only for a certain section of the society.

Cecile Strudwick Green, assistant director and head of music education at the college, said "at that time traditionally all over the world people had the same idea. Music, like everything, reflected the community. Everyone thought that once you studied music you needed to study classical". However, she says that while the School of Music has moved away from that approach, every student has to study classical music at some point. "Now it's a picture of feeding each other. Jazz students are doing classical - there's a bigger emphasis on fusion," Moder said.

With this fusion, it upsets Moder to hear claims of classical music being elitist. In an article published in the Sunday Gleaner of December 17 under the headline 'A classical case of ignorance', guitarist and music publisher Seretse Small said "the classical music that I've heard in this country is so bad. It highly lacks passion, virtuosity. When you hear Beethoven as it should be done it takes your breath away, but we tend to do a really bad job of it". Small stated that this attitude has killed live music in Jamaica. He says that musicians look at themselves as providing background music, which is an entirely negative attitude.

Too Low A Standard

"I think that our instrumental music, in general, is of too low a standard. I think that is why it is not appreciated. We're too lazy, we do the bare minimum in preparation for a show. All of us are very arrogant, we have a sense of superiority 'cause we know things. We have knowledge," Small said.

Moder admits that while some musicians may be arrogant, arrogance runs in every group of society. "Every group of people is arrogant, not only musicians. There is no group of persons more arrogant than the singers, especially the pop singers," she said. She also strongly disagrees that not enough time is spent on training, saying that the music sounds good.

Green said "classical musicians are very well trained. If you go to some of those classical shows, they are very good, moving".

They both say that it wasn't the attitude of the musicians that hurt live music, but the advent of the sound system. "If the sound system hadn't come in, live music wouldn't have gone out. Live music is coming back; look at Village Café and other places. Classical music has always been vibrant. There are always concerts," Moder said.