I was commuting between Kansas State University and KC (going home from my PhD class) on Thursday, July 3rd, when I heard Robert Siegel interview JoAnn Falletta on the NPR program "All Things Considered."You can listen to it HERE. I was struck by Mr. Siegel's comparison of "should we care about symphonic literature" to "the tallest skyscraper in Topeka, KS." Ironically, I was driving past that very same skyscraper when the story aired.
I went home and, after really thinking about what I wanted to say, I wrote the following response:
Dear ATC,
I was intrigued by your story today on the "Great American Symphony" with guest JoAnn Falletta. In it, Mr. Siegel and Maestra Falletta debate the fate of our American Symphonic history. I was especially surprised, if not taken aback, by Mr. Siegel's comment comparing the Great American Symphony to the "tallest skyscraper in Topeka, Kansas."
Ironically enough, I happened to be driving past the very same skyscraper in Topeka when he made that comment. I am currently working toward my PhD in Education at Kansas State University (with a Music Education Cognate). I commute to and from a Kansas City suburb, where I teach high school orchestra. And, I am a composer, an American composer with dozens of published works for bands and orchestras, including three symphonies.
I wanted you to know that music educators across this country are instilling in our students the importance of our American musical heritage. It may not be the "Great American Novel" nor the "Great American Movie," but it is alive and kicking and growing and changing from generation to generation. Granted, not everyone can write like Barber, Copland, or Ellington, but there are those of us who are teaching the next generation of composers through our very own "American" music. My second symphony for strings, for example, utilizes American Folks Tunes from the American Great Plains, the "Wild" West, and the deep South. Yes, it is "European" in form, but at its core, it is American music.
I'm not sure exactly why Mr. Siegel's "skyscraper" comment caught my attention, but I guess that it speaks to the attitude that somehow American classical music is an oddity, a relic of bygone eras that fail to garner the fame and accolades of more popular music. Mostly, I wanted him to know that American music is being composed all over this country by amazing living composers (John Adams, Tobias Picker, and Michael Daugherty come to mind immediately), and by those of us who want nothing more than to write music that inspires young people to pick up the mantle of music creation and to make it their own.
Thank you for sharing this article with the NPR audience.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey S. Bishop
Educator, Composer, NPR Listener
I didn't expect a response, but was pleasantly surprised by an email from ATC producer Rob Ballenger asking if they could have permission to use my letter on today's episode. Moreover, I was struck at how even-handed they were in reading my response. And, at the end of the story, they played a portion of my second symphony for strings, "An American Folk Symphony." You can listen to the segment HERE.
I am deeply humbled and honored to have had the chance to advocate for America's music educators on a program that I greatly enjoy and admire.
I've got to admit, I'm feeling rather proud to be an undead, American composer today!
Happy Fourth of July!
Jeffrey
