KillingClassicalMusic

Well, it’s been a slow week for blogging due to some travel and a heavy non-blog workload.  But there have still been some great things going on in the Interwebs, and I don’t want you to miss it.  So here’s this week’s Best of the Web, including some great blog posts, articles, and a video.  Enjoy.

• In pop music, a whole new way of doing business
• Do we need music? And if so, why?
• Music Groups Turn to Fans to Underwrite New Works
• House Republicans unveil plan to end federal arts and humanities agencies and aid to public broadcasting
• El Sistema taps the power of classical music to help US children flourish
• Searching for tomorrow’s classical music
• Symphony Orchestras must Adapt or Wither. Warning: Growing Pains Ahead

Finally, I want to share a video.  Since noticing an Australian band that plays arrangements of pop songs on “classical” instrument, I’ve been wondering about the possibility of doing the same thing in reverse (i.e. arranging classical pieces for “pop” instrumentation.)  This video of a drummer playing along to a Barber of Seville excerpt seems to confirm for me that it could work quite well indeed.  I think that if this guy was on stage with a quartet of bass, guitars, and keys it would simply kill.  The crowd would love it.  What do you think?  Oh, and you’re wondering if people dig this sort of thing, this guy’s drumming videos consistently get millions of views on YouTube.

Please let me know about any other stories or web items you think would interest the KillingClassicalMusic.com community.