Recently, I had a conversation with a colleague from one of Boston’s
finest music schools. We were talking about diversity in schools of
music, and this colleague told me that this school was actively
recruiting Latino/a students, Black students, and international
students. But not Asian American students. Hmmm. The Asian American
student population at this school was pretty low, especially as far as
higher education goes. Hmmm.
I mean, by the sheer number of Asian American youth that are involved in piano lessons, violin lessons, or whatever, this seems like a shock. Aren’t Asian Americans interested in music? Or do we just care about learning how to play the Moonlight Sonata, or Fur Elise, or some other wow-me-showoff-your-kid piece?
I thought back to the kind of music I played when I took piano lessons. It was 100% classical music. Classical music was part of the fabric of my life growing up - there was a point when I made up my own lyrics to go along with things like Handel’s Water Music (”The frogs sing Hallelujah, they sing hallelujah!”). But I never really learned to play music that resonated with me. It sounded old. It didn’t speak to me. The only Asian American musician I ever heard about was Yo-yo Ma. Is this why I never ever thought that people could make a life out of playing music? Or did my parents or someone instill in me that music was just a hobby, not a career?
My mom is a piano teacher, so I grew up seeing ways that you could turn a passion for music into a career. But to me, playing piano was always a thing I did on the side, a thing I had to do. I absolutely enjoyed it, but when things got busy, “cooler” things like sports became more important to me. I don’t think I would have ever had it in me to pursue music as a career, but who knows? I never even considered it. I do know that I know a lot of people who carry those “what if’s” about what would have happened if they took that leap to give music a try, to find a new way to balance passion with the pragmatics of paying the rent, and finding a “suitable” career.
So, what are you going to do? Will your kids be taking piano lessons?
~ eliaday
Originally posted at Boston Progress Radio.
