Classical music is dying | anon. | TEDxFoggyBottom

Is classical music already dead to the younger generation? anon. argues otherwise. This Australian classical music group is dedicated to reinvigorating classical music and showing others how special it can be. They created the project "Trailer Music" exactly for this purpose. First, watch their performance on the TEDxFoggyBottom stage. Then, play the movie attached in the link provided below to get the full "Trailer Music" experience.

Watch "Trailer Music" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzll3c5fDc0

anon. is an emerging Melbourne-based chamber music group, increasingly recognized for its innovative and design-led approach, offering modern audiences a new perspective on the concert experience. Graduates of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, co-founders Nicole Tj (piano) and Thomas Lo (violin) collaborate with top young musicians and creative people to present unique performance concepts. Together with cellist Tim Hennessy, they perform regularly around Melbourne. In 2015, they successfully raised $10,000 through a crowdfunding campaign for their film and music collaboration "Trailer Music." Both Nicole and Thomas are also forging parallel careers alongside music - their work in business consulting and architecture respectively positions them in a unique space as creative entrepreneurs. They have been invited back to speak at the University of Melbourne’s IgniteLAB. Their 2016 performances include White Night Melbourne and a debut at the Melbourne Recital Centre.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Thomas Lo: Classical music is dying.

Hi everyone.

I'm Thomas, and this is Nicole.

And we're the co-founders of anon.

And just for the record,

we have no idea who put that up there,
because we don't believe a word of it.

However though,
there is some truth to this.

All you need to do is go
to a classical music concert one night,

any night,

and look at the number of people
in the audience who are over 60.

From our experience, we're usually
the youngest by about 40 years.

(Nicole laughs)

So what this tells us

is that our audience members
are getting older,

and it's getting smaller in size.

This is not the prettiest picture
for the future of classical music.

But we believe that there's always
two sides to the same coin.

So before we tell you what we think,
we would like to ask you:

how many of you here
actively enjoy classical music?

Nicole Tj: Wow, that's
a good number of hands.

TL: And I'm glad you put
your hands up too.

(Laughter)

Do you remember the last time
you went to a classical music concert?

But most importantly, how many
of you here secretly love classical music,

but aren't saying so,

because you don't want
to be seen as old or nerdy?

Simply put, classical music
suffers from an image problem.

It often comes across
as old, rigid, and unapproachable,

and we think this is because
we're not seeing the bigger picture yet.

So we asked ourselves, why?

Well, there are plenty of reasons,

and musicians across the world
are tackling it in their own ways.

But for us, it comes down to two things:

quality exposure and relevance.

NT: Yeah, absolutely.

Now, how can anyone appreciate anything

if they haven't had the opportunity
experience its potential?

Too often we find that people's
perceptions of classical music

are limited to the big typical names
of Beethoven and of Mozart, for example.

Sometimes it could be clouded

by something they experienced
when they were little

that then closed all future
possibilities to classical music.

So again, how can
anyone appreciate anything

if they haven't had the opportunity
to experience its potential?

And the idea of relevance is a huge one.

I bet every single one of you here

can think about the one time
you were dozing off,

when you really
should have been listening.

It could have been anywhere -
in your lectures, at your wedding day.

Maybe at the back row, right now?

And, unsurprisingly,
at a classical music concert.

The point is, for something
to be relevant to you, it has to connect.

It has to surprise. It has to provoke.

So what can we do about it?

Well, we think that we can reach out
to a wider audience and a newer audience

through the power
of the live concert experience.

It's a given that we need
a good idea and a strong message,

but beyond that,

an experience is a two-way street.

And what we hope to offer you
is the discovery of something new.

Even if it's just for that split second.

So today we'll be sharing with you
a film and music collaboration by anon.

called Trailer Music.

"Trailer," in this case,
refers to movie trailers,

not the car trailers
that you see up there.

This is based on a piece
called Trailer Music,

for piano, violin, and cello,

by an Australian composer
called Nicholas Buck.

It is so clever and so cinematic

that when Tom and I heard it
for the very first time

we instantly thought,
"Hey, we need to create a film for this."

For us, it just really highlighted

how powerful music was in driving
storytelling and imagination.

TL: So we've invited
six young filmmakers from Australia

to create short films
based on this piece of music.

The core idea is to explore
how they went about interpreting it,

and to show that there
is just no one correct way

or one perfect way of understanding music.

For the full effect, we will now
be performing the piece on its own.

So listen, let your imaginations run wild,

and create a story for yourself.

NT: Is it an action film? Is it a comedy?

It's all up to you,
and it really could be anything.

TL: We'll now be joined by our cellist,
Timothy Hennessy, on stage

to perform this for you.

And only then, you tell us

that classical music
is old, rigid, and unapproachable.

Thank you. This is Trailer Music.

(Applause)

[Classical music is ... ]

[anon.]

(Music)

(Music ends)

(Applause)