ACPA PhD candidate Michael Drapkin receives PRJC Grant
Clarinetist and ACPA researcher Michael Drapkin recently received an Eastman School of Music Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research Grant for his project "Combatting systematic racism in the symphony orchestra through the Brooklyn model."
Restructuring Classical Music
The project Combatting systematic racism in the symphony orchestra through the Brooklyn model ties into Drapkin's research Restructuring Classical Music which he is currently doing at the Acacemy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA).
Classical music in the United States has been declining since the 1960s when the Ford Foundation funded orchestras during a time when great classical artists like Heifetz, Bernstein and Stravinsky were household names.
Today, classical music has moved almost completely out of public awareness and we now have the phenomenon where wealthy contributors donate to the New York Philharmonic, but their concerts are filled with empty seats. Professional orchestras have declined in number, yet our colleges of music continue to graduate roughly 15,000 music performance majors annually, preparing them for orchestra jobs that virtually do not exist.
This dissertation will come up with models and methodologies that will preserve the availability of great classics while developing and proving in performance solutions to these problems, including addressing the Baumol Syndrome and Rightsizing, The Brooklyn Model and Extreme Scoring. These will address many of the economic, ethical, mainstream and compositional issues facing classical music.
You can read more on Michaels research here.
The Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research
The Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research is a division of the Institute for Music Leadership at the Eastman School of Music. The Center’s research and programming emphasizes the 21st Century evolution of the innovative ensemble, influenced by both the symphony orchestra and the chamber music traditions, with a focus on creative, artist-centered ensembles that reflect new models of artistic innovation, organizational relationships, and operational sustainability.