Greetings!
Today begins a new “culture column.” The goal is to create a public awareness and discussion on the role of the arts in our society. Specifically, we will focus on our local community, its inherent and intrinsic importance to the fabric and health of that society and community. We cope with increasing perils in the face of both the economy and the fragmentation and isolation of the individuals in our society through the marvels of modern technology – and for want of a better phrase, “the dumbing down of America.” But through the arts and in particular live music concerts, we can enjoy vibrant and robust culture and community.
As the Founding Director of a growing, regional, professional symphony orchestra that began with the initial simple goal of creating employment and performance opportunities for musicians, it has become increasingly apparent and urgent to me that its success has brought with it also a mission and indeed a responsibility to be a voice in the wilderness against all the negativity we are constantly barraged with, to advocate for maintaining standards of excellence and to be a force for positivism and the “can do” attitude that built our country.
Although my life experience and work career has been completely in the musical arts, what we talk about here will have validity for all genres of culture and all organizations that seek to maintain the arts.
Without a healthy and vibrant culture, a community cannot continue to exist.
We seek to cultivate a better understanding amongst our readers of how the cultural organizations in their communities function, how they survive, and just how important and integral they are to each and every one of us – even those that are totally unaware of the daily impact of the arts in their lives.
Each and every day brings upon us a new issue or topic concerning the arts – orchestras going out of business, arts funding cuts in state and national budgets, the bigger questions about why we should even support the arts – so there will be no shortage of things to talk about. And in the middle of all of this, there are stellar success stories that need to be told, that give us hope.
As the old TV commercial from the 1960s said, “Art is for Man’s Sake.”
Paul Surapine
Executive & Artistic Director, The Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra
Paul Surapine can be reached at psurapine@claflinhill.org
