Could you ever envision attending a New Zealand Symphony Orchestra concert surrounded by a totally disinterested crowd? A theatre full of preoccupied people, ignoring a band that is ceaselessly playing on. One cannot deny the cultural importance of classical music throughout Western history, but if there is no true appreciation for it from an audience, can we deem it as valuable?
This is similar to Professor Gregory Booth’s point in communicating the lack of public enthusiasm in India towards traditional wedding band processions. After piquing my interest in the first week of Arts Scholars 200, I went along to his inaugural lecture, Music, money and value to learn more.
What I initially assumed was a niche interest soon proved to have wider implications on the value of music, especially with reference to different cultural settings. Throughout the lecture, Professor Booth highlighted the paradox between wedding bands being an incredible music enterprise with no real audience. Although it is imperative for traditional Indian weddings to have a band procession, passers-by take no enjoyment in the spectacle. The purpose isn’t for entertainment, but rather to fulfil a socio-economic tradition.
So, where is the value in music if no one can appreciate its meaning? Even if it seems these processions are purposeless from a New Zealand perspective, I believe it is the emotional attachment to cultural tradition that keeps these customs alive. In the same way no one questions the existence of the NZSO, how come we must be taught the significance of wedding bands in order to find meaning in it? How come we cannot appreciate the art form within the context it was created for?
In a world that is becoming increasingly globalised, it seems as though practices with cultural importance are almost becoming obsolete. None the less, the band will keep playing on.
