It is interesting that I started studying music at Columbia College in 1981--the last bad recession. This is further evidence that the arts transcend economics, as there has always been more to life than pursuit of money and fighting to survive. One trip to a museum and you realize that people have made art across many centuries, most of which were much more difficult than ours. Even in bad times, there is always some time to engage the artistic mind.
Applications are soaring at music schools across the country, often mirroring the overall rise in college enrollment but in many cases surpassing the interest in other disciplines. Never mind that the chances of landing a paying job in a decent-size symphony orchestra have diminished, with many ensembles going out of business in recent years. Never mind that jazz clubs are becoming an endangered species.
More students want to stake their futures on the seemingly rarefied art of music. And parents are not only letting them—they're paying for it.
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clipped from www.chicagotribune.com
