Broadening Classical’s Demographics
拓展古典音樂的年輕族群
By Michael Cooper

Despite the graying of the classical music audience, or perhaps because of it, American orchestras and major music institutions are chasing youth with ever more ambitious programs – including international ones – to reach, and teach, the next generation of players.
古典音樂的聽眾年齡層逐漸老化，或許正因為如此，美國的管絃樂團和主要的音樂機構正在用益發充滿雄心壯志的課程去追逐年輕人，藉以接觸及教育下一代的樂手。這些學程包括國際課程在內。

The approaches they are taking vary widely.
他們使用的方法變化多端。

Some take their inspiration from El Sistema, the Venezuelan program that uses classical music education to help poor and underserved children. The Los Angeles Philharmonic said it was creating a network out of the about 60 American music programs that have been influenced by El Sistema, which has been widely lauded but which is also drawing scrutiny over its place in Venezuelan politics.
有些以委內瑞拉的「系統」（El Sistema）計畫為其靈感來源，這項計畫用古典音樂教育幫助貧窮兒童。洛杉磯愛樂交響樂團表示，他們正在打造一個涵蓋六十項受「系統」影響的美國音樂學程的網路。「系統」廣受讚揚，但也因涉入委內瑞拉政治而受到檢視。

The project will bring together young players from Sistema-inspired programs culminating in a national festival in 2017 to draw students to Los Angeles to play under Gustavo Dudamel, the most famous graduate of El Sistema and the Philharmonic’s music director.
這項計畫將讓參加「系統」類型課程的年輕樂手共聚一堂，於2017年的全國音樂節達到高峰。學員將齊聚洛杉磯，在古斯塔沃．杜達美指揮下演奏。他是「系統」最有名的畢業生，現為洛杉磯愛樂音樂總監。

Others are working to establish an American version of the kind of youth orchestra that has flourished in other countries. The National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, which was created in 2013 for top-flight American players, plans to tour China this summer with Charles Dutoit, the former chief conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
另有些計畫則致力設立美國版的青年管絃樂團，此類樂團在其他國家已蓬勃發展。2013年創設的美國國家青年管絃樂團，乃為頂尖的美國樂手而成立，樂團計畫今夏與費城管絃樂團前首席指揮夏爾·杜特華到中國大陸巡演。

The New York Philharmonic is starting partnerships with the University of Michigan and with the Shanghai Orchestra Academy. The orchestra will travel to Shanghai this July to play a series of concerts and to teach music students there.
紐約愛樂開始和密西根大學及上海樂隊學院合作，紐約愛樂將於今年7月造訪上海，舉行一系列音樂會，並教導上海的音樂系學生。

That month the National Youth Symphony will be in Shanghai as well. Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall’s executive director, said in a statement that “we expect the orchestra’s first tour to China to be a tremendous opportunity for musical and cultural discovery for everyone involved.”
同一個月，國家青年交響樂團也將前往上海。卡內基音樂廳行政總監克萊夫、基林森在一分聲明中說，「我們期待這個樂團的首趟中國大陸之行，對所有參與者而言，都是一次音樂與文化發現的絕佳機會」。

The Sistema-inspired effort spearheaded by Los Angeles is different; its goals involve not only teaching music but also helping children with limited opportunities.
洛杉磯在「系統」啟發下帶頭進行的嘗試有些不同，它的目標不只是教授音樂，也包括幫助機會不多的兒童。

In Venezuela, the program reaches hundreds of thousands of children, and it has won praise from many international music world luminaries. But El Sistema, which relies on government funding, has also drawn some criticism for being too close to the regimes of Hugo Chávez and his successor, Nicolás Maduro.
在委內瑞拉，這項課程觸及數十萬名兒童，並且贏得許多國際音樂界傑出人士的讚譽。但是「系統」仰賴政府資金也招致批評，被指和已故總統雨果．查維茲和其繼任者尼可拉斯．馬度洛的政權走得太近。

The current efforts to reach young players may differ, but they can work in tandem. When the National Youth Orchestra visited Los Angeles last summer, its players rehearsed side by side with students from the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Sistema-inspired program playing “Tico Tico” and Ravel’s arrangement of “Pictures at an Exhibition.”
現今接觸年輕樂手的方法也許各不相同，但可以連貫合作。當國家青年管絃樂團去年夏天拜訪洛杉磯時，他們的樂手就和洛杉磯愛樂旗下「系統」類型課程的學員一同排練曲子「Tico Tico」，以及拉威爾改編版本的「展覽會之畫」。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/08/arts/music/cultivating-a-more-youthful-orchestra-.html

2015-02-17聯合報/G9版/UNITED DAILY NEWS 莊蕙嘉譯 原文參見紐時週報十二版下