Rumors of classical music’s demise are greatly exaggerated. As long as I can remember, people have been pronouncing classical music as dying or dead. But last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing a young violinist who doesn’t share that view. In some ways Michelle Ross has pursued a traditional path for a classically trained musician: earning a Juilliard School degree, studying Johann Sebastian Bach’s music from a deeply scholarly perspective, and making her debut recording of music by Bach on a borrowed Stradivarius violin.
But the twenty-something also took to the streets of New York to play Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas in some unlikely places: a firehouse, the Staten Island Ferry, and a soup kitchen, to name just a few. Concert halls are fine, but she wanted to bring live performances of Bach’s music into people’s everyday lives. So … she did. For her, the single most important thing is access. Give people access to the music, and it can change lives. She believes (and I agree) that the music speaks for itself. All these years, I’ve mostly ignored the pessimists, and Michelle Ross and her optimism renewed my faith. I hope you’ll listen to my conversation with Michelle Ross, and be encouraged by her message, too.