Re: [Harp-L] Spah Conventions

[Zack <zack.pomerleau@xxxxxxxxx>]

I'd love to go to SPAH (I am seventeen), but their prices are often
incredibly high and staying somewhere is even higher, and with college
coming up that is an even BIGGER issue! Plus, this year they are coming to
Virginia, which is still an outrageous amount of time for me to drive to, so
that is another issue. Maybe they need to attempt to get something here in
the east coast (I know they could get one in Philly, and that'd only be
around ten hours for me). If they want young members, they need to be able
to get them there, first of all.


   Sincerely,
   Zack.

On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 8:06 PM, Sam Friedman <sammyasher@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> "younger" player here (21). I submitted a video of myself playing "there
> will never be another you" on harmonica and vibraphone a few months back. I
> take this instrument very seriously, however I also take the very little
> amount of money I have seriously, and the cost of travel, hotel, AND
> registration fees for the convention are really difficult to deal with as a
> college student. I am hoping to go to SPAH this summer, but its all a
> matter
> of money. I am sure this is the case for others in my generation as well
> (including a few harmonica playing-friends who I've spoken to about going
> with me). I understand the cost is small when considering
> the opportunity/experience.... but that still doesn't make it cheap
> relative
> to what I can actually afford.
>
> -Sam Friedman
>
> http://www.youtube.com/sammyasher
>
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 3:47 PM, Bob Cohen <bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> >
> > On Apr 22, 2011, at 12:10 PM, Richard Hunter wrote:
> >
> > > The demographics are simple and non-negotiable. The audience at SPAH
> (as
> > well as the performers) are getting older. People get older to a point,
> then
> > they die. If younger people aren't actively recruited into the
> organization
> > before that, the organization dies with them.
> >
> > I agree with Richard. I look at the issue from two different
> perspectives.
> >
> > Assumption 1: There are younger people taking the instrument seriously.
> If
> > they knew about us, they'd join.
> >
> > Assuming there is enough interest in our instrument to sustain and grow
> our
> > membership, where do the under 40s fit in?  I've only been involved for
> some
> > three years but it is my sense that there aren't too many teens or
> > twenty-somethings who can afford to go to the convention.
>  Thirty-somethings
> > are career and family building so they can't be counted on for attending
> the
> > convention unless it's in their backyard. That leaves the 40+ demographic
> > for the annual event.
> >
> > Where do younger players fit in the SPAH (and harmonica) universe?  Or,
> > vice versa.  Where does SPAH fit within the current harmonica universe?
> >  Does SPAH provide benefits to members who cannot go to the convention?
> > Answering these these questions are linked. As of right now, it's not
> clear
> > to me that we provide any tangible benefits to anyone who does not attend
> > the convention.
> >
> > Assumption 2. Interest among young musicians in studying our instruments
> > seriously is declining or maybe even nearly non-existent.
> >
> > I think of my own 15 year old daughter's musical journey. She plays tenor
> > sax and bassoon and is planning to attend conservatory after graduation.
> >  Her high school's music program has a national reputation. They run a
> > symphony band, two jazz bands, a chamber group program, a marching band,
> an
> > indoor percussion program, a private lesson program, etc.
> >
> > The music department is run like a baseball team where the elementary and
> > middle school bands function like progressively more talented farm teams.
> >  They think big picture.  Kids are encouraged to play certain instruments
> > according to what the director knows he'll need by the time they get to
> high
> > school.  My daughter has no interest in playing diatonic or chromatic
> > harmonica--and her dad plays both. And she's familiar with accomplished
> > players from various genred because I've dragged her to see live music
> since
> > she was nine. In talking to her director, he was open to bringing in a
> > harmonica master class, but this is not something he is actively seeking.
> >  And, it'd have to be free.
> >
> > So how do we stimulate interest among younger musicians?   The few
> > precocious players we've managed to attract at the convention barely
> > scratches the surface. In my opinion we need a more systematic approach,
> one
> > that reaches out to various areas like the school music programs, music
> > stores, developing content to support an on-line community, providing
> > tangible membership benefits, and we need to answers all the questions
> above
> > as well as the others that will inevitably arise.
> >
> > Under our current business model, SPAH has neither the money nor
> > institutional wherewithal to go this alone. We charge very little for the
> > membership and we rely on a dedicated but small volunteer staff.
> >
> > We need to partner with all the manufacturers, who after all, stand to
> > profit from the success of such an initiative and perhaps we could seek
> > grant money.
> >
> > Bob
> >
>



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Drummer, guitarist, pianist, vocalist, and harmonica player. Currently using
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