Inaugural Fanfare

Perhaps it wasn't the smartest idea in the world to commission a piece for violin, clarinet, cello, and piano for the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, since these things take place outside in January, and in order to be heard the musicians had to mime to a pre-recorded tape, but it was a nice gesture to the community of musicians and music of lovers who think beyond Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson, and even James Taylor when it comes to ceremonial music.

I wish that someone on the committee might have had the cultural foresight to commission some appropriate outdoor music, like, perhaps, a new brass fanfare for today's inauguration. It could have been short, but it could have still been substantial, and could have marked the moment in a way that would be significant for those of us who keep the practice of non-pop music alive. There was talk about painting and sculpture at the Inaugural lunch, and there was poetry at the ceremony. Why does "serious" music seem to be off the cultural radar?

My musical wishes for President Obama's second term? Consider the fact that classical music is not, and has not been (at least during the last hundred years), an exclusively European "art form." There was a classical music concert at the White House in 2009, and I believe that was it for President Obama's first term. Maybe the White House can set a cultural agenda this term that includes more classical music. Is it too much to ask?