Is our art dying?

[MisterBeagle]

Hello all

We had a masterclass on the last week before Christmas break at my academy high school in which the seniors of last year came back and shared their experiences in their first semester of college. There came a frightful discussion in the midst of it, however, where we went over the uncertainty of the art of classical music in America. I live in Virginia, near where the Virginia Symphony performs. For those who haven't heard, the VSO is near the point of dissolving from lack of funds. It's really scary to know that the very career I'm probably going to enter is becoming unneeded or unnecessary. While there is a growing community of classical musicians, there's a lack of demand, and thus a lack of job opportunity. I've hardly played any gigs outside of local orchestras and chamber ensembles, but to those of you playing in a [major] symphony, is it really as bad as it appears to be? To college students, what are some suggestions for music-related minors in which we can invest our musical talents without compromising our performance focus?