Copyright The Boston Globe
Boston should lead the nation when it comes to museum music. Period. Our museums are as plentiful and important as anywhere. Musical talent is through the roof here, both homegrown and drawn by our educational and cultural institutions. Yet, as Victoria Wasylak reports, leadership right now is coming from the Berkshires (“The Berkshires sing a new tune via their own label — Mass MoCA Records,” Weekend, Oct. 15). With traditional cultural funding models under threat from Washington, a cottage industry can be built around museum music in Eastern Massachusetts with few new resources required, provided institutions work together cooperatively, entrepreneurially, and quickly. College radio and college museums can easily curate new music together. Boston’s storied music press and music blogs can follow Wasylak’s lead and report on museum music in Metro Boston. Or, lacking regional leadership, individual museums here can seek know-how or collaboration from the record company operated by the Smithsonian Institution. Both listening to music and creating it have been found to have positive benefits on wellness. The same is true for visiting museums. Boston knows how to build economy around the arts, health, and education. Creating good economy in museum music simply requires our cultural leaders to be comfortable getting “your chocolate in my peanut butter.” Paul M. Piwko Boston The writer is codeveloper of the National Museum of Mental Health Project and a lecturer at the Questrom School of Business at Boston University.
