This Sunday, more than 100 million people will watch Super Bowl 50.
By now, you might have heard that Coldplay will perform with Beyoncé - and possibly Bruno Mars - during the halftime show. What you might not have heard is that, for part of the show, classical conductor Gustavo Dudamel will lead the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles.
Jung-Ho Pak is the conductor of the Cape Symphony Orchestra in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
He says by physically and metaphorically placing it an orchestra at the center of one of the most powerful media events in the world is saying that the arts matter.
“Having an orchestra in the middle of the Super Bowl is not only novel, or nice. This is part of a larger revolution that needs to happen in our society— acknowledging the importance of art.” Jung-Ho Pak
Gustavo Dudamel is the 35 year-old music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He’s from Venezuela and has had a character in a TV show based on his career. He smiles a lot and has long, curly, black hair that flops around when he conducts. His hair even has it’s own Facebook page.
On Sunday, he’ll lead the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles - or YOLA - in that halftime performance alongside the band Coldplay.
While it’s not exactly known what Dudamel will be leading the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles in, it probably won’t be Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Instead it’ll likely be a Coldplay song.
And not everyone is particularly excited about that.
Ara Sarkissian is the Orchestra Conductor at Interlochen Arts Academy. He says trying to draw attention to the arts shouldn’t necessarily be done with Hollywood glitz and glamor.
He thinks that studying the arts is valuable for getting to know the history, finding things out about oneself and learning necessary skills for a craft. He says celebrity status and sensationalism can gloss over what's really necessary behind the scenes to succeed.
According to the L.A. Times, this is the first time in the 50-year history of the Super Bowl that an orchestra has been showcased during halftime.
Jung-Ho Pak says Leonard Bernstein might be considered the first to really mix his classical music background with popular music. Pak says today, Gustavo Dudamel is bridging that gap.
“Why not make whatever talent that you have accessible and meaningful to the entire world?" Pak asks. "If that means stepping outside of convention or worrying about what your colleagues think, then not only is that courageous, that’s necessary.”
But Ara Sarkissian isn’t sure there’s much of a connection between the classical and pop world.
“I think that it can exist for certain individuals that make those connections by themselves," he explains. "But to learn to play, for example, a Coldplay chart has very little to do with learning anything else that we teach in the traditional part.”
Sarkissian says it’s just easier to play a Coldplay song. So, even if a student is inspired to pick up a classical instrument when they see this year’s halftime show, what’s going to happen when they realize the necessary skills of classical music are much harder to learn?
Jung-Ho Pak isn’t concerned with the kind of music the orchestra will be playing. He’s excited about and an iconic conductor leading amateur musicians. He says that speaks volumes.
“I mean here is a conductor with an international reputation; you think he would want to show the best he can do with a professional orchestra," he opines. "But no, he’s showing up with a youth orchestra. With an inner-city school youth orchestra."
Pak says the most important message that the classical music world needs to get across to the general public today, is joy. He thinks Dudamel conducting YOLA will be exuberant, fun and entertaining. And that’s bound to rub off on viewers.
The halftime show is really pretty quick— it usually runs about 12-13 minutes.
"What is the importance of that halftime show? I can’t tell you. I don’t think that it’s moving any sort of artistic movement forward.” Ara Sarkissian
Ara Sarkissian just doesn’t think that brief moment in the spotlight will have a lasting impact on changing people’s perceptions on art and classical music. He says the halftime show is a platform for entertainment, not necessarily to show the importance of the classical music art form.
"What is the importance of that halftime show?" asks Sarkissian. "I can’t tell you. I don’t think that it’s moving any sort of artistic movement forward.”
As for Gustavo Dudamel, he hopes the occasion will be important.
He says when they play on Sunday, it’ll be to inspire the youth of the world to “create both a better life for themselves and a better future.”
