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"Who let the Dogs Out?" or something similar while the Wall was falling. Yes, I DO know the song came after the Wall fell, but I'm making a point here. The point is some occasions call for just the right sound, just the right music and classical music only "fits" that occasion.

Now, did you see the movie Armageddon? Then you heard Rossini's William Tell Overture. How about Die Hard then you heard the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, 1st Movement. The Blues Brothers...well, then, you might recognize Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries.

Beyond the film industry, classical music and yes, the new "classical music" can be heard, not just in Europe but, also in the United States. I tend to think of the new classical music as a homogenization of classical and some of today's sounds.

We have seen artists immerge like Charlotte Church from the UK and Josh Groban from the US who are young and classically trained. Young is a key word here because it indicates fresh, renewed and growing life. Andrew Lloyd Weber has churned out for years musicals and plays, many with songs that have a decidedly "classical" sound. His ex-wife is Sarah Brightman.

Ms Brightman was a classically trained soprano who gained her stardom in the female starring role of Weber's The Phantom of the Opera. After their divorce she continued with her career and achieved success with a blend of classical and pop. Her style has resulted in over 150 gold and platinum awards (or records as they said in the old days) in 34 countries. Does that sound like dead to you?

Lastly, after seeing the growing demand for this style of homogenized classical/pop music a businessman in the UK decided to search the globe for four male singers and form a group along the lines of the Three Tenors. (As a side note, I might also ask here, who can forget the outpouring of tribute when Pavarotti, one of those Three Tenors, died recently?) The businessman's search was a success and he found a young man from Spain, one from France, one from Switzerland and one from the United States.

These young men were classically trained and each had made their living in the music profession. Together they became known as Il Divo. Yes, their style ranges from the classical to the "new classical" and they have a huge following. They have shared the stage with Barbara Streisand and Celine Dion. Oh, and the businessman who got the group together? Simon Cowell. Yes, THAT Simon Cowell, and I'm not even an American Idol fan

For my part, there are just sounds and melodies, the soothing calm and inspiration only classical music can bring. It can touch my heart. There are a few rare pieces so beautiful they nearly bring me to tears just from the shear beauty of the music. Then there are the times the music can invigorate and motivate me.

So, if classical music is dead someone forgot to tell me and evidently a whole lot of other people in this big ol' world...

Learn more about this author, Beverly Hicks Burch.
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