Tag: Moving Out

Music can do more than entertain, it can create connection, reflection and even healing. In a recent episode of Varsity’s Roundtable Talk, we talked with Stuart Malina, longtime Music Director and Conductor of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra and Tony Award-winning orchestrator.

In the conversation, Stuart discussed why music often resonates more deeply as we age, how live concerts create powerful shared experiences and the surprising ways music can unlock memory and emotion. Stuart also reflects on working with Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp on Broadway’s Moving Out and shares advice about creativity, confidence and defining success for yourself.

Check out the full episode here.

WHAT HAVE YOU OBSERVED ABOUT HOW PEOPLE’S RELATIONSHIP WITH MUSIC CHANGES AS THEY AGE?

The core audience of classical music is older. I would say probably averaging somewhere in the upper 60s to lower 70s. I don’t think this is a coincidence. I think that there is something about classical music that resonates perhaps a little bit more intensely with older audiences. Music speaks to everybody, but as you get older, different kinds of music will bring responses. 

I speak to a lot of people who say the same thing: I grew up and I loved the pop music of my time, and of course I still do. But now I’m beginning to understand this music a little bit better and it speaks to my heart.

WHY DO YOU THINK MUSIC BECOMES MORE MEANINGFUL LATER IN LIFE?

If there is wisdom, it’s just kind of being able to look at life with a little bit more grand perspective, and I do think that might be part of why there’s a response to not just music, but any kind of great art as you get older. 

I also think that part of it is patience. As you get older, I do think there is a greater ability to just sit back and enjoy a journey. So much of classical music is just allowing yourself to enjoy the progression of an emotional arc or the progression of a beautiful long phrase. And I do think that comes a little bit more easily when you’re older. But the last thing might even be just a practical issue, that older people just have a little bit more time.

RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT MUSIC CAN SUPPORT MEMORY, MOOD, AND BRAIN HEALTH. DOES THAT ALIGN WITH WHAT YOU’VE SEEN PERSONALLY?

I actually think that music is unbelievably powerful. I do think that music speaks to parts of the brain that you can’t reach in other ways. We have a great friend of the orchestra who brought her husband to concerts. He was suffering from very severe Alzheimer’s, to the degree where he really couldn’t remember anything and he didn’t remember who people were. 

She brought him to the concerts because when he walked in the concert hall, suddenly he was who he was before. He was recognizing members of the orchestra. And she said that for that one hour and 45 minutes or two hours, he was himself again. And then they would leave and it would be back to his old world. So something’s going on there. 

QUOTES

“I do think that there is a greater ability perhaps to just sit back and enjoy a journey.” (Stuart)

“We’re living in a world of peaks. You go to see a Marvel movie and every five minutes there’s going to be some kind of crazy thing that stirs you and pumps you with adrenaline. Listening to great music is not that.” (Stuart)

“What we’re doing is creating a landscape of sound and intensity. Yes, you’re going to have your peaks, but then you’re going to have long periods of lulls that allow for the next peak to be something special.” (Stuart)

“I do think that as you get older, there’s a greater willingness to reflect on what it means to be alive, what it means to exist in this world.” (Stuart)

“There’s so much anger, so much infighting among groups and fighting with other groups that people are looking for ways to make sense of all of that. And at its core, that’s what art is attempting to do.” (Stuart)

“When you come to a concert, you’re being thrust together to experience something as a community — a kind of ad hoc community that will not exist again after this day.” (Stuart)

“Your presence, your energy, your focus is palpable. I can’t describe what it feels like, but I feel it.” (Stuart)

“When you’re at a concert, you’re actively engaged in the artistic endeavor. It’s not like we’re performing and you’re listening.” (Stuart)

“Don’t judge yourself based on other people’s perspectives. Know what you want, know what’s important to you, and pursue that.” (Stuart)

NOTES

Stuart Malina has served as Music Director and Conductor of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra for more than 25 years. A Tony Award-winning orchestrator and accomplished pianist, he is known for blending classical tradition with contemporary perspectives while championing the emotional and communal power of live music.

The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra is one of the oldest continuously operating orchestras in the United States, performing at the historic Forum Auditorium in downtown Harrisburg. The organization presents classical masterworks, pops concerts and educational programming while working to expand accessibility and deepen community engagement through live music experiences.

Malina won a Tony Award for his orchestration work on Twyla Tharp and Billy Joel’s Broadway production Moving Out. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with artists across multiple disciplines including dancers, actors and rock musicians. He also discussed the challenges of contemporary classical composition, the importance of exposing audiences to new music and the role arts organizations play in combating loneliness and fostering human connection.

Malina reflected on how audiences often develop a deeper appreciation for music and art as they age, citing patience, perspective and emotional openness as contributing factors.

He discussed how classical music differs from modern entertainment because it embraces emotional peaks and valleys rather than constant stimulation and adrenaline.

Malina described live performance as a shared community experience that cannot be replicated through recordings, emphasizing the energy exchange between performers and audiences.

He shared stories illustrating music’s profound effect on cognition and emotion, including experiences involving individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and developmental disabilities.

Malina explained how working on Broadway’s Moving Out expanded his understanding of artistry and deepened his respect for musicians, dancers and choreographers from outside the classical world.

He spoke about the importance of contemporary composers and challenged the notion that great music only exists in the past, arguing that today’s composers are creating work that will endure for generations.

Malina discussed how concerts and other live arts experiences can help combat loneliness by creating safe, communal environments where people feel connected through shared experiences.