Ok ... I think we've all looked through Gustav's email.
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I don't even know why we're discussing it. It's perfectly ridiculous!
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Calm down, Tasha! Gustav is putting forward some serious points.
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Well, it's true that we can't put on a pop concert for 4.000 people.
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But 1,000 spectators would be perfectly Ok.
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Can I point out that not all pop fans are badly behaved?
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And the pop group we're having is not going to drop out!
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I heard from them this morning. They're looking forward to it.
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Hang on a minute! Who is this band?
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The River Boys. We settled on them last week.
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You didn't show up for that meeting on time, Rudi ...
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So are we all agreed? We want to include all kinds of music?
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Absolutely! We want pop, jazz, folk and classical.
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Shall we find out if Gustav's uncle can bring his chamber orchestra?
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Yes, definitely. They sound fantastic.
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Ok. I'll contact Gustav today and see what we can sort out.
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Listen 5 times
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Lesson 2: Conversation
Good morning, gentlemen. Do come in and sit down. How can I help you?
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Thank you very much for seeing us, Miss Jackson.
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That's quite all right, Todd. What seems to be the problem?
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Well, it was me who asked for this meeting, Miss Jackson, and I did so because I am very concerned about the arts festival. In my opinion, it's going to be a disaster.
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We have a student committee organising the festival, Gustav. Shouldn't you take your concerns to them?
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I did, Miss Jackson. I wrote a long and very detailed e-mail to them, and they didn't even consider my views.
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Hang on a minute, Gustav. That's not true. We had a lengthy discussion about your e-mail, and I'm afraid we all disagreed with most of your points.
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What points did you make in your e-mail, Gustav?
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Miss Jackson, the members of the committee are determined to include a pop concert in the festival programme. I am absolutely convinced that this is a huge mistake. I strongly believe that such a concert will only damage the reputation of the school.
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Really? What's your view on this, Todd?
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Well, to my mind, and the committee agrees with me, the pop concert is going to be a very popular part of the festival. We feel that all types of music should be represented. Classical music, traditional folk music, jazz and pop music.
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But we all know that pop fans are always badly behaved. Think of that. As head teacher of this school, you must be worried, surely?
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To be honest, Gustav, I'm a pop fan myself and I'm really looking forward to seeing the River Boys perform. Do you have any thoughts about that?
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No, not really. I don't know.
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Let's remember this. We elected our festival committee and we must trust their decisions. As far as I'm concerned, they're doing an excellent job.
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Thank you, Miss Jackson.
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And I have no doubt whatsoever that the festival will be a huge success.
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Listen 5 times
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Lesson 3: Conversation
Are you going to be long with the copier, Gustav?
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No, I have nearly finished.
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What are you printing?
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The orchestra rehearsal schedule. Why don't you take your copy now?
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Okay, thanks.
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Hey, Giorgio, walk in the corridor.
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Sorry, Gustav.
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Here's your orchestra rehearsal schedule.
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Okay, thanks, Gustav. We've got a lot of rehearsals, haven't we?
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Of course. We have to be perfect.
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Oh, look. Wednesday's rehearsal clashes with the jazz band.
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Jazz band.
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Yes, I've just joined it. It's great. We're thinking of working something up for the festival.
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Jazz? At the festival.
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Why not, Gustav? The committee is planning to include a professional jazz band in the festival program as well.
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Really.
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And an indie band.
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A what?
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You know, Gustav, a band that writes their own music to their own style. They've been in touch with a brilliant group. Everyone loves them and lots of people will want to come and hear them. It'll be fantastic.
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You mean a pop group at the festival?
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Well, kind of a pop group, yes.
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I think it will be great to have lots of different kinds of music at the festival.
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So do I. I'd really like to hear a great blues singer.
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And a swing band.
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Yes, terrific. And what about a folk group?
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Well, they won't have all that at the festival.
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I think they might, Gustav. It won't just be Mozart, Schubert and Bach, you know.
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That's right. They've been talking about having lots of different kinds of music.
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They're meeting to finalize the program tomorrow.
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Hey! Gustav! Where are you going?
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To get my laptop of course. This needs action!
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Listen 5 times
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Lesson Heading
Classical is best!
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From Gustav Hindman
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To Festival committee
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Subject Music programme
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Dear festival committee,
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The kind of music that we iclude in our festival is very important and it is absolutely essential that we get it right.
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Obviously, the mysic programme must include a wide variety of events that will appeal to many different kinds of people but, at the same time, I feel that the festival should not attract people who do not really know anything about music.
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I know some people will argue in favour of including pop music but classical music is far more appropriate.
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We have the school's reputation for excellence to consider and we should not put this at risk.
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The first point is that classical music is superior to any other type of music.
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It is called claddical for a reason: it stands the test of time and people have been playing it, listening to it and appreciating it for centuries. They know it is the best.
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Next, we want to attract a broad audience.
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With the classical gentre, that is no problem at all.
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There is such a wide variety of music types, composers, instruments and orchestras within the classical repertoire that we could run a classical programme for years and not repeat ourselves.
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With a range from early music quartets to 70-piece orchestras and everything in between, frankly, we will be spoiled for choice.
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Having attracted people to the festival, we want them to come to more than one kind of event.
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The audience for classical music is an educated group of people who will understand and appreciate other art forms.
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They will be loyal and enthusiastic supporters of other festival events, such as ballet and art exhibigtions.
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The field of classical music contains outstandingly talented musicians.
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It must be clear to everyone that this is what we need in order to establish a good mysical reputation for the festival.
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I am in a unique position to help here.
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My uncle conducts a small Lindon-based chamber orchestra.
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I asked him if he would be able to bring his orchestra to our festival and he said he would. This is very exciting.
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The orchestra is well-known internationally and has had some exceptionally good reviews recently.
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I'm attaching some photos taken at the Berlin festival.
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I'v got some recordings you can listen to, as well.
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Finally, it is important to point out that a classical repertoire is essential for all school students as part of their general education and especially in helping them to develop a truly discerning taste in music.
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More than 70% of students in this school play an orchestral instrument and they will benefit enormously from seeing professional orchestras perform live.
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Some people will present pop music as being a desirable part of the programme because lots of people enjoy it.
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It is true. Lots of peole do enjoy it.
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A tune catches on and you hear it on the radio, on TV, on the internet and even in the supermarket.
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You hear it everywhere, then suddenly, it's gone.
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It's only popular for a short time.
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Pop music has no staying power and justifiably so. Most of it is not worth listening to more than a few times.
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People say that there are lots of great pop performers. There probably are but that's all they are: great performers.
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The point is that the music has little merit. It all sounds the same.
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It is basically guitars and drums and not much else.
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I heaed a pop star being interviewed the other day.
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The repoter asked him how he wrote his music.
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He said that he couldn't even read music and did it all by ear.
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What will this type of performer add to the standard of the festival?
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The point will be made that pop music will attract a larger, younger audience. It's true.
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The City Pop! Festival attracted an average of 4,000 people to most events.
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I asked the head teacher if we had a space big enough for such a large audience and she said that we did not.
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Some peole will bring up the idea that pop music is more fun but this is not an advantage.
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A young and inexperienced audience will get over-exited and may start to behave badly.
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I asked the school caretaker if he had ever had trouble with pop concerts and he said he had but, fortunately, not at this school.
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However, an over-excited audience is definitely someting we want to avoid.
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Somebody might try to make the case that pop celebrities will gibe the school publicity.
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Again, this may be true but we have to remind ourselves that things can go wrong.
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Celebrities often show off and look terrible.
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They are notoriously unreliable, cannot keep to a schedule and may drop out at the last moment.
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There's every chance that the school's reputation could suffer.
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I conclude by emphasisng the superiority of classical music and the dependability of classical musicians and the classical music audience.
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With this choice, the school's reputation and the events are guaranteed.
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In contrast, pop stars and their fans have little musical enucation or expertise, and the behaviour of both the performers and their audience is potentially a complete disaster.
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You wouldn't want to risk the school's reputation, would you?
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I hope you will think over my point of view and feel able to embrace a purely classical programme.
