I WAS SURPRISED TO LEARN LAST YEAR that the board of directors of the Vallejo Symphony had chosen to remove David Ramadanoff as principal conductor. It is no secret that ticket sales to symphony performances have dropped over the past few years, but I would make the argument that an exclusive “interest” in the classics is the root cause of declining ticket sales, more so than Mr. Ramadanoff’s virtuous baton.

In response to the symphony’s decision, various musicians familiar with the situation have surmised that a change in “product” is afoot at the symphony. Some opeds written by classical musicians have suggested that classical music is really a niche market and that low attendance is to be expected. What does that mean? Watching the patronage flowing up the red carpet to the San Francisco Symphony season opener last year, one could conclude that classical music is the sole property of the wealthy, the politicians and the highly educated. As some have suggested, it is reserved for the one-percenters. Writers of history have documented that classical music, like that of Beethoven, Mozart and Bach, was commissioned by monarchs and that the composers went on to share their work exclusively with their benefactors, the elite. Today classical music is supported almost exclusively by those who have had the opportunity to be exposed to it in the finer schools, and it remains the core foundation of study at all music academies and schools. Graduates from top-tier pillars of education — whether musicians, scientists or engineers — appreciate classical music.

If a change in product is at the core of the symphony’s decision, does that mean the elite will be less engaged with the newer format? Will Mahler, Beethoven and Mozart have to share a program with the likes of Bernstein, Addinsell and Gershwin? Holy Stradivarius! Yes, that’s right: complex passages barely understood by even those playing them that are often better left to the visual of a “Transformers” movie may be sharing a program with staff lines from domestic composers. Some will call it blasphemy, some will call it “light”classical, and some will say it’s un-European. Fewer tragic minor movements that reach deep into our chest cavity, seeming to pull out our heart, followed by soothing “major” pianissimos triumphantly coming to the rescue — these may have to follow the Warsaw Concerto. I can hear the purists now: “Alas Ira, I yearn for a fugue.”

Successful businesses embrace the idea that what is on the shelf for sale is ultimately put there by the customer. The merchant who selfishly displays a product that fits only his or her own tastes is soon closing their doors for good. Here’s a wake-up call for symphonies throughout the world: The 99-percenters want to hear a variety of notes, not just the ones the tuxedos and Pradas want to hear. The Boston Pops and the Boston Symphony rarely have unsold seats. Their menu is wide and offers a variety of music for every interest.

But there’s much more behind the Vallejo Symphony’s decline in ticket sales. It is ironic that last year, while Mr. Ramadanoff was being told to hand over the baton in Vallejo, the Benicia school district eliminated the last bit of school day music education in the elementary schools. This year the only music options available to children in kindergarten through fifth grade are mostly after school and almost exclusively funded by private outside sources.

Losing what small bit of music education we had in K-5 is part of a race to the bottom that started in the late 1970s. Gradually, through budget cuts music and art education has been eliminated in California’s elementary schools. An obvious result is the mirrored decline in music performance participation in middle and high schools, where it is offered only as an elective. As a core offering, fewer and fewer students are exposed to any form of music appreciation in the classroom. Today’s students are seldom exposed to classical compositions, let alone even know Beethoven — or, for that matter, the Beatles. And frankly, it doesn’t matter whether Bernstein or Basie is taught in our schools; the ongoing elimination of music education in our schools is dwarfing the size of the everyday audience.

So the Vallejo Symphony, along with many symphonies throughout the world, is seeing its patronage decline. Jazz, big band and rock audiences have diminished as well. The marketing solution for increasing patronage in live performances of any music style is twofold: greater exposure of all music in the schools and a willingness to create new listening experiences in the concert hall. Playing the same video game over and over makes Mary a dull girl.

For me, listening to the same music over and over again through my 60 years is no longer as entertaining as it once was. I wanna new song. But as music education is eliminated in the schools, who will write that song — and who will be in the audience?

Stan Houston is a classically trained musician and an advocate for the arts.

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