“Classical music tends to have a stuffy reputation,” says Dr. Adrianne Honnold, Assistant Professor of Music at Lewis University.

However, a lot of current popular music is not as far removed from classical music as we may think, says the co-author of “The Legacy of Elise Hall: Contemporary Perspectives on Gender and the Saxophone”. Modern-day jazz and pop are derived from classical music artists, such as Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven.

The term “classical music” typically references music from Western Europe in the past 1,000 years or so. It was played in concert venues for those with a higher economic status and wasn’t focused on relating to the common person.

Honnold points out there is a rich and long history of classical music in Japan and India. This type of music is less known and popular but dates back to more than 6,000 years ago.