I know and admire your work Jim. I am in the United States.

We could debate the diversity and audience size of classical versus folk, and I would point out the number of full time radio stations here that broadcast classical as opposed to folk.

I really do not believe we lost audience because we "tried to please them all". If anything, I think that the faction that drew lines in the sand as to what was folk turned off more people than helped gain new fans. There was also the "Mighty Wind" crowd that turned folk into a commercial entity that bore little connection to what anyone would consider the tradition.

I am certain that the songs and music will survive into the next generation and well beyone. People have been predicting the doom of the traditions since the early 1900's and it has not happened yet, and I doubt it ever will. The only difference is, the tradition that they were trying to save 100 years ago was a living tradition, and we have a contemporary version of that living tradition that tends to get ignored or downplayed.   The gift is the song itself, not the pedigree.