Hey, I'm a 17 year old violinist, and have discovered that people are always
going to put down classical music.  But, I've made it my goal to get some
people at least somewhat on my side.  There's really no way you're going to
get everyone to like it.  I try to talk to people personally and be sensitive
about the way I handle it, but I find that most people are open to it in
the end.  Also, as a test case I will mention that I wrote an article in
the school newspaper about classical vs. pop and found that that won over
about....oh that was zero people, but when I talk to people one on one (and
do avoid those stubborn people who aren't even willing to listen) they tend
to hear some good.

jed