The persistent whispering of voices, full voiced conversations, crying babies, and children and adults alike walking up and down the aisle. And this is all occurring DURING the concert --instrumentalists are playing, choirs and soloists are singing --it makes no difference. Concert etiquette is truly a lost art. Concert goers act more like they are at a football game than a choral or orchestral concert. I wonder, does the audience realize that the singers/players have been working on their music for many months? Do they understand how disheartening it is for the performers to hear babies crying throughout the concert and to see people walking and talking during their performance? After all, this is their one shot to show their parents, siblings, grandparents, and friends the fruits of all those months of work.
As a concert "goer" myself, I have increasingly become aware of how distracted and frustrated I feel when attending a program in which the audience is noisy, restless, and inattentive. What has led individuals to believe that this type of behavior is appropriate at concerts? I want to suggest a few possible reasons. First, listening to music has long ago become a passive activity . As a society we are bombarded by music. It is playing as we shop, eat, drive our cars, go to the doctor, ride in an elevator -- well, you get the idea. We have been trained not to pay attention to music. Music, it seems, serves us only as background noise. We passively listen to music as opposed to focusing on the music itself and the performers who have spent countless hours in rehearsal.
When I take a step back to look at this phenomenon, I consider, what can choral and orchestral musicians do to teach their audience about appropriate behavior during a concert. I believe, at the very least, an effort should be made to educate the audience in concert etiquette. Here are a few relatively simple suggestions. The conductor can offer a carefully worded announcement before the concert begins emphasizing how talking, cell phones, and extraneous movement during the concert is a distraction to the singers. Also, ushers could tactfully direct concert goers with very young children to a special seating area that will allow for a quick exit should the child become disruptive. And finally a notice should be placed in the program with remarks about the use of cell phones, talking during the concert, etc…
At this point I want to put a "bug" in the ear of church musicians. These same issues occur in many of our churches. It is all to common for congregations to talk during the prelude and the anthem. Members also think nothing of traipsing about (liberally) during the worship service. I want to encourage church musicians to use some of the same methods suggested above to educate their congregations.
In conclusion, I want to clarify that most individuals who attend my choral concerts are fairly well educated in concert etiquette. My audience has been educated over the years by myself and in large measure by my predecessors. However, it is an on going process that needs to be fine tuned if one wants their audiences to move beyond Concert Etiquette 101.
As a concert "goer" myself, I have increasingly become aware of how distracted and frustrated I feel when attending a program in which the audience is noisy, restless, and inattentive. What has led individuals to believe that this type of behavior is appropriate at concerts? I want to suggest a few possible reasons. First, listening to music has long ago become a passive activity . As a society we are bombarded by music. It is playing as we shop, eat, drive our cars, go to the doctor, ride in an elevator -- well, you get the idea. We have been trained not to pay attention to music. Music, it seems, serves us only as background noise. We passively listen to music as opposed to focusing on the music itself and the performers who have spent countless hours in rehearsal.
When I take a step back to look at this phenomenon, I consider, what can choral and orchestral musicians do to teach their audience about appropriate behavior during a concert. I believe, at the very least, an effort should be made to educate the audience in concert etiquette. Here are a few relatively simple suggestions. The conductor can offer a carefully worded announcement before the concert begins emphasizing how talking, cell phones, and extraneous movement during the concert is a distraction to the singers. Also, ushers could tactfully direct concert goers with very young children to a special seating area that will allow for a quick exit should the child become disruptive. And finally a notice should be placed in the program with remarks about the use of cell phones, talking during the concert, etc…
At this point I want to put a "bug" in the ear of church musicians. These same issues occur in many of our churches. It is all to common for congregations to talk during the prelude and the anthem. Members also think nothing of traipsing about (liberally) during the worship service. I want to encourage church musicians to use some of the same methods suggested above to educate their congregations.
In conclusion, I want to clarify that most individuals who attend my choral concerts are fairly well educated in concert etiquette. My audience has been educated over the years by myself and in large measure by my predecessors. However, it is an on going process that needs to be fine tuned if one wants their audiences to move beyond Concert Etiquette 101.