We went to the middle school chorus’ final concert of the year last night. Pepperkat is in the “Concert Chorus” (in the middle between “Beginning Chorus” and “Ensemble”). It has amazed me ever since the kids were in elementary school what a fantastic music program we have between our elementary, middle and high schools. Their elementary school music teacher was a part of a presidential commission on music and the arts and traveled to China to compare notes on teaching methods. Some of the harmonies and musical selections we heard last night were things my high school chorus never did.
That’s why it annoys the hell out of me to go to one of these concerts.
I can’t help but feel sorry for these kids who have worked their hearts out only to be greeted by a rude audience filled with screaming babies, yakking parents, ringing cell phones and rude cat calls. When the music teacher needs to lecture the supposedly adult audience on proper behavior, something is severely wrong (although I wish that instead of “Please, be respectful,” she had said: “Stop embarrassing your kid by acting like a fucking moron!”).
Is it this way at your kids’ schools? Or are we “unique”?
I’ve heard this about other schools, too. A real shame — back when we were in high school, people respected the concerts, which was great, wasn’t it?
Grr.
Those people oughta be arrested and THEIR parents too for not teaching them any better.
I don’t have kids, but it was the same way with my Nieces!! I was so pissed at Carla’s last concert of 8th grade! She did a beautiful solo, but all you could hear was rude children talking, and even parents yapping!! Really made me mad!! :o(
I don’t think my schools were ever that bad, but then again cell phones weren’t as popular then either. We actually had the opposite problem. People we actually respectful enough to come and behave at our high school orchestra concerts, but our orchestra program sucked! Our conductor actually stopped us about 2 lines into a song, and made us start over. *cringe* It was awful.
I work at a Middle School of the Arts. You’d think that since every child that goes had to audition, the parents would be of a better caliber. And you know, they are, probably because since they have a child there, they know what those kids on stage have had to go through. Now the other kids are good at concerts, mainly because so many teachers around they’d never get away with it, and because they’re proud of their classmates. But even we get the parents no kid wants. On the phone, showing up looking like a slut, not even clapping for any other child, yelling at their baby who won’t stop screaming. Thank goodness we have a principal who will walk right up to them and ask them to step out until they are finished. Thanks, Solonor, you’ve made me glad about going into work today.
Kismet, karma or whatever…. I just went to Jacobs (my oldest son, for the rest of you, 3rd grade, 9 years old) school concert last night. Part of the Bangor City Chorus, with pieces by 3rd Graders, 4th, Middle School, High School and then the whole group combined. Maybe 1200 people in attendance, at the Bangor Auditorium (a hell hole acoustically, but kinda neat for the kids involved, as it’s the biggest building in several counties). Some of what you described occured, namely the babies crying and the cell phones (my wife’s, as well…. MEGA EMBARRASSED AND ANGRY!) but fortunately not too much of the obvious rudeness. I have noticed that too many parents don’t realize that their infant childrens crying is a major distraction to others at an event, be it a concert, ceremony at a church (wedding, funeral, christening, etc) or other public event. Why they don’t simply get up and take the child out of the room is beyond me. That’s what my wife or I would do, and did do. Simple appropriate behaviour, being concious of others around you……
Oh well, one very cool thing happened, though. Before they started the concert, they had us stand for the National Anthem. As we all stood, and prepared to listen/sing-along, and just before the music started, a man behind us yelled out “Take off your hat’s!” I was thrilled. Very cool…. By the way, the show was wonderful, and as a former band-geek, I look forward to my kids future in this cities music program, because they do a wonderful job.
Wow. I’m encouraged that there are still music programs available, judging from the comments. Somehow I had the impression that they were victims of budget cuts all over the country.
Back in my day, there was no such thing as a cell phone, so that wasn’t an issue; I was IN the chorus and the chorale, so I was too busy trying to hit the notes to notice what the audience was doing. 😉
See, when I was a girl, parents just had to be told not to wave to their kids. (And they were, every single school concert. Someone always did. My mother used to threaten me unmercifully that she’d stand up and wave at me. Oh the shame of it!) The older generation, I just don’t know what the world’s coming to…