I attended a new music concert yesterday. The size of the audience was, in this case, respectable. Maybe ten people attended the concert. I often query, who was in the audience? But, maybe that is the wrong question. Perhaps the question should be, why was there only ten people here?
I expect the attendance to be lacking in quantity. I have attended many new music concerts, and the audience number is easily countable by sighting the sparsely seated attendees. These numbers do vary. College New Music had a performance in the Edward M. Pickman Concert Hall at The Longy School of Music, and the number of attendees dwarfed the size of the audience that I sat with yesterday. Perhaps Collage is more popular.
But, if we observe BMOP, which has become one of the most daring orchestras strictly dedicated to performing new music, we can find a common feature. Although they have established status, a cult following, and adventurous programming, they still fail to fill the bottom section of Jordan Hall.
It isn't sad anymore. I have grown to enjoy the intimacy of these concerts. It is interesting that you may find a nearly empty house at a new music concert, but meanwhile, in Jordan Hall, you may observe that there isn't one seat that is empty as people enjoy the performance of a Mahler Symphony.
Thank You for reading,
Kwaumane Brown
No comments:
Post a Comment