Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Kids These Days

The youngest progeny asked me to accompany her to her high school's annual holiday concert. I remember being very impressed with the concert put on at my own high school (Philadelphia High School for Girls, Class of 1978), so much so that I begged my parents to see it that evening. Getting my father to drive to Broad and Olney at night with my mother and sister in the car was no small feat, but everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. So, it was with a certain sense of nostalgia that I eagerly went with Rebecca this evening.

The orchestra was wonderful. Not quite the caliber of Central's orchestra, but very good. They played Beethoven's Ode to Joy and I had to chuckle when Becca asked me if it was supposed to sound like that. The wind section definitely carried the piece but still, a lot of the kids had only started playing their instruments in September and deserved praise just for getting on that stage. The choir sang Vivaldi's Gloria. I heard some voices I thought would be suitable for the schola at church. They even had a couple of wannabe rockers do a few songs and the guitarist did his best Eddie Van Halen solo. Not sure it was quite in the holiday spirit, but it was entertaining. It was all very pleasant except for one thing: at no time was the auditorium ever quiet. Sadly, I cannot blame the bad behavior solely on the students. Glancing over at one particular chatty parent, I could see why the kids didn't zip it. Their parents never taught them any better.

The other thing I'll probably never get used to is the constant text messaging. I was so happy to be sitting next to a child who was enjoying the music and exhibiting appropriate behavior. I know that the principal was not pleased with the disrespect shown toward the performers because she said so. Problem is, she said it to the students. Had she addressed the rude parents, we might have had silence and rapt attention paid to the student performers.

1 comment:

  1. AMEN!! I can't tell you how many concerts like that I have been to. oy. Thankfully GAMP isn't that bad. When Bob and I go to the Kimmel it is so quiet I let my eyes run rather than even cough.
    Wish folks at mass were a little more like the Kimmel people...just a thought....

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