As we were sitting in G26 and G27, our favorite seats, (best compromise with an aisle seat for Jack's legs, great acoustics and a better view of the orchestra and audience) in Symphony Hall the other night, I had several minutes to consider the beauty and the history of the famed Hall.
I often contemplate why attending the symphony or the POPS concerts is such a rich experience for me. The combined energies of the orchestra, audience and the Hall provide me with a total emotional, audio, visual and intellectual experience. A CD or digital experience only gives me a lesser audio experience.
Our last particular night in attendance, I did my usual 'people-watching- as the audience hunted for their seats. I saw such a wonderful diversity, as always. Racial, ethnic, gender, age, education backgrounds, obvious prosperity, clothing styles, urban, suburban or rural appearances interested me as well. I had a level of familiarity with some because of more identifiable appearances and a little less familiarity with some observational differences.
My varied reactions were stimulating, enriching and definitely enjoyable . 'A little less familiarity or comfort' is not fear-based in my thinking. My thoughts were "another reason I enjoy the Symphony experience is the exposure it gives me to the wonderful human diversities that I'm not as readily exposed to in the rural area I reside.
I love our small town and our home's rural setting, but also know another part of myself is fed by the diversity and energy found in an urban setting.
In theory, the audience I was observing had the commonality of enjoying the symphony no matter our differences. And then--there are those special musical experiences such as Lang Lang or Garrick Ohlsson making love to the keyboard or the stillness that Andris Nelsons maintains after a particularly moving finis, when collectively the audience is mesmerized.
Our political and social climate we live in today, these thoughts were poignant for me. The desire and capability to explore and find a common ground with our fellow human beings appears challenging to many. I visually and energetically felt the diversity at the recent performance and I found it stimulating and exciting to know that we were all sharing an exquisite experience! It happened to be Elgar's Variations On An Original Theme, Opus 36, "Enigma" (9th-Nimrod in his 14 Variations).
I maintain that fear of the unknown or different is crippling because the unknown is not a reality. My experiences at Symphony Hall always reaffirms my beliefs. A beauty in all.
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