Proper Symphony Etiquette

For those of you who don't know, dad and I have season tickets to the symphony.  We both love (and I mean LOVE) classical music and are fortunate enough to live in a city with an excellent symphony orchestra.

That being said, Saturday was one of the worst experiences I've had at the symphony and it was in no part the fault of the orchestra or the conductor. It was the patrons.

There is one really big rule about going to the symphony and that rule is to shut your damn mouth when the music is playing. Dad and I had to sit in different seats than we normally do because we had to switch nights of our concert due to bad weather and show cancellations. I have never been more sad to see someone else in my seats!

There were two couples who sat on our row, probably the same age as me, maybe a few years older. THEY WHISPERED TO EACH OTHER THE ENTIRE TIME. During the first performance, it was kind of okay because it was really focused on percussion and so the noise from the instruments drowned out a lot of the squeaking from the mouths of the noisy patrons. However, the second piece was much quieter and I literally wanted to go down the aisle and punch them in the face. Thankfully, the person sitting next to the guy on one end couldn't take it anymore either and told him to shut the f up. I'm hoping he said "You're the rudest person I've ever met, now shut the fuck up!"  But it was probably nicer than that.

So, if you ever plan to visit the symphony, go knowing that you should not speak during the performance. And, go knowing that you should arrive early so that you're not squeaking your way to your seat in the middle of the performance. This also helps because sometimes, they won't let you in. OH, and on top of everything else, make sure you wait to clap until the entire piece has been played. Not just a pause in between the movements. It's amateur.

"Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul.”