FGCU forcing kids to go to orchestra concerts on Saturday nights I want 2 g’s knocked off my tuition for this shit
— Moose (@MooseOnTilt) November 17, 2013
I’m talking about this humanities concert. No one should have to sit through this shit.
— Pozzie (@Pos_Rager) November 16, 2013
Hum 2510 you’re killing me with this concert
— chrissy del (@ChrissyDeLaere) November 17, 2013
Are students benefiting from HUM2510?
The Bower School of Music put on a beautiful concert on Nov. 16, at Lamb of God Church. Unfortunately, many missed it.
Before the concert, performers were sharing their excitement for the concert. The hall was packed. Students, families and friends were in line hoping there would be enough room. Many could not even get in the church, because it reached capacity.
Jonathan Ingram, sophomore and string bass player in the wind orchestra, gleamed with happiness. “It’s going to be a great concert!” Ingram said.
Excitement was high for the players, but there was great frustration in the audience.
Many students were attending as a requirement for Visual and Performing Arts class, known for exposing students to art and music that may be unfamiliar.
It could have been a beneficial experience, but apparently etiquette was not one of the lessons of the course.
Many students were walking in to get an itinerary as proof they attended the concert before walking out. Due to influx, agendas for the concert ran out. Some students asked their nearest neighbor to take pictures of her or his itinerary, and then proceeded to leave before the concert even began.
Friends asked each other if they could get away with YouTubing the concert.
A portion of the audience was there to support family and friends. Matthew Saunders, freshman at FGCU, was among those who did not have a seat at the concert.
“Several of my friends are in the wind orchestra, and I wanted to hear them perform,” Saunders said.
Not only were supporters of the band and orchestra left without a seat, family members and friends were locked out of the church, unable to listen to their loved ones perform.
During the concert, students of the humanities class were seen tweeting and Facebooking, disrupting the audience around them. Some were even sleeping.
Katy Hinckley, oboe player and member of the wind orchestra, is taking HUM2510. She shares that she has learned a lot from going to art exhibits and writing papers about them, but is dismayed by in the lack of consideration from the audience.
“It’s frustrating when we’ve put in so much time to make the program what it is, and then to see kids passing out all over the place, not even caring,” Hinckley said.
Others had to suffer the negative impact of some students’ actions.
“It is especially hard when there are families of band members who have to stand outside because there isn’t enough room in the auditorium,” Hinckley said.
Many audience members and performers said they hope teachers of Visual and Performing Arts will be stricter with rules of attending concerts in the future.
Despite the actions of some students, the band and orchestra played various arrangments from famous composers like Eric Whitacre, Paul Creston, and John Mackey. It was simply outstanding.