Didn’t I Just Say This?
For real, Terry Teachout, stop taking my ideas…
So Terry took one side of my Of Two Minds debate. I hear him. I do. Which makes me look at the other side again.
I look back at my experience and see that there is a role in this community for a symphony. But, as Terry suggests, it’s the duty of the symphony to find out exactly what that role is and do it better than anything else.
A city like Dallas doesn’t have the same culture as New York or LA. If we did, most people here wouldn’t live here. We do have Sprinkles and Pinkberry, but I’m not sure that we could support Dudamel.
Our community is very hermit-like, very conservative and very family-centered. If you want to appeal to this city, you need to provide comfortable ways for us to enjoy your performances. You need to give us options for our family without making us feel stupid. I have no issues taking my kid to see Bugs Bunny on stage (for real, I think I’m obsessed with that), but mommy and daddy need some culture, too.
My friend Katie cried at the DSO’s Mahler 2. She’s a trained musician. She ain’t no dummy. It seriously moved her. Could she have cried at Bernstein’s performance on CD? Probably not, because she would have had her three-year-old running around the house flashing his Lightning McQueen flashlight in her eyes every twelve seconds (love you Drew!). But on a date night, she and her husband were able to take some time out and really be part of a good performance.
Again, I’m not saying that a city needs a symphony because it needs to be the high-brow answer to Applebees and a showing of “Letters to Juliet”. But having that option here is good for us all.
And let’s look at the kids. I have a three-year-old. Someday I’d like him to take up an instrument. He may hate it, but he’ll never know it if this isn’t available to him. We took a trip to New York a few weeks ago, and the Philharmonic wasn’t even a thought on our To Do List. And if we go back, it probably won’t be again. So if only big cities are able to have symphonies, he’ll never see a live performance easily.
The role of a cultural organization is to actively reflect the culture of its environment. If we like pops, damn it, give us pops! If we go to sit in the 100 degree hit on Memorial Day weekend to see you perform in a park, break out the fans and play me some Sousa. But know that we’re not complete idiots, and we can appreciate a traditional classical concert. It’s your role to find out what those classical concerts are, give them to us in ways that we can consume them happily, and play the hell out of them. We’re here, and we’re procreating. Give us a reason to keep you around.
