A Redneck Speaks
(Note: This post has been updated (1) as of 5:50 PM Eastern on 23 Feb. See below.)
Self-described redneck weblogger Lynn Sislo of Reflections in d minor has this to say about relaxing audience standards at the classical music concert:
First of all, let me tell you where I'm coming from. I grew up in the South, listening to Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Porter Waggoner and the like, with the customary teenage detour through rock and pop. When I was a kid shoes rarely touched my feet between May and September. My dad never left the house without his cowboy hat. I have lived in trailer houses. I have spent hours sitting on my aunt's back porch shelling peas. I eat supper sitting in front of the TV. I eat grits. I drink Dr. Pepper. I drive a pickup. You get the picture, Bub? Redneck through and through.
[...]
Tell me, why is it that only classical music is expected to change in order to please people who only might be interested in it if it was more "friendly"? Maybe more city people would like country music if they would ban cowboy hats and quit singing about divorce and cheating and old dogs and pickup trucks. How come no one's pushing for that? Because if they did all that it wouldn't be country music anymore. DUH!
[...]
The point is, I like classical concerts just the way they are. In fact, I think they could be a little more formal. You know, I have actually seen people wearing blue jeans to classical concerts! Every concert I've been to, in fact, about a quarter to a third of the audience was dressed casually.
And the "money" graf:
Those of you who are pushing for more "accessible" classical concerts, really think about what you're asking for. You're wanting to destroy something that some of us dearly love in the hope of attracting people who might or might not like classical music if it fit their notion of "inclusiveness." That's nonsense. It's already as inclusive as it needs to be. Everyone is already welcome. So what if some people look down their noses at you because you didn't arrive in a Lexus. That's their problem. Everywhere you go - school, work, sporting events, your grandmother's house - there is a code of proper behavior. If you are not able to adapt to different sets of rules for different environments you won't even be able to hold a job. Concert etiquette is no big deal. Really! It's not! A little education, in the form of appropriate marketing, would certainly be a good idea. But if people cannot accept classical music for what it is, screw 'em! Better that classical music die a dignified death than to be tortured and mutilated.
Would that all rednecks and sophisticated prospective rednecks were of the Ms. Sislo sort.
RTWT here (and be sure to read the attached comments).
Update (5:50 PM Eastern on 23 Feb): Professional oboist and weblogger Patricia Emerson Mitchell of Oboeinsight has some apposite thoughts to share on this matter. Her weblog also gets added to our exclusive listing of culture weblogs.
