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Start
'em young
On June
1, 2001, I was present at Severance Hall for the “Organ
Spectacular” concert presented by The Cleveland Orchestra.
Featured were two magnificent organ works, performed on the
Norton Memorial Organ, brought to life again during the recent
renovation. Not surprisingly, it was a ‘standing-room only’
audience.
My
attention was drawn, early on, by a young man accompanied by
two very small children. I suspect the little girl was perhaps
3 to 4, while the boy was probably 5 to 6 years old. The
gentleman was nicely dressed, as were the children who were
wearing their ‘Sunday best’. It soon became very obvious that
they were all wearing their ‘Sunday best’ manners, as well.
Because
the only tickets available to them were ‘standing room’, they
were positioned at the rear of the Main Floor, but in a
location that allowed them an unobstructed view of the stage,
facing forward down the aisle. The children sat on the floor,
quietly, and listened to the music. They made no
noise, nor did they fidget.
On the
other hand, many of the adult patrons did make noise; jingling
coins or keys in pockets, shuffling their feet, talking to a
companion, or pushing past an usher to walk down the
uncarpeted side aisles during the music. Some few came the
other way, leaving the auditorium during the music, disturbing
other patrons by doing so, not just those sitting near them.
(I didn’t hear any cell phones ringing that particular night,
however, so perhaps that message is getting out!)
During
intermission, the gentleman took the children out to the
lobby, but returned well in advance of the beginning of the
second half of the program. Again the little ones behaved
magnificently. At the close of the program, after the members
of the orchestra had taken their well-deserved bows (including
an extra bow for those musicians who had just played their
last regularly scheduled performance at the Hall) I felt
compelled to compliment the gentleman on the behavior of the
children.
“Isn’t
it too bad,” I said, “that some of the adults who were here
tonight did not behave nearly as well as your children did?”
“Oh,” he
demurred, “I’m just their uncle.”
“Well,
nonetheless,” I continued, “they still behaved beautifully,
and I'd like to compliment you for that.”
“It was
such a wonderful program, I couldn’t resist bringing them.” He
looked down and smiled at them, still sitting quietly on the
floor, the little girl on his left, the boy on his right. “But
I admit to a slight qualm when I saw where the standing room
actually is. I didn’t think I could manage to hold them up so
they could see anything, for as long as the concert was going
to last. But then, the ushers told me I could stand back here,
so the children would be able to see down the aisle.” He
turned a megawatt smile towards me. “It was so nice of them,
and we had a wonderful unobstructed view.”
He
looked down again at the little girl, now lightly touching the
toes of her shoes together, making a very slight noise. He
grinned. “I told them they could wiggle their toes, but they
mustn’t touch their shoes together, because that would make
noise. But now, it doesn’t matter any more.”
The
little girl looked up at him and smiled, then returned to
pleating her dress with her fingers.
“It
worked out really well,” he continued. “When I discovered how
long each piece was, you know, about 30 minutes or so, I knew
they could be quiet for that long. I told them, ‘you know how
you watch a program on TV? Well, the music is about that long.
So, you can be quiet for that long at one time, can’t you?’”
He grinned again. “And then I told them they could run around
and make noise if they had to during the intermission, as long
as it was out in the lobby. So they did, and then they came
back in and were quiet again.”
I
repeated my earlier compliment and left the Hall, thinking,
‘lucky kids, to have an uncle who cares so much for them, and
made such an experience possible. But even more than that, to
have parents who love them enough to teach them such
discipline so early in life.’ These children will have an
enormous advantage over other children of their ages who
haven't been afforded the same opportunities.
I hope
this uncle continues to take the children with him to
experience the wonders of the world, but most especially, I
hope they don’t pick up any bad habits from the adults they’re
likely to encounter along the way.
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