Music Monday: The advantages and drawbacks of community music

Monday night I had the privilege of attending a local opera theater’s production.

This post will not focus on a critique of the singers. Not only am I not interested in stirring bad feelings amongst people I count friends through unskillful communication on my part, but I refuse to send the wrong message. I will not judge a community event on professional-level standards. The musicians were well-prepared and the music well-presented, and I enjoyed myself.

I’ll admit, however, that much of it left me feeling...wanting, even from the beginning of the concert. At first I blamed Rogers and Hammerstein (whose music was the focus of the showcase) but when I heard “Oh! What a beautiful morning,” and “Edelweiss,” and “Oklahoma!” all skillfully sung in a way that caught my ears, I realized it wasn’t a problem with the music or the musicians. What left my appetite feeling so unwhetted?

I suppose my encounters with professional/collegiate music-making have left their impact. Community musical efforts (choirs, theatre productions etc.) represent the efforts of largely unpaid volunteers to create music. There is beauty and value in it.

There is also a level of quality enabled by professional or collegiate music  generally unavailable to most volunteer/amateur organizations. I love the music we sing in Eastern Idaho Chorale and Sounds Choir, but they do not possess the level of artistry and quality I’ve experienced from the professional and collegiate ensembles whose performances move me to my feet, my heart in my mouth. I’ve sung in multiple Sounds and EIC concerts. Who can pretend any comparison between those choirs and the Phoenix Chorale, Soweto Gospel Choir, BYU Singers or Estonian Radio Choir? Even locally, these choral experiences, wonderful as they are, have not impacted my soul like participating in Bonnevaires and the men’s choir at BYU-Idaho. Rigorous, high-level artistry provides an opportunity to embody a love for music unavailable in less-demanding community affairs.

But there is an advantage to these community-level events that aren’t present in the professional and collegiate ones.

One of the singers I have known for a while. She has made a lot of effort in improving her vocals. She sang her song confidently. Was it the best singing I’ve ever heard? No. Did it penetrate my heart-space? No. But watching her sing and knowing how far she’d come and how hard she’d worked made the experience a very sweet one. I love that.

There is also a great deal of beauty in the efforts and improvements made by those whose abilities may not be professional-level, but who love their art and give their best. Community music’s great advantage is in the opportunity it affords these people (and I include myself in that list!) to stretch and perform beautifully.

So even though IFOT’s “Grand Night for Singing” was not a grammy-award winning performance

I enjoyed it anyway.