Audience participation at a concert: compelling or cringe?
- consonaresing
- Mar 27
- 4 min read
When you settle into the audience of a choral concert, you presume there is a chance you could be asked to participate in the form of clapping during a rousing song or maybe being invited to sing along with the choirs. How would you feel being asked to share something about yourself anonymously?
At our concert last week "Crossing Over", we explored how our own stories are not that different from those that have come before, discovering how our stories can define us and help us draw connections to others. Our choirs performed songs about love and loss, the experience of joy and dancing, and the role of time in how we perceive our lives. Then, we gave the audience an optional assignment by imploring them to consider the types of stories they find themselves telling others throughout their lives. We prompted by asking if the stories they retell are about love, a special day, the survival of a hardship, etc. A blank tear off card was provided in our program insert where the audience could write the kind of stories they often share.
During a beautiful piano solo performed by one of our talented young volunteers, our youth choir singers collected the little slips of paper from the audience. Not everyone filled out their story on the provided slip, but folks in the audience felt comfortable participating, much to our delight. Later in the program, we read the general categories of the stories shared by audience members as there was not enough time to read them all.
The stories we find ourselves sharing more often are those we believe will have a positive impact on those hearing it or to foster a connection.
Most stories shared by our generous audience were generic where some were specific, but there was a recurring theme throughout. The stories we find ourselves sharing more often are those we believe will have a positive impact on those hearing it or to foster a connection with others. Since we did not have the opportunity to read all the stories out loud during the performance, we would like to share the categories of the stories with the subsequent submissions that were given here.
LAUGHTER, JOY
a funny story • merriment • funny stories • I like to tell funny stories • humours stories • funny stories... • funny things that happen in the classroom (I witness many things as a teacher) • funny things to make people laugh • mishaps that we can laugh about now • stories of humor • funny mistakes I made • funny/entertaining incident/story • funny stories to make people laugh
FAMILY
stories about my kids • family • true family stories • parenting chaos, aka "love" • story of my family--my children, husband, mom & dad, sister, niece & nephew--always happy to talk about them • giving birth • stories of my children, husband, & family--family and freinds are whats important • my cats • when as a child, I grew up in my parent's nursing home • puppy time • moving to Connecticut at 80 years old from a lifetime on the west coast
FRIENDSHIP & LOVE
friendships and magic of singing with family and freinds; memories • friendship • love & fear • stories of friendship, connection, and helping one another • loss right now, but friends • love • compassion • I always love telling the story of how I met my wife doing a musical together and fell in love • I tell the story of how my husband and I met and fell in love (we met playing the Captain and Maria in the Sound of Music)
LIFE LESSONS
lessons of life and friendship • working towards improvement • car accident • what's happening that day • fun & knowledge • I end up suprising myself in good ways • my story is how awesome life is now! • special memories from the past • serendipity smiles on those who are prepared
ADVENTURE
travel to new places • national tournament • travel • adventure • beautiful Maine nature • mountain hikes with scouts • being outside or places to hike • Maine, mom, & song • last fall, I had the chance to see the norther lights from Horsebarn Hill with my daughter--lovely! • losing in overtime
The goal of this particular choir concert was to explore and acknowledge the common threads between us through the stories we share.
The goal of this particular choir concert was to explore and acknowledge the common threads between us through the stories we share. As musicians, we work to convey the story of a musical work in a way that the audience can derive meaning, cultivate understanding, and feel moved. Often times, choirs are singing songs about topics that are not applicable to each individual performing. But, choirs practice the art of expressing the story of a song through performance. Singers consider the experiences of others and explore the parallels to our own existence to harness the emotional expression required of the composition. Our optional audience assignment was a small exercise for the audience to explore the same.
Hopefully, the audience participation component at our concert of submitting the type of stories we tell allowed for deeper contemplation. The entire assignment took only a few minutes to execute during the performance; thus, for anyone who found it cringy did not have to endure for long. At the very least, we hope the experience inspired everyone--audience and musicians alike--to be curious about why we tell certain stories and the intention behind the stories of others. Perhaps a concert attendee will one day tell the tale of when they attended a concert where they were asked to submit the kind of stories they share.