Oops! I posted this in the wrong place. UMS, please remove it.

For the record, the stunning student soloists, both members of the UM Chamber Choir, were misidentified on the front page of the program last night. They were properly named, however, in the back of the program as members of the UM Chamber Choir. They are Samantha Winter and Emily Goodwin. BTW, Michael, can we please bring Jeremy Denk back as soon as possible? He comes up with fabulous recital programs, such as the pairing of the Goldberg Variations with the first Ives sonata that we heard last year in Kalamazoo.

For the record, the stunning student soloists, both members of the UM Chamber Choir, were misidentified on the front page of the program last night. They were properly named, however, in the back of the program as members of the UM Chamber Choir. They are Samantha Winter and Emily Goodwin. BTW, Michael, can we please bring Jeremy Denk back as soon as possible? He comes up with fabulous recital programs, such as the pairing of the Goldberg Variations with the first Ives sonata that we heard last year in Kalamazoo.

it is listed in the “programme” (gotta love the British, eh?) under “Audience Participation” and has been widely quoted, as here from the St. Charles Borromeo church in London W1: “Of course, Ogle Street is not the Royal Festival Hall and the Mass is not a concert.
But we can all help to create the right kind of quiet, attentive atmosphere, needed for the Liturgy.
Coughers, giant sneezers, nose-blowers, yawners, throat-clears, false teeth-rattlers, hand-bag snappers, talkers, whisperers, hissers, chatterers, money chinklers, rosary janglers, praying pratterers, feetshufflers, candle lighters, door slammers… please note!” Hear, Hear! say I.

It was actually cited as being from London Royal Festival Hall in the Southbank Centre: “During a recent test in the hall, a note played mezzo forte on the horn measured apporximately 65 decibels of sound. A single ‘uncovered’ cough gave the same reading. A handkerchief placed over the mouth when coughing assists in obtaining a pianissimo.” The UM Men’s Glee Club goes on to request, “Please refrain from coughing until each piece is finished and be sure personal electronics are in silent mode or switched off during the concert.” Personally, I think that a short “audience rehearsal” would be in order prior to every concert. We are, after all, an indispensable part of the experience of presenting fine music.

It’s titled Hocking a Hooey at the Concert and it and the many replies are hilarious!

Look, I have been all over Hill during the years, even walked around during student rehearsals, etc. The way the sound of the hall is focused by the megaphone shape amplifies any noise from the center of the audience, in particular from the back of the mezzanine or dead center of the main floor. I am trying to find the part of the UM Men’s Glee Club program book that references experiments made at Royal Albert Hall, I believe it was, regarding the decibel level of a cough from the audience. I will post it if I can find it.

To follow up, we are still teary-eyed from laughter at this blog post from the composer, John Adams, in his blog “Hell Mouth” http://www.earbox.com/posts/28

I count myself as a crotchety concert-goer who gets perhaps unecessarily annoyed at the “jostle” and other distractions from the music-making. I have been known to shoot the malocch’ in the general direction of the offender, always to no avail, of course. I’ll have to try the meditation thing as I am currently enrolled at the CV center for other issues. But, come on, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. How can one assume that of the almost 4000 patrons at a full Hill Auditorium, most of them are arrogant academics? I, for instance, am a subscriber of several years standing, and I work in an auto factory. All that aside, however, the knucklehead behind me who vocalized his cough and stopped the opening of the second movement of the violin concerto needs, together with the numbskull who loudly blew his nose between the penultimate and final notes of the symphony scherzo, to be required to attend a class in concert etiquette before being allowed back in any concert hall I will be attending. Seriously, though, Michael, you need to repeat the electronic devices reminder at the beginning of the second half since people have turned on their phones, etc., while in line for the bathroom and may well have forgotten to turn them off. In addition, may I suggest that all ushers be issued large buttons that remind people to turn off their phones as they enter and reenter the hall? It works at Severance Hall.

Not to mention, Michael, that there is an annoying electrical hum coming from somewhere in the ceiling or behind the western wall of the apse that definitely competes with the sound coming from the singers. I think it may be the lights or the ceiling fans, not sure just what. Perhaps it can be looked into.

um, I think the Chopin was in fact the de Falla. He must have been inspired by it. It was the Ballad of Majorca that sounded like the Chopin, no?