Normally, when I hear or read the term “Audacity of Hope,” I think of Black former President Barack Obama and, by extension, the hopes of the many historical Black folks his presidency was built on.
I would not have connected it to the Springfield Symphony Orchestra but for the January 14, 2023 concert by the same name that my wife and I and my sons and their wives and many of my Black friends attended. But, I will make the connection from now on because the concert was a unique Black experience shared by the most diverse crowd I’ve seen yet as an occasional visitor to the Springfield Symphony Orchestra.
And I give credit to Interim Executive Director Paul Lambert for delivering to the audience the first genuinely African American-centered concert ever performed at the Springfield Symphony Hall. Some will disagree that it was a first because the Symphony has performed remnants of African-American concerts in the past.
But this event was different. The conductor, Kevin Scott, was a Black American from the Bronx. Two of the compositions were by Black composers who were present in the audience and were called up on the stage and introduced to the audience by Kevin Scott. And a Black woman, Artina McCain, performed the “Piano Concerto in D minor.” And, of course, our own Magdalena Gómez delivered an excellent spoken word treat. Scott performed the works of other Black composers and some White composers but the introductory tease of the Black National Anthem set the tone for the evening.
There is more but I am not a music critic and can’t pretend to be one, but the one thing that impressed me most was the audience reaction for several reasons that you might not appreciate if you don’t attend the Symphony. When I’ve attended past performances, I was always irked by the rigidity of the predominantly White audience response. Everyone waited patiently without a sound for each performance to end and then everyone would politely clap almost in unison.
I’m certain that’s how predominantly European audiences react all over the world but Black folks have reactions. We express our feelings politely but a bit more demonstrably. So, I was real pleased watching the different audience reactions. It was a breath of fresh air to see how enthusiastically Black folks cheered Kevin Scott and the Black composers who he brought up onto the stage and the Black pianist. And the performance of the Orchestra. They cheered with gusto and feeling and I know the artists appreciated it.
But I remain curious about how the regular, White audience handled it, especially the older ones. My bet is that some suffered some discomfort. My advice to those who might have felt discomfort is “Get over it.” That’s what change is all about. And the change is what will assure survival of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra by convincing people like me to keep attending concerts.
And I will definitely be at the next concert, Mardi Gras! New Orleans Jazz on February 25th!(See page 9.) ■