Rhonda Edgington: Not every concert changes my life
I cannot guarantee you a mountaintop experience, but I can guarantee that you will encounter artists performing for listeners who want to experience it.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The views and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not of Ottawa News Network.
I attend a lot of concerts. You could say that’s because I’m a professional musician, and this certainly is a factor. I often want to hear when friends or colleagues are performing, or check out specific pieces or groups I’m familiar with. And I enjoy paying attention to events that are happening, seeing what’s coming up at this or that venue, wondering if we should get season tickets for the Great Performers Series at Hope College or the Holland Symphony Orchestra, or how often we can make it up to Grand Rapids to hear the Symphony or the St. Cecilia or Meijer Gardens series.
Not every professional musician enjoys attending concerts in their spare time. Sometimes, it’s a little bit more like going to work than having a relaxing evening out. Maybe the mixing isn’t great, something is out of tune, or I disagree with an interpretation. I suppose this is one reason it’s easier for me to get excited about non-classical music concerts — I’m a little out of my lane and can relax and enjoy the experience more.
But whatever the style or setting, it needs to be said — not every concert is a mountaintop experience.
It’s something of a creative practice for me, attending concerts. It’s like the creative practice of sitting down to write, even when one isn’t feeling particularly inspired, or sitting down on the bench to practice, even when tired, or a particular piece isn’t coming along. I definitely am of the "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration" school. You have to put in the work. And if you want mountaintop concert-going experiences, you’re going to sit through some pretty ordinary ones to get there.
This doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the performers; you can pick great performers and still go home feeling a bit ho-hum. Sometimes I show up at a concert and I’m too tired, or the people around me are all looking at their phones and I can’t get in the right mental space. It’s all very pretty, or fun, but I’m making grocery lists in my head, I’m studying the architecture, I’m people watching. I try not to beat myself up on nights like this. I did my part and showed up to support live music and musicians, but I’m human, so the outcome is never guaranteed.
Sometimes, I have heard musicians who were very talented, very accomplished, and other people seemed to be enjoying them, but it left me cold. Maybe the style wasn’t for me, or maybe the musicians seemed to be phoning it in. At a music festival this summer, one evening’s headline act from Detroit seemed to be great musicians, but everyone on stage looked as if they’d rather be somewhere else. They were playing fine, folks were dancing and having a good time, but it felt to me like they were going through the motions.
I’d rather be at a performance that isn’t as technically brilliant, but where the musician is excited to be there. Because if all we wanted was a perfect performance, we could stay home and hear Yo-Yo Ma on the stereo, with no parking hassles, no one coughing in the quiet part, no bumping into anyone you’d rather avoid in the lobby. But I want to share the air with the performer, be in the same room, and have an experience together.
How to submit an opinion
Ottawa News Network accepts columns and letters to the editor from everyone. Letters should be about 300 words and columns should not exceed 1,000 words. ONN reserves the right to fact-check submissions as well as edit for length, clarity and grammar. Please send submissions to newsroom@ottawanewsnetwork.org.
It’s why I have a stack of season concert fliers on the table this month, looking over what’s coming up in West Michigan. It’s why I still get excited about playing concerts in all kinds of settings, in spite of disappointing gigs. And it’s why some friends and I have started a very humble series here in Holland called Screenless: Words and Music with Friends. Our first event last winter was a great time, and we’re trying it again: 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2 at the Holland Area Arts Council. Our musician is Holland native Martha Waldvogel-Warren, harpist with the Holland Symphony Orchestra, harp teacher at Hope and Aquinas College, and music therapist. Our writer will be prose poet from Millville, Kathleen McGookey, who has taught at Hope College and Western Michigan University and has five published books of poems.
I cannot guarantee you a mountaintop experience, but I can guarantee that you will encounter artists performing for listeners who want to experience it. You can give yourself the chance to be present when something is being created, maybe even something magical.
— Rhonda Sider Edgington is the Organist and Music Director at Hope Church in Holland, teaches organ at Calvin University and Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, and as a soloist and with duo Thunder & Wind (with Carolyn Koebel, percussion) travels to play concerts around West Michigan and throughout the country. Find more of her writings on music at rhondasideredgington.substack.com.
