<p>Last night was my dds spring concert which was also the night before the ap euro exam. I figured a half hour for each–band, chorus and orchestra. The band went for over an hour. The band director blathered on and on until I told my h I needed to stretch my legs. Actually I was afraid I was going to cause a scene. Went to check on dd to see how studying was going. (she’s in orchestra) All the kids not in band were in the cafeteria. Obviously, it was quite noisy. Now I’m really steaming. Went outside, took a walk, then watched through the door for chorus to finish. Last year they performed a piece consisting of gutteral clicks and grunts, so I wasn’t about to risk that again, lol. Finally orch came on, I enjoyed and h and I left. Dd didn’t get home til after 10pm.</p>
<p>What is wrong with these teachers? Do they honestly believe most parents want to watch other people’s children perform – endlessly? Up until yesterday I felt like I should stay for the whole concert out of respect for the effort the kids put into it, even if I don’t particularly groove on the music. I am officially over that!</p>
<p>When the stress of testing is over, I’m going to try to get a read on how much dd enjoys playing. If she’s receptive to quitting, I say stick a fork in it already. And if I’m still steamed about it next week, I may send a (polite) email to the principal! So there.</p>
<p>Alternate view here…an ensemble is an ensemble…and ALL of the other folks’ kids need to be there to make it complete. These end of year programs are long, to be sure, and often include awards presentations to seniors and the like. I actually loved these programs and looked forward to them every year…as did my kids. They knew their other studying obligations for the week, and just had to budget their time differently. </p>
<p>I also liked hearing the other ensembles play…yes…a long night but, in my opinion, well worth the time and EFFORT the kids, and directors put into these programs. It’s not something that happens every week…and we looked forward to them.</p>
<p>LOL! My daughter’s school has the choir concert on mothers day every year. she couldnt fit choir into her schedule this year… so i get to spend mothers day my way! :)</p>
<p>My son has participated in music since 4th grade and has done it all concert band, symphony, jazz band, marching band. He knows the drill regarding concerts, rehearsals and practice time, and its up to him to work around those commitments and get his studying done. There are some terrific musicians at his school and the concerts are usually very well done. He also has earned All-County honors and has played at the local Jazz Fest with his high school band, and those were nice ECs to add to college apps and scholarship forms.</p>
<p>When I was in school, there were SEPARATE concerts for band, choir, and orchestra. Now all the groups are combined, and it does make for a lengthy concert. We had to sit in gym bleachers for the last one. It went on forever, and my back was killing me by the end of the night. Why can’t they separate out the concerts?</p>
<p>Sometimes, but in a couple years, when our last of three is off to college and I realize that we won’t see our own kids in those concerts any more, we’re going to miss them. :(</p>
<p>Haha, my parents are certainly tired of my concerts :p. But my next one is the last one of my high school career, so my mom is actually looking forward to it, I think. A lot of my friends’ parents just drop them off for the concert then go home, or the students drive themselves.</p>
<p>On the other hand, we really appreciate it when parents do come to concert and act though they want to be there… we spend a lot of time preparing for it over the months, so it does feel slightly disappointing when you look into the audience and discover that only an eighth of the small auditorium is filled. Or when half of the barely existent audience slowly file out as the concert processes and some student groups are done performing.</p>
<p>And we tend to be more passionate about music and about everything else we do in life when our families are equally suppportive. (To my parents: when you express, perhaps unintentionally, the sentiment that concerts are not important, it makes me feel sometimes as though my music involvement is not important.)</p>
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<p>I think the conductor might have picked these pieces because they are more fun to perform, and hence will better engage the interest of the students. Also, different people have different tastes in music (lol, once it happened that the pieces I like the best were the same one my mom hated the most!).</p>
<p>My D’s high school had the choir concerts on TWO successive evenings during AP exams. Kids there by 6:30, done by 10:30 or 11. I didn’t love the timing, but by the time AP exams roll around they’ve either done the prep work or they haven’t.</p>
<p>A much bigger gripe was that the choir teacher was adamant about kids not missing any choir rehearsals in the month leading up to the concerts. That, of course, would be the month during which kids need to go to admit weekends or a quick trip to finalize the decision about what college to actually attend. </p>
<p>I will not miss the middle school choir concerts and voice recitals. Eight years of three choir concerts a year, four voice recitals a year…one more of each…yay!</p>
<p>I miss them too. Choir concerts, musicals. For the past few years I have thought the spring musical wasn’t quite as good as “before”–then I realized I don’t enjoy it as much now that my son isn’t in it! They are still really quite good and win awards…it’s just me.</p>
<p>I still like going to concerts or shows when my friends’ kids are in them. There’s something about having a personal connection that makes it so much better. :)</p>
<p>I don’t feel as the OP does. We don’t have orchestra but my kids were in concert band, jazz band, chorus, and wind ensemble, which means all the groups. Yes, the concerts were long. I enjoyed them and showed respect for the work they all put into it. It was not about just my own kid. I find it interesting that you enjoyed listening to the orchestra but not the other groups. Of course, that was your D’s group. But a school event like a concert means that not every moment is about your own child. I used to attend my D’s ski races, for example, and stood on the mountain in freezing cold temps all day even though my child’s run was a minute long but I stood and cheered every other child on as well. We very much enjoyed the tons of concerts, dance recitals, theater performances and sporting events our kids were in from a young age through 12th grade. We miss going to their events. They are now out of college. Tonight we are going to our local middle school musical to support other kids. We now travel out of state to see our kids’ events!</p>
<p>I have three kids in school (20, 17, 16) and I’m mightily tired of their concerts. I enjoyed it more when any of them was feeling serious about music. As they gravitated away from serious interest in music, I no longer felt obliged to attend every concert. I pick and choose now, and I always bring knitting along!</p>
<p>My philosophy is that if they don’t care enough to practice, which none of them has done for a while, I don’t owe them attendance at every single event. As you can tell, with a 20-year-old still in high school, I’ve been attending concerts for fifteen years. Trying to reclaim some of my life for me.</p>
<p>That used to be a major issue at our schools, until the Fine Arts director (a former band director himself) instituted a policy of having the groups which perform earlier in the concert sit together in the audience for the later groups. It works very few parents will go up to the teacher and take their kid home if they have to do it in full view of everyone in the auditorium.</p>
<p>In terms of length, most of our districts concerts are done within 60 to 75 minutes usually three groups, plus the occasional small high school ensemble getting some time to perform a piece on stage in front of an audience prior to the big year-end music performance.</p>
<p>D is in grad school (vocal performance MM).Last weekend I went to all three performances of an 3 hour opera she has a lead in. That’s nine hours. Granted,with MONCA finalists in the cast, the level of performance was pretty high . But I also went to all her performances as an undergrad and high schooler. I also attend all her friends grad school recitals with pleasure(3 later this month).
The answer is apparently NO…I am not sick of school concerts.</p>
<p>I miss them. I really do. Kids were in concert band, marching band, jazz band, brass ensemble, and one was also in orchestra and in a local hs/college youth band which performed all year round. We had a wonderful music program, and it was the best thing that happened for my kids in school.</p>
<p>I’m never sick of my daughter’s choir/jazz ensemble concerts. I love attending them. Sure, we usually have to sit through the kids who sing in the non-auditioned choruses (they’re just classes, rather than actual choirs). No, they aren’t as talented, but I have to give it to the choir director/teacher. He’s really able to do wonders with most of these kids. When it’s time to listen to and watch the choir and jazz group sing, I’m warmed up for some talented kids, one of them being my own daughter. Fortunately, they have the vocal and band concerts on separate evenings. That might be a bit TOO much!</p>
<p>We’re looking forward to the last concert of the year–the Spring concert. This is when they hand out awards and scholarships, as well as the seniors paying tribute to their dedicated choir director. They give him a little token of their appreciation. It’s a bittersweet night because this is the last time these seniors will perform together for an audience. I take that back. On Graduation Day, the Jazz group sings the National Anthem to a crowd of proud parents, friends and relatives.</p>
<p>I’m going to miss those school concerts. If my daughter auditions for and gets into an a cappella group in college, maybe they’ll make some Youtube videos or a CD so I can see her perform from afar.</p>
<p>Ours are always separate, with the exception of when the groups sing at various fundraisers, ie; pancake breakfast, calamari feed. But then no one has to just sit and watch. And people come in at various times. Definitely not a tedious night of one loooong performance.</p>
<p>Quote:</p>
<p>When I was in school, there were SEPARATE concerts for band, choir, and orchestra. Now all the groups are combined, and it does make for a lengthy concert. We had to sit in gym bleachers for the last one. It went on forever, and my back was killing me by the end of the night. Why can’t they separate out the concerts?</p>
<p>I can’t imagine missing my child’s concert. Not only did we want very much to be at every one, I can’t imagine what they’d feel like if we did not attend. </p>
<p>Now, even with them living away from home, we try not to miss any events, which is no small feat given the distance to other states, and in fact, one of our kids is a performer who performs frequently. I have had three trips in the past month or so and another next week. I only wish I wasn’t missing one performance next week but it is in the same city as an event of my other child’s the same week and I can’t make two 12 hour roundtrips in one week. We’ve seen most things of theirs since high school, if possible, and feasible, with some exceptions due to the frequency and distance (both are in different states). One will perform on the other side of the world twice in the coming months and I will miss that. Otherwise, the idea of skipping these events is just not in our way of thinking. But in high school, we never missed a thing.</p>
Fortunately, they have the vocal and band concerts on separate evenings. That might be a bit TOO much!</p>