Two in one day. My wife has taken a liking to choral music, serving as President of one ensemble and a dedicated singer in another. A rarity, two concerts on the same day, one in mid-afternoon devoted to Spirituals joined by a fabulous children's choir, the other at night in conjunction with the local symphony with a few choral all-stars from a nearby high school added to the singers. Each took place in a church, though with very different environments and outcomes.
First church very familiar to me. It sits about midway between the central corporate and financial center of town and the main courthouse, a place of prompt resolution of business disputes which keeps my state in the public eye. Getting to the church early, driving through a few streets that had a high crime look, though abutted by other impressive church buildings of noble history, I parked in good space, then walked a few blocks through the neighborhood. There is a main street, once probably a place of valuable real estate, though not for a while. Were it not for Sunday morning, those blocks would be largely abandoned as are the business and legal neighborhoods on the weekends. Yet the church itself has maintained the integrity of its exterior and an aged handsomeness to its interior. The concert took place in its sanctuary, a spacious though not cavernous room with two levels, likely remodeled a few times over its existence. It's massive pipe organ was relatively new, funded with a massive capital campaign, though the pipes themselves visible from the pews did not sparkle. Flooring, walls, windows all a little worn, lighting less than the brightness that modern fixtures offer. Yet a space of heritage more than decline.
It serves a multiethnic neighborhood with people of African ancestry living nearby, and in this age of a robust African-American prosperous representation, some who probably commute from the suburbs. Those of European ancestry seemed older, probably from the nearer suburbs, though a few still loyal to their church despite having moved to the tonier neighborhoods of the county as their salary increases allowed. The choir itself has its base in the church but attracts from a broad area, more Caucasian in distribution than the church, even with a few from South Asia, though with the Middle and Far East largely without representation. And the repertoire that the independent choir adopted reflected the heritage of a church committed to continuing on, adapting as needed to surroundings that were once better.
The night concert took place in a much different setting. For many years, the regional symphony in proximity to the state university assembled a choir for a joint concert. They also perform in a church. Until this year, that church stood on Main Street, a multipurpose building of tasteful brick architecture, small parking lot ample for worshipers, too small for concert attendance. It's location right on the main thoroughfare of a university town enabled me to transport my wife to the church while I stopped for a pleasant light dinner or a beer. This year the symphony and choir relocated to a different church just beyond walking distance to the university. No pubs to stop into.
Huge campus though. Ample parking, several visible wings. Main sanctuary just inside a small vestibule. Cavernous space. Plush in every way. The Presbyterian cross suspended over the stage. Modern acoustics. And virtually all Caucasian, audience and performers. The ad hoc chorus invited choral all-stars from a nearby high school. Caucasian there too. And amongst the people who checked folks in. For a performance imprinted with the state university I would have anticipated greater diversity. The music was fine, though perhaps a little unsettling that people of color did not seem attracted to perform as instrumental musicians or vocalists, nor attend as people seeking entertainment of that type. Or maybe that environment.
Leaving the performance, the road home forced us back to the edges of the university. Neon glitter. Places to eat, get gas, shop a little farther along the road. By comparison, the church seemed something of an island seeking separation. And it succeeded.
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