November 9th Opera Audience Assignment by Greg Henry Waters

November 9^th Opera Audience Assignment by Greg Henry Waters

I, Greg Henry Waters, Having been a performing professional musician since I have been 16 years old. I

know what the mass audience is like. To me they are like that to this day loud and self centered. When I

was living in China I performed for the Vice Premier of China under Mao Zedong, at a dinner party. The

audience sat and listened for two songs. And then suddenly they started talking an it was so loud I

could not hear myself. I was suppose to play three numbers. Well I see things have not changed at all.

Entertainers are just bought and sold like a can of sardines in reality. Only instrumental musicians love

instrumental music, the public could care less.

When I got back to America I learned that the American audiences are well trained and have more

Respect for performers. I use to hang out some at Smalls jazz club for a while until I learned they are

only interested in bebop music. And to have musicians perform for free so the club can make all the

money.

I could never figure it out, my girl friend at the time came to visit me, and she said this place was no

place for real music, it was so phony. Sometimes it is hard for me to see the truth.

No wonder people have any few manners, it is a wonder, and no wonder the public loves rock concerts

they can scream and carry on as much as they want, no need to show respect to the musicians for the

sound of the Band is so loud that it doesn’t make any difference if the audience makes noise or not. Such

a joke that this Is for me. My question is what are we to do if we are serious musicians? I am not sure

and is why I came back to school. Of course, I see a lot of problems in the school setting too. In that

schools to not promote respect for real music. I suppose they can do only so much and then money takes

over. Our ruling class does so little for music.

Always the question of money, no money no honey!

Has anyone looked at the flyer for this season and the Lehman Center? What a variety of performers.

One can see it is not really a serious forum for music, but a place to take in some cash by bringing in the

the latest and greatest commercial acts.

We have a billion dollar stadium in Dallas do we have a billion dollar place for music?

I was doing a society job in Hot Springs Virginia, for the Meyer Davis Orchestra, and one day we were

doing an extra performance and the floor manager put the band behind a group of trees that they had

so the guests could not see us. I said why do they not just pipe in the music why are we there. I made

them take the trees away. Of course the management wasn’t happy with me for I wasn’t taking a slave

Mentality.

Laugh and talk through the whole performance, this is what it was like playing in clubs or bars, the music

was part of the atmosphere? I was working in Acapulco in the nicest dining room there looking over

Bay. What I learned on this job that the quality of the music wasn’t important, any kind of noise was OK.

What I found out the sidemen on the job knew this, but I did not coming from New York, so they did not

take the music very seriously.

I was the only one who did. The less we played the happier the side men were. They had no sense of

Standards, I finally had to quite that job for I could not take it anymore working with such people.

Plus they did not like taking orders from a US Citizen. Finally they ran me out of town and I came back

to New York City. What an experience I put the story on my web site.

So will people be more than barbarians is my question? I hardly think so, but hope is always in the air.

Greg Henry Waters