As I continue to live in this large, bustling metropolis, I become more convinced of the value of the arts in culture. In my brief London time, I will have had the joy and pleasure of attending Rock of Ages, Shrek the Musical, Billy Elliot, Stomp, We Will Rock You, Wicked, Les Miserables, Phantom, Matilda, three orchestra concerts, three recitals, two Evensong services, four art galleries, five museums, two operas, three rock concerts, and 12 plays. While some of this is due to having the resources of a city, most of it is due to a recognition of the role of the arts in society and culture.
We visited Oxford, where parts of Harry Potter took place, and learned about the 38 colleges within the city. The tour took us to the square, the chapel, the dining hall, and several of the colleges. We learned about the tutor system that is supplemented by the once a week lecture system of education. Applying strict academic rigor, thought, and cognitive application to disciplines, the system is about strengthening one discipline while being exposed to all subjects. Avoiding catering to the wealthy elite, Oxford seeks out and finds students dedicated to scholarship, to learning, to cognitive advancement, creativity, and personal development.
Nearly every church in London has a concert series that provides free music at least once a week for the surrounding community. These concerts also give musicians at all levels of training and accomplishment a venue to display their talents. Wealthy patrons frequent these events looking for that special gift to support and homeless often venture in to get warm and experience beautiful music. It is art music for the masses and everyone benefits from the constant opportunity for the musical arts. Rather than a societal anomaly, live art music is integrated within the culture of living.
The musical show Wicked, a story of how the wicked witch in Wizard of Oz came to be, is a high energy, buzzing, emotionally changing show replete with amazing lighting, staging, acting, and great pop-oriented music. Songs such as Defying Gravity, and Popular give the audience a lift as we imagine a different kind of world, a world where we dream, where we improve, where we become something better. Other songs like As Long as You're Mine and For Good are tender expressions of how the connection to others is essential to our well-being and to the completeness of our lives. Entertaining, yes. Meaningful, certainly. Wicked has something for everyone and is worth every minute of the experience. The energy of the show is intoxicating, resulting in a captivating catharsis of joy and excitement.
I took the Rock and Roll class to a club in Nottinghill to experience a live rock concert. Not knowing the venue, I was surprised to find a large, muscular bouncer checking identification and monitoring the free event. We made our way down a long staircase into a small, very dark area. Deafened immediately by recorded music with enhanced sub-woofer bass, we wandered around looking for the band. Walking up to a lady sitting in a chair, I screamed "Where is the band?" She screamed back at me, "They are on a break and will return at 9:30." I nodded my thanks since I was worried my voice was leaving me and listened for a few minutes. I soon screamed my apologies to the class and we left. It was a disappointment in many ways for I had hoped to show how rhythm and guitars are used in a live rock setting. But it was also a relief to my ears to leave the venue. So much for that experience. Not everything is positive all the time!
I am thankful for being in London, but I am especially thankful for those senses of sight, sound, touch, and emotions that allow me to love the arts, to love music, and to respect all kinds of art experiences. In a way that is difficult to define but certainly real, art--music, art, and theatre, in all its splendor makes life better for everyone. We should never relegate the arts to a lower place in curriculum, in culture, or in day to day living for it is in the arts that we make the world a better and more refined place.
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