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Oct. 30, 2023 Editor, The News-Gazette: The music was transcendent, the acoustics were perfect, the weather was balmy, there was ample parking right near the entrance… so why was attendance so sparse at the concert at Washington and Lee’s Lenfest Center Saturday night?
The dazzling composer and oud and violin virtuoso Simon Shaheen performs and teaches his art all over the world, from the Newport Jazz Festival to the Kennedy Center and from Europe to the Middle East. Here, accompanied by two outstanding musicians, Arab-American Shaheen gave us a sublime taste of classical Arab music and fusion improvisation and left us all wanting more.
I recently heard the L.A. Piano Trio at the same venue. The chamber music was more familiar to our western ears, and, as with the Simon Shaheen Trio, the performance was splendid and the concert-goers enthusiastic. Wilson Hall was far from full. Why?
Before Saturday’s concert, speaking with a friend, I wondered if the conflict in the Middle East had something to do with the low attendance. I was overheard by a gentleman sitting nearby, who turned out to be W&L music professor Gregory Parker. He said that no, it’s been this way since the pandemic; locals seem to have lost the habit of venturing out for indoor performances.
Later, I spoke with friends who said they hadn’t known about the concert. Surprisingly, I found no mention of it in last week’s N-G. At Saturday’s show there were plenty of seats where you could distance yourself from others, and some attendees chose to wear masks. Don’t let vestiges of the pandemic stop you, Rockbridge folk. Stay informed. World-class music is happening right here in our midst. All that’s missing is you. PAMELA WHITE Lexington
