~ Religious Music Project ~

 During my attendance at chapel this Wednesday I noticed that the lyrics were portraying that our future is in God's hands. As I Christian myself it was very moving and it gave me a sense of peace about things I am presently going through. Chapel is a place I go to feel at peace and to have that boost of motivation throughout my week. Along with the chapel I read my bible and this is another form of that peacefulness I feel. When believers meet together to worship and learn more about the Lord and this calmness is hard to describe. It's like at that moment we all find comfort in the fact that we don’t have to live this life alone and that we are all going through different things that are affecting us. When I am worshiping it does slow my heart rate. It not only calms me but reminds me that my life is not my own and that I am living for my creator. I am not saying that every time a religious song comes on I feel like this, but at chapel on Wednesday evening I remember that specific emotion. This is what worship does: it reminds us of maybe things we take for granted or even forget about. I asked a couple of different people around me and in my small group after chapel how the music and sermon affected them/how they reacted to it. They all had the same answer as I did that the music was calming, peaceful, and comforting to them. They said that chapel and worship/religious music helps them because during stressful and chaotic weeks it reminds them that they can take time to relax and that they don’t have to be perfect. They said this music is different from other music they listen to because during worship individuals are praising the creator of the universe. It's different because songs they listen to that are not religious focus on things like being sad or being happy. They reflect how the person is feeling during that time. However, in worship songs, it almost takes away from the “me” part and changes to “who.” It's still you singing but you're worshiping a being, father, and creator. It's an act of gratitude to the savior and the father who made us. Every human wants the same kind of things to be loved and to be enough, during worship that is what I feel. I am not enough but because I have Jesus I have been made perfect, cleansed of my past and present sins. 

  Live Music Project  

The Addams Family

The Addams Family

The live music event that I chose to attend this semester was The Addams Family. I attended the live event opening night during Halloween weekend. The performance started around 7:30, after the show had been going on for about an hour and a half there was a short intermission before it started again and Addams' family ended around 10:15 pm that night. The event started precisely on time and ended a little past the expected time. Surprisingly, I did notice that during the short intermission some of the guests did leave the amphitheater and unfortunately did not return. I thought this was interesting because I was enjoying the show but then I had the realization that some of the guests had children and it was getting late, or they could have been getting scared. 

The event was held in the theater of the Hayworth Fine Arts Center. Inside of  Hayworth, the building's interior had been decorated to reflect the event. For example, there were Addams family-themed decorations that also went along with the Halloween season. This really added to the whole event's spookiness and main aesthetic. I am unsure if the posters reflected the live music aspect of the event because there were no instruments on the posters or being promoted that I saw while attending the event. However, I would say that the poster did reflect the theme which was Halloween. 

The atmosphere of the event was low-pressure and easygoing. Anyone is welcome to attend the way someone could not attend is if they did not sign up for a ticket. The atmosphere was formal but more laid back and welcoming than passed events/performances I have attended because it was family-friendly. 

The participants of this event were predominantly middle-aged, with some elderly guests and some children and college students. Unfortunately, there were not as many High Point University students as I was expecting. I would say the ratio between men and women was around the same, one did not outweigh the other in numbers.

 During the performance, I had the privilege of talking to a couple that had attended almost every single show they had put on in the past 5 years. They said they try to come to as many as they can because they enjoy the performances so much. They said that they really enjoyed talking to my roommate and I because we told them about the students in the musical. We explained to the couple that not all students were musical theater majors or minors, most of them are not, they just participate because it is something they enjoy being a part of. 

Yes, people did move and dance to the live music being played. The live music aspect of the show added a “wow factor” to the performance. It made the acts more impactful and more emotional for me while I was watching. For example, the various kinds of dynamics throughout the musical performance like the crescendos and decrescendos made me feel more emotional. It made my heart rate excel and also made it slower as well.

Interviews:

 After the first half of the show, there was an intermission and that is when I asked a couple of individuals around me what their thoughts were on the performance. The first people I asked were the couple to the left of me. They were an older couple coming to High Point events for the past 5 years. I would definitely say they are regulars at HPU. However, they realized that sometimes their jobs limit them to which events they can attend. They attend the live events because they enjoy them. The gentleman said he enjoys them because it makes him feel involved in the university. The lady said she enjoyed attending because she has always favored musicals and Halloween and that is why she was very excited for the Addams family in particular. They both said that coming to these events makes them feel joy and gives them the sense of being young again. They said that the community has developed a great deal in the past three years specifically because of how much the university has grown. The married couple both said that the attendance during these kinds of events has continued to grow. On my right side sat my two friends and I decided to ask them the same questions. Addams family was the first event they had attended that had live music and dancing. They both said they wouldn’t call themselves regulars but in the future, they both plan to attend more events like this one. Leah and my friend Sattah both came to the musical because she enjoys live music and singing and they also wanted to support their friends in the musical. They haven’t noticed that the community has grown because they are both freshmen. 

               Reflection:

  Prior to becoming a student at High Point University, I was exposed to events like the ones held at Hayworth Fine Arts Center and Haworth Chapel. For example, I have been to plays, orchestras, and musicals. However, something in particular that has made my experiences at High Point unique is the fact that the individuals participating in these events are my friends. I would definitely say knowing the people who are performing makes it so much more personal for me because I know how much they put into their performances. Growing up I did not enjoy attending events like The Addams Family, or the strictly musical performances like string ensembles. However, after taking the initiative to attend these events on my own and because of required assignments, I have discovered that I truly appreciate live events. I have found that because I was required to attend live music on or off High Point University's campus it gave me the push that I needed to find something that I really enjoy, and I want to continue attending live events more frequently in the future. During my experience at these live concerts, something that challenged an opinion I had before was the fact that live music being played makes an enormous difference in the overall performance. For instance, when I saw The Addams Family, the live music being played in the background added so much more emotion to the show. My personal reflection from this experience would be that I have learned something new about myself and the fact that I really enjoy live performances. Instead of “having to go” now and in the future, I am looking forward to going to more performances and events that the High Point music department puts on. I have also realized that I think I want to perform or incorporate my piano minor in some way through musical theater. I have also learned that when live music is played along with theater it adds so much to the whole performance.