Every time I go to an orchestra concert, no matter the venue, I'm reminded why I don't go more often. Performance was incredible, audience was abysmal — 'whispering' that can be heard across the hall, phones out, aggressive foot tapping where the vibrations can be felt through the floor from 5 seats away (I do admit this one is less egregious than the others), to name a few. There was so much self-indulgent disruption that the chorus of coughs characteristic of even relatively courteous audiences barely even registered. This is all sadly the norm, but that doesn't mean it needs to be.

I encourage Orchestra Hall to adopt Alamo Drafthouse's ruthless policy of ejecting inconsiderate patrons and not allowing them to return. If a visitor to an art exhibit held up a cloudy pane of glass in front of a statue, or smeared mustard on a painting, they would be removed immediately. But in an art where the medium is sound and the canvas silence, comparable distortion of the exhibit is, for some reason, tolerated. Take a stand against the 2% of self-important guests who mar the experience for the 98%.

I understand the desire to make the orchestra welcoming to all, but this problem isn't a matter of inclusivity — it's not young newcomers to the music world who, I've found, tend to be on their best behavior due to the popular misconception that classical audiences are quiet and respectful; it's (a small segment of) older folks who feel a bit too at home in the hall and think they can do whatever they want — often, I've found, the ones who would look down on a newcomer for not dressing 'appropriately', who expect the traditional formality of attire without the understanding that formality is first and foremost a behavior, not a piece of cloth with buttons.