Someone gave me a great idea yesterday. I have been thinking for some time that we need to do something to honor those volunteers who are the first point of contact with our patrons….
The Ushers! The ones that I’ve got to know are mostly men and women that volunteer because they want to see the concerts and because of their love for music. Some have limited resources, but all of them have told me they wanted to support the orchestra in some way. I will never forget Rose who I got to know in Buffalo. In 2004 she was coming up to her 50th year of ushering!
She remembered attending concerts when William Steinberg was Music Director and started ushering during Josef Krips tenure! We often celebrate a musician’s milestone year, but how about doing the same for the ushers? Also, the history of the organization maybe should include them? Since they are the first point of contact for someone attending a concert, it’s likely that many of the ushers have more of a personal relationship with the patrons than we do. Not only this, they also work hard, solve problems and truly love music. Besides, dealing with people is more difficult than dealing with music most of the time !
We think of supporters as those who buy tickets or give donations. Anyone who cares is a supporter, and I can’t think of a group of people who care more then they do. Rose was a font of knowledge, a human archive and even in her 50th year, she had a sense of purpose and patrons went out their way to talk with her. She was a part of the concert experience and she would tell me that she was just happy to help.
In Springfield we have volunteer ushers that actually work for the Hall, so they usher for all the events, not just ours. Nevertheless I had thought for some time that I wanted to invite them all to the reception after our final concert this season, to show our appreciation. Yesterday I mentioned this idea to a Symphony supporter and she said that we should do even more. How about giving them a solo bow? How perfect, that’s exactly what we’re going to do, have them come out on stage so we can all give them our thanks and applause. They’re a vital part of us, and the one true personal connection we have with our audience. I can’t wait to “usher” them onto the stage!