Last night my husband and I tried to enjoy a performance of Beethoven's 9th symphony at Weber State University. Instead of the uplifting evening we were hoping for, we sat through an appalling temper tantrum thrown by the conductor, Michael A Palumbo. After a small noise from the audience, he slammed his baton down, turned to the audience and demanded that anyone with children making noise leave. He refused to resume until he was convinced that anyone who could not remain silent had left.
A couple of minutes later, another faint noise came from the back of the auditorium. He repeated his earlier tantrum with even more pompous jack-assness. When informed by people from the audience that the "offending" person was a handicapped person, the conductor remained unmoved. By this time, the only thing keeping us from walking out was our desire to hear our neighbor sing. (He was the bass soloist.)
Conducting demands concentration, especially conducting Beethoven's 9th. Nevertheless, I cannot excuse his arrogant, offensive behavior. The audience and the performers were aghast at his boorish contempt for those of us who simply wanted to enjoy Beethoven's genius. Everyone I spoke with afterwards, including performers, was disgusted by his behavior. Mr. Palumbo owes the community a sincere apology, and Weber State needs to carefully evaluate whether Mr. Palumbo should continue to represent the university.
Leila E. Van Tassell
Eagle Mountain
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