Brawl at Symphony Hall

Just when you think you can relax for an evening of Beethoven, bam, reality hits - and hard.

Each semester, music students at Veritas are required to attend a concert and write a review incorporating all of the music theory they have learned. Gunner's music teacher, Ms. Koci, has arranged for her 7th and 8th grade students and parents to attend concerts at Phoenix Symphony Hall for only $5 per ticket. Great deal. The tickets are usually $75. It's mostly students, a handful of parents and Ms. Koci, who manages her students very strictly but with good humor. So last night Gunner and I attended a concert and other than the first piece (I'll mess this up, Clay, but I think it was the Grosse Fugue), the selections were very nice. I think the fugue was just too "challenging" for me. Anyway, on with the story...

The only problem with this whole scenario is that the students take notes during the performance and this causes some rustling of paper and spiral notebooks. Ms. Koci reminded them at intermission about not rustling their papers, but, well, you know. Here is what happened as best as I could figure from listening to a group of hyperventilating girls and the report of one parent:

Sometime during the final selection of the evening, Beethoven's 7th Symphony, a man sitting in front of one of our 8th grade female students turned around and grabbed the notebook out of her hands. He held on to it through the rest of the performance. He would not return it. The father of another female student approached the man, while still in the seating area. (Were words exchanged? Details unknown.) Veritas dad proceeds to punch (beat up) the other patron of the arts. There is blood. Girls run out of the hall. So much high-speed reporting of events to other students.

Gunner and I did not stick around to find out what else happened because it was getting late and he still had some homework to do. We did talk to another student and parent on the way to the parking garage. Who knew a night at the symphony could be so dangerous. What do you think, will Veritas students be banned from Symphony Hall or just the parents???