Arrogance vs. The Arts

Originally published on The JOLT News on March 27th, 2025

Last week, I was blessed with the opportunity to speak with Dan Colgan of Capital City Chorus (CCC), who has a free show, “Brahms and Mozart,” happening this weekend. I also sat in the audience for the premiere of Olympia Little Theatre’s (OLT) “The Book Club Play.” Both were spectacular and serendipitously shared one common: arrogance vs. the arts.  

 I have witnessed a few artists roll their eyes and criticize hypothetically “lowbrow” art. When artists embrace pretentious attitudes, they poison how art is perceived by the community and make it not welcoming. As a result, people feel rejected and unworthy of being part of it in any way — I know this all too well.  

 Whenever we see it, It is our responsibility as the Thurston County audience to speak out against arrogance in the arts.  The opposite is true as well. When we see artists and companies who include everyone and create with hearts of gratitude and humility, we must embrace it.  

Join me in lifting praise to the CCC and OLT who create with open arms!  

 'Brahms and Mozart'

Thurston County audiences are in for a real treat this weekend, as the CCC is set to perform Brahms “Four Songs” Op.17 and Mozart Vespers “Vesperae Solennes de Congfessore” K.339 with a small orchestra.  

 The Brahms contains three German poems and one Shakespeare, filling the piece with emotion and drama. The Mozart's text comes from 5 Psalms and one Magnificat. Colgan is drawn to this Mozart piece because:  

 “Psalm settings (in general) present a universal sacredness that is present in a pan religious context. Vespers are often solemn, but Mozart makes this one unexpectedly exciting and unique. This was one of Mozart’s favorites, and he performed and spoke about it a few different times, which was rare for him to do.”    

 Typically, audiences would need to travel to Seattle and other large cities to hear pieces like these, but CCC is making music of this caliber accessible to everyone, and they are doing it with welcoming arms.

As Colgan stated, “It does not need to have that (highbrow) arrogance about it.” Adding on to that, Colgan continued, “We are proud of our diversity, we care about the singing and recruiting good people with mission and vision at heart.”

Thanks to an Inspire Olympia Grant, CCC was able to attend local events and recruit 50% more members than it had last year. 

 Whether or not classical music is within your taste, CCC hopes you will give them a chance, after all, it's only one hour of your life! If nothing else, you will get to see all the Thurston County community members who worked hard to make this happen.

The medium is lovely, and the community element alone is so special, and that's why CCC made “free concerts” an important part of their bylaws. This is truly for everyone.

 Learn more about CCC’s performances this weekend by visiting this link. 

“The Book Club Play” 

This show is utterly charming and welcoming, as it takes place in the middle of a book club. Each member of this club is quirky in their own way and reminds me of the characters we see in our everyday lives, and that is to the credit of this impressive cast. Their chemistry as a group was outstanding, and watching this show felt less like being in the audience and more like being part of the club.  

 Scenes were differentiated by the book being read during that specific meeting.  In the beginning, they only read the classics. The dynamics are challenged when a newcomer suggests something that is both out of the box and entirely popular.

Whether or not the club will prevail depends on if they can all get along, and part of that relies on their answer to one important question: What does it mean to be a cultural person?  

 As this play will show, some people think being cultured is defined by how upscale your taste is versus others might suggest that it correlates with your connection to popular culture. I think the right people will say that the taste of a cultured person should be diverse and able to celebrate both the stereotypically classy art and the widely enjoyed art.  

 I really enjoyed this play and if I had the time, I would see it again.  

 You can buy your tickets here.

https://www.thejoltnews.com/stories/arrogance-vs-the-arts,19362?