Random Acts of Culture
flownover ·
Dec 1, 2010 at 2:28pm
This is very cool and a wonderful Christmas greeting. 650 singers blending in with the crowd at Wanamaker's (Macys) where the big (28,500 pipes) organ is playing for the shoppers. Then they start singing and it's quite a treat. Enjoy.
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Jul '10
Re: Random Acts of Culture
October 30!! It wasn't even halloween yet. Goodness gracious.
Aug '10
Re: Random Acts of Culture
A friend shared this with me just the other day. I agree, it's a hoot!
Re: Random Acts of Culture
Wow, this was really great -- for some inexplicable reason, I got choked up watching it. Thanks for sharing!
Nov '10
Re: Random Acts of Culture
Lovely and inspirational.
Thank you for posting this.
Re: Random Acts of Culture
Me too, Diane. But I don't know why, exactly. Maybe because it was so spontaneous and joyful and right there in the middle of a busy department store. And maybe because the choice of music -- Handel's Messiah -- is so majestic and inspiring. Maybe it was because everyone seems to be smiling, and joining in.
They call it a "Random Act of Culture," and I can't help but compare this playful and uplifting kind of "culture" to the other kind -- what's going up at the Smithsonian, for instance, that Emily writes about here -- and wonder why our officially sanctioned and taxpayer supported "culture" doesn't do more things like group sing-a-longs in department stores, and fewer things like covering figures of Jesus in ants.
Nov '10
Re: Random Acts of Culture
Rob Long
Rob Long
Me too, Diane. But I don't know why, exactly. Maybe because it was so spontaneous and joyful and right there in the middle of a busy department store. And maybe because the choice of music -- Handel's Messiah -- is so majestic and inspiring.
And maybe because of the instantaneous joy and pride this particular group of Americans expressed while engaging in a "random act of culture."
Jun '10
Re: Random Acts of Culture
Oh, thank you so much for posting this! Tears streamed down my cheeks.
Sep '10
Re: Random Acts of Culture
Rob Long
Me too, Diane. But I don't know why, exactly. Maybe because it was so spontaneous and joyful and right there in the middle of a busy department store. And maybe because the choice of music -- Handel's Messiah -- is so majestic and inspiring. Maybe it was because everyone seems to be smiling, and joining in. Dec 1 at 3:54pm
Ditto. That was great. Offers hope and inspiration to all.
Nov '10
Re: Random Acts of Culture
Another from Nov. 13, in a Welland Ontario mall.
Seems to be catching.
May '10
Re: Random Acts of Culture
I picture some old guy shopping for new socks. His eyes lazily scan the boggling variety of plain white cotton products. Suddenly, the gentleman's gaze stops on Men's Crew: 10 Pair as a chorus of "Hallelujah!" envelopes him. "Yes, these are the ones."
Thanks for the video. These scenes always move me. It's beautiful to witness so many people offering joy and wonder to complete strangers.
Aug '10
Re: Random Acts of Culture
Priceless, Aaron. That's icing on an already delicious cake.
Jun '10
Re: Random Acts of Culture
This was on the youtube page, so I guess we can look forward to many more delightful surprises:
On Saturday, October 30, 2010, the Opera Company of Philadelphia brought together over 650 choristers from 28 participating organizations to perform one of the Knight Foundation's "Random Acts of Culture" at Macy's in Center City Philadelphia. Accompanied by the Wanamaker Organ - the world's largest pipe organ - the OCP Chorus and throngs of singers from the community infiltrated the store as shoppers, and burst into a pop-up rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's "Messiah" at 12 noon, to the delight of surprised shoppers. This event is one of 1,000 "Random Acts of Culture" to be funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation over the next three years. To learn more about this program and view more events, visit http://www.randomactsofculture.org.
For clues about upcoming Random Acts of Culture, find us on Facebook http://www.operaphila.org/facebook or follow us on Twitter http://www.operaphila.org/twitter
Re: Random Acts of Culture
How about we demand that the National Endowment for the Arts devote 80% of its program budget to sing-a-longs?
I'm only half kidding.
Aug '10
Re: Random Acts of Culture