One Requiem Interrupts Another at St. Louis Symphony Concert

An unusual scene took place at at the end of intermission at a St. Louis Symphony Orchestra concert this past weekend.  As reported in the New York Times and the St. Louis American, just before the concert was to resume with Brahms' A German Requiem, a short and peaceful protest occurred in the concert hall. A man stood up in the theater and began singing "Which side are you on, friend, which side are you on?  He was joined by others singing "Justice for Michael Brown is justice for all."  Banners were lowered from the balcony, including one reading, "Requiem for Michael Brown 1994-2014."  It was estimated about 50 people in the hall of 1,500 participated, and the interruption ended peacefully when they left the hall chanting "Black lives matter." While some people were obviously upset, some, including some members of the orchestra, applauded.  The protesters had all paid for their tickets, and a detail I found interesting was that one of them later said they chose that venue, in part at least, because "the audience was fairly diverse in ethnicity and age."  That's not what you used to hear about attendees at classical music concerts in general. The performance resumed, and the scheduled requiem was performed at what must have been a rather surprising concert where one requiem was interrupted by another.