Why Would A Remote Mining Colony Hire An Orchestra?

Other than pure determined retardation? It's a major plot hole in my story I just recently caught and would like to rectify. The main character is part of an orchestra that was invited to play for the personnel of a remote mining community but I'm stuck on why they were hired in the first place. It's important because as a flute player it helps illustrate just how out of her element she is when the mines come alive and hundreds of people started dying around her. So that's the issue and trying to resolve it has been hurting my head.

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I dunno, maybe the boss is very rich was over supervising at the time he would be hiring an orchestra, and wanted some music?

Banned entirely for telling FE that he was being rude and not contributing to the discussion. I shall watch down from the goon heavens.

Nepotism? Mine boss wants to boost morale, his brother is the orchestra's conductor, so he gets the orchestra for cheap. How two brothers drifted so far apart in career is yours to consider, but it's not unbelievable.

Are we suggesting that miners can't enjoy the music of an orchestra? :)

How about just as a morale booster? If it's a rural colony, the company or government running it might have theatre troops, cinemas, and bands come through to raise spirits— kind of like the USO, but for miners. An orchestra wouldn't be my first choice for entertainment for a group of miners, but you could come up with explanations— someone at main office was oblivious enough to think they'd like it, or a big wig at the mine loves classical music and requested it, or they couldn't get anyone else out that far to do the gig.

^ Not that they can't, but as a whole I doubt they would. Most miners that I know, if given a choice between a night at the symphony and... anything else, really, would take their chances on the mystery meat.

edited 31st Aug '11 8:48:05 PM by Ronka87

Thanks for the all fish!

I fail to see how two brothers having very different careers is in any way unusual.

Banned entirely for telling FE that he was being rude and not contributing to the discussion. I shall watch down from the goon heavens.

Perhaps whoever's in charge needs to impress an important visitor, so he/she hires the orchestra to entertain them.

Or, alternatively, you could have the flute player be something else, more plausibly dispatchable to remote mining colonies, but equally out of their depth with mines eating people. Maybe they're an accountant sent out by central to do an audit.

Shinigan (Naruto fanfic)

A ceremony, such as the opening of a new seam or something?

Maybe there are some bigwigs coming to the ceremony, so all the red carpets have to be rolled out - like an orchestra to sing the National Anthem.

Be not afraid...

Maybe orchestras are more mainstream in the far flung future.

EDIT: Crap, I got this thread mixed up with another.

edited 2nd Sep '11 2:33:34 AM by Durazno

Having the manager or whatever need to impress some investors sounds like a pretty plausible idea.

Dreamkeepers Prelude, check it out!

I guess a remote colony wouldn't have many interesting things to do, so some need to be provided. As for why specifically an orchestra, maybe one was passing nearby, or the staff took a vote and chose it. Maybe it'd help if you told us how remote it is(Siberia? Antarctica? Titan?).

What is the problem with miners listening to music? Has the Boss forbidden music? Then hold the concert in the secret Union Hall. Does the ore give off gas that makes the miners go deaf? Use a sci-fi machine to pipe the music directly into their brains. If the whole planet has banned music then your flautist dresses as a clown and the circus entertains the miners.

Liberty! Equality! Fraternity!

I sence miners would wish to represent their hardships and their efforts. The music for a miner's theme will be of epic preportions. Think Soviet era music but replace "factory worker" or "soidier" with "miner."

I’m a lumberjack and I’m ok. I sleep all night and work all day.

To answer the OP question: Why wouldn't they? Even setting aside the (rather insulting, in my opinion) idea that the miners are all uncultured slobs who would not want to hear an orchestra, there would still be engineers, support people, and executives present.

...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.

The orchestra is on tour, that's so like a band. The band visits Planet of Hats (POH) Sydney Opera House and POH La Scala Milan, POH South Wales is on the way.

If the government makes laws to forbid certain forms of entertainment, then your flautist dresses as a snake charmer. The Evil Government had never thought of banning snake-charming before, the regulation is tied up in committee. The flautist has one week's grace before the ban comes in. Balrog arises from the depths and eats the Banning Snake-charming Comite.

edited 1st Sep '11 2:36:55 PM by Trotzky

Liberty! Equality! Fraternity!

I don't believe the OP insinuated that they were uncultured snobs. But if this community is remote and mostly mining-oriented, unnecessaries like that would probably seem a bit out of place. It'd be sort of like the workers of a nature preserve hiring an orchestra—no one ever said they couldn't enjoy orchestra, but if they're going to hire one and bring them there, there'd probably be a reason for it.

"Proto-Indo-European makes the damnedest words related. It's great. It's the Kevin Bacon of etymology." ~Madrugada

Reason would be the anniversary of a Hero who died rescuing trapped miners.

They are isolated, therefore they NEED entertainment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Proud_Valley

The Proud Valley is a movie about miners who love music starring Paul Robeson.

edited 1st Sep '11 2:42:26 PM by Trotzky

Liberty! Equality! Fraternity!

^^ True, I was thinking more about the comments like "Other than pure determined retardation?...", "An orchestra wouldn't be my first choice for entertainment for a group of miners...", "someone at main office was oblivious enough to think they'd like it..."

...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.

They are isolated, so usually they only get entertained by C-list bands, but this is the 25th Anniversary of the Hero rexcuing trapped Miners, so they hire an A-list band to sing the Patriotic Soviet Miner anthem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t74er5nTMHo&feature=related

People NEED food, clothes, entertainment, liberty, justice etc tlc.

People from Planet of Hats need regular people stuff PLUS Hats.

Starfish Aliens ask "What is this thing you Humans call "Music"?

Are your miners people? In that case they like music.

Are your miners Hats? In that case they like foreign music.

Are your miners Eldritch Abominastions? In that case, the Balrog rising from the deep is no big deal. tlc.

edited 1st Sep '11 6:10:00 PM by Trotzky

Liberty! Equality! Fraternity!

What kind of community is this mining colony? Is it like an oceanic drilling rig, where the only people normally there are the technical personnel, or is it a community where people raise families, send their kids to school, and stuff, where mining is the economic focus, but not the only thing people are engaged in?

If it's the equivalent of having an orchestra visit an oil rig, that's hard to imagine. On the other hand, if it's the equivalent of the orchestra visiting a town with a mining-based economy, then that's reasonable — local orchestras often visit fairly rural places (they're called runouts — e.g., the Saint Louis Symphony might visit Rolla, MO).

Well, the mining colony is on a remote planet so it's probably self-sustaining. I'm not sure if that makes more like an oil-rig or a place that mines for its economy.

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The second, I'd say.

Nous restons ici.

If it's self-sustaining, it's a place that mines for its economy, and there will be non-miners. Families could also be there.

edited 2nd Sep '11 12:23:46 PM by Madrugada

...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.

And farmers and medics and clerks, oh my.

It's a pit village, not an oil rig. They have their own town band.

Liberty! Equality! Fraternity!