Hi again.
Some of the higher-end camera bodies have a "silent shutter mode", but the T1i does not. If it is any consolation, the shutter is never really silent even if you have that feature.
Unfortunately, the irony is that if you are shooting indoors, and without flash, your shutter will sound even clunkier, just when you are actually caring about the sound. The reason is that the shutter speed will be relatively slow, so the noise of each actuation is (comparatively) longer.
Honestly, I would just take the photos and forget about it. I will bet that a lot of other parents will not be so concerned with courtesy, and may even be using flash. If it is anything like the events I have been to for my little ones, it will sound like a White House press conference.
Since you are inside, and you cannot use flash, you will be struggling to get a fast enough shutter speed to avoid camera shake. You should get there early so as to sit as close as possible to the front, so that you can zoom less to get the shot, so that the camera shake will be lessened. (Telephoto length magnifies camera shake.) (Also, cropping the shot to simulate closeness also robs you of resolution, and at the high ISO's your camera will be pulling to get a dim shot you will need all the detail you can get).
Good luck!
Scott
Canon 5d mk 4, Canon 6D, EF 70-200mm L f/2.8 IS mk2; EF 16-35 f/2.8 L mk. III; Sigma 35mm f/1.4 "Art" EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro; EF 85mm f/1.8; EF 1.4x extender mk. 3; EF 24-105 f/4 L; EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS; 3x Phottix Mitros+ speedlites
Why do so many people say "FER-tographer"? Do they take "fertographs"?
