so, how did it go?

So, first an update on the last post:

It was the best of all possible outcomes... he hired a sub. Words cannot express how relieved I was.

As for the rest of the concert?

Well.

This particular gig had two performances: Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. We were playing a few movements from a ballet suite, a piano concerto and a symphony, with an utterly forgettable Christmas medley for an encore. Two rehearsals, only one of which had low brass, resulted in a slightly frustrated section.¹

The Saturday performance was about what I expected it to be. We all ended at the same time, which is about all one can really hope for.² And then there was the Sunday performance...

We walked in and were met at the door by one of the other musicians. She may have been the orchestra librarian; I’m not really sure.

“Oh, hey, you guys have some new music on your stand.”

?

“Yeah, the soloist can’t be here today, so we’re playing some other stuff instead. You, uh, might want to warm up on stage and take a look at it.”

!

You know, I have sight-read at a performance before, but having a soloist not show was a first for me.³

I sat down on stage and the first words out of my mouth were, “This is going to be the greatest concert ever.” This was quickly followed by, “Why haven’t I invested in a hip flask yet?” The level of sarcasm in the back row only went up from there.

We rehearsed a few spots before the concert, in a slap-dash sort of way.⁴ The music wasn’t that hard... at least, not for the trombone section, and considering the circumstances, it went better than expected.⁵ I especially liked the part at the beginning of the concert where the conductor told the audience what had happened, and essentially apologized on behalf of the orchestra for any fuck-ups. Now that’s classy.

Sadly, that also appears to be the last of my gigs for the holiday season. If I were a real musician I’d have a few more, but alas, I am not. So, back to my hole practice room I go until after the New Year. Here’s hoping I survive the holidays.⁶

1. Oh, we’re not taking repeats in this piece? Good to know. Would have been better to know before we started the piece, of course.[↩]


2. I don’t really think Dvorak intended his 6th symphony to be quite that atonal, but whatever.[↩]


3. Incidentally, we never did find out what happened to the pianist. He seemed fine Saturday night, and while I don’t know what could possibly take someone down that quickly, it’s probably something pretty serious. So, I hope he’s okay.[↩]


4. All this while the audience members were milling around in the lobby, probably wondering what the hell was going on.[↩]


5. In other words, we didn’t train wreck.[↩]


6. Alcohol will probably be involved.[↩]