Klarinet Archive - Posting 000371.txt from 1995/11

From: Thomas Labadorf <Labadorf@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: A Cautionary Tale
Date: Mon, 20 Nov 1995 18:27:16 -0500

Claudia,

You have our sympathies! (Hypothetically, of course)

Tom Labadorf
U.S. Coast Guard Band
Labadorf@-----.com

"A Cautionary Tale
-----------------

Suppose, hypothetically, that you were sent on a 2.5-week business
trip to Germany. You cleverly schedule this so that you return
the day before your scheduled community orchestra concert. You
cleverly pack your spare clarinet (a plastic Bundy, of course),
your music, and a music stand, so that you can practice in order
to be in playing shape when you return.

You may discover that European hotel rooms and the hours at which
you work and go out to dinner are not conducive to practicing, so
you manage to practice just once. Still, you're pleased you managed
that much.

When packing for your return trip, you pack your clarinet in your
carryon bag but put your music in your suitcase so it doesn't get
crumpled.

(Is anyone getting a sense of foreboding here?)

These actions, combined with flight problems (it all started when
they didn't have enough de-icing trucks in Duesseldorf), will make
your return less pleasant than it would otherwise have been.

Specifically, you might have to call your conductor, sheepishly
admit your foolishness in not making a backup copy of the music
before you left the U.S., and spend 4 hours with her the evening
of your return copying the 1st clarinet part to the Prokofiev
Piano Concerto #2 from the score, transposing as you go. (Of
course, neither of you has a MIDI setup and software to do this
the easy way.) If you're lucky, you will be able to find someone
who has copies of the other two pieces on the concert, although
you may find yourself sight-transposing the 4th movement of
Beethoven's Symphony #5 if the new copy is in C and the missing
one was in Bb.

This is not a pleasant situation.

So, if you ever find yourself in this hypothetical situation,
make a copy of your music before you leave!

Claudia (this has been a hypothetical story)"