Klarinet Archive - Posting 000839.txt from 1998/09

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.edu>
Subj: [kl] Re: Loss of Alan Balter--clarinetist/conductor
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 18:18:14 -0400

I was chatting with some of the players in this area about Balter and
all told wonderful stories about his musicianship. I told the following.

Alan and I were playing Nutcracker in the pit. He was playing 1st and
I, 2nd and bass. During the intermission between the acts, we went
out and had some coffee during which time someone knocked his clarinet
over and didn't say anything.

When we came back, the first number, for clarinet in B-flat, produced
a terrible squeak because he had not tried his instrument when we got
back from the break. (We got back very late.)

Alan took a look at the horn while I switched over to first to cover
the part and when he saw the bent condition of a certain key and
realized he could not fix it on the fly, grabbed his A clarinet and
transposed the entire second act at sight. Didn't make a mistake
either!

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Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
Rosanne Leeson, Los Altos, California
leeson@-----.edu
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