 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2003-12-09 04:13
Tonight was my college's Chamber Music performance. A few music students, some poeple in the community that are getting back into music and asked to join our ensemble, in enclosed quarters. Not a huge audience so everyone got a front row seat.
So I played all my pieces. I flubbed on the one piece I liked the best, which I've played perfectly every rehearsal and one half hour before performing it (man that ticked me off), but that's not the embarressing part.
Later on after the concert, I go to use the bathroom (I won't get into details) but as I look in the mirror to wash my hands I notice a bloodstain on my white dress shirt. And as I drive home I wonder to myself just how long that's been there. It wasn't there when I left the house, so it must've happened between putting the shirt on two hours before the perfomance and when I noticed it two hours after the performance. But when in that time period? . . . .
(That last paragraph was the embarrassing part)
Alexi
-Just a little venting. Do with it what you will.
US Army Japan Band
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Author: ksclarinetgirl
Date: 2003-12-09 04:38
sfalexi-
Happens to the best of us. I guarantee you every person on this bulletin board has at least one story to tell, and some people have been around long enough to have hundreds My most embarassing moment during a concert was when my reed rebelled, and unfortunately I ended up ruining "Elegy for a Young American," which if you don't know that piece is a very intense, emotional piece. Needless to say, I was a little upset...
Stephanie :o)
Stephanie :o)
"Vita Brevis, Ars Longa"
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Author: Renato
Date: 2003-12-09 11:56
Some embarrassing moments:
- tackling a jazz piece too soon (why didn't anyone talk me out of playing it?), I ended up squeaking from beginning to end;
- just before a performance in a festival, I had so much trouble getting my music stand set up (it seemed stuck) that a backstage guy had to help me out; everyone else in the group, as well as the audience, just waiting for me to get ready;
- I got onstage just in time to start playing and almost forgot I still had my backpack on my back.
I'll sure have what to tell my grandchildren...
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Author: LeWhite
Date: 2003-12-09 14:28
Once I was about to perform Weber I, just with piano. I couldn't get the music stand up, so I pulled harder, and BANG it went right into my head! A bloody line across my forehead, pretty large audience, but I still played it!
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Author: Bob A
Date: 2003-12-09 14:47
I posted this before, but still laugh about it when something comes up. About fifty years ago in Palmer Alaska with the Anchorage Symphony I was solo clarinet playing "Peter and the Wolf." The "Cat" is about halfway up the tree, pushing hard, when my little daughter jumps up and shouts out "That's My Daddy!" Guess who tumbled out of the tree?
Bob A
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Author: Henry
Date: 2003-12-09 15:10
Hi Alexi: I sympathize with you. I hope you were at least wearing a pair of matching socks!
Henry
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2003-12-09 17:04
lol. Thanks guys. I was along that night in my sorrow, but this stuff definitely helps to alleviate it knowing that others have been in those spots as well. Appreciate it.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Henry
Date: 2003-12-09 17:23
I forgot to add a recent rather embarassing moment I suffered myself. At a gig with our big band, our leader, who is a practical joker, suddenly announced that the next number ("In the Mood") would be a jitterbug contest for those interested. Then he proceeded to say that the prize for the winning couple would be "Henry, our third alto" (meaning me)!!! Actually, as the female part of the winning couple was a rather attractive young thing, I didn't mind going over and giving her a tight hug. In the end, it made my day!
Henry
Post Edited (2003-12-09 17:23)
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2003-12-09 17:23
At least you remembered to dress for YOUR concert!!!
David Dow
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Author: clarinetmama
Date: 2003-12-09 22:47
I have a heart condition (supraventricular tachycardia) which until Sunday had never flared up during a concert. It involves my heart beating somewhere between 250-300 beats a minute and normally lasts for seconds up to a minute or two. Anyway, on Sunday it lasted two and a half hours. Since I was completing the first concert of the day I decided to stay at the hall rather than go to the hospital where they would have to shock it back into its proper rhythm. And I would no doubt have missed the second performance. Fortunately for me it went back to normal sometime in the first piece of the second concert of the day.
Not so much embarassing I guess...but a sign of stupidity on my part as I could very well have passed out from lack of oxygen and dropped my bass clarinet in front of hundreds of audience members.
What is the saying, "Ah yes, the show must go on."
BTW....Tomorrow I see a cardiologist to see about correcting my heart "defect."
Jean
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Author: Cindy
Date: 2003-12-11 19:59
My first time ever as concert mistress of my band (I was a freshman sitting in front of seniors, it was bad already) I missed school the day of our concert, when we went over how to do everything because I was very sick. So, I show up to the performance that night and nobody fills me in. So, I'm on teh side waiting to walk on a tune the band, and I need my band director motioning. I think he means for me to go on, so I walk out and the whole band goes silent. Thankfully, I glance up just before playing a note, and he is waving frantically for me to stop. It turns out he was just waving to someone in teh audience, and we weren't allowed to start playing for another 5 minutes. Rather flustered, I manages to keep my cool, leaned over and adjusted the microphone, and walked off stage. *smooth* But, yeah, that reputation had followed me through three years of being concertmistress. Yay.
Cindy
So many instruments to play........so little time to play them!
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-12-11 20:39
I remember sitting on a chair in a very dodgy school hall playing with a community orchestra (they weren't bad - the music director was shocking) and the chair decided to collapse - very, very slowly ... one lady sitting in the front row of the audience (she had a very contagious chuckle) started guffawing (at my demise) ... I started to laugh and this caused the chair to finally collapse with a band ... very, very embarrassing.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2003-12-11 21:20
I was playing bass clarinet years ago with a community orchestra and full chorus, and I was seated near the front of the stage, all the way on the end, very visible to the audience. I started setting up 30 minutes before the concert and realized I had left my music at home, had to drive back home (normally a half-hour drive one-way) to get it ---- which I did at about 90 mph, in heavy traffic, in the little Bertone X1/9 I had at the time ---- somehow luck smiled upon me and I didn't have a wreck, nor were there any police about. I got back to the concert hall about 1 minute AFTER the planned downbeat --- and all 100+ musicians, and the conductor, and the audience were sitting there, waiting for ME to arrive. I sat down, opened my music, and we played. It took me a long time to recover from that embarrassment.......
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2003-12-12 01:42
THese nights never seem to go away. So now for tonight's concert story . . . .
Tonight's concert was (to my surprise) changed from 8 PM to 7PM. I show up at 6:55 to make sure I'm there one hour before, and barely have time to adjust my bowtie, assemble my instrument and get onstage. Thanks for the phone call, right? (BTW, I found out the time was changed two days ago and I just haven't had any classes between then and now to find out on my own)
My instructor played the clarinet concerto from Mozart with the orchestra. Since there are no clarinets/oboes in this piece we were given the option to (A) sit on stage and wait it through before they needed us or (B) sit in the audience and join the others onstage after the concerto was over.
I was the only one that chose option (A). So I wonder what the audience thought about the one clarinet that was onstage, NOT playing for a half hour. And why he wasn't with the other clarinet that appeared onstage when it was time to play.
And let's not get started on how my "best reed' behaved tonight . . .
Terrible night. Two more concerts to go. This Sunday and This tuesday. Hopefully I won't have to enter anything in this post for the remainder of the year........
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2003-12-12 02:26
Alexi, maybe you should TRY next time to have something happen. Take out your plastic red nose for the show, or wear a green polka dot tie or something, then for sure nothing out of the ordinary will happen!
Looks like you don't have a Reed Wizard?
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2003-12-12 02:40
lol. Good point. Watch me mess up trying to mess up. I'll wear a polka dot tie only to find out that it was the actual uniform!
Nope. No reed wizard. The ATG reed finishing system. Still pretty good. Just the climate changes, changes in embouchure strenght, and the elevation changes between my house and my college where I perform are all up against me.
ALexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2003-12-12 10:59
Well, I wish you well!! There's got to be a good night, it's coming along, it really is.
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Author: Pam H.
Date: 2003-12-12 11:14
I'm with Brenda in wishing you well! Things have to improve, right?
Don't hold on to your PAST mistakes. That's what my teacher is always telling me. They are in the past. All we can do now is move forward.
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Author: PJ
Date: 2003-12-13 03:51
Here's one... While completing my undergrad. work, the univ. clarinet choir that year played a small afternoon concert for the Jr. High school I was doing my student teaching at. That day, as usual, I wore a shirt, tie and dress slacks, but put my tux in the car for the concert later on. One important detail...I was wearing navy blue pants that day...tuxes are black...they don't mix.
I finish my last class before the concert, run to my car, grab the garment back and head for the faculty bathroom, sling open the bag to find that my tux pants are somewhere other than in the faculty bathroom where I was changing, nor my car. I had to wear my tux with navy blue pants. No big deal I thought, seeing that I played contrabass that year and would be in the rear of the ensemble. At least I thought that's how it would work...
The head of my studio, who conducted the ensemble, decided to demonstrate the difference between Eb and contra for the kids. She had me come up front and hold the horn beside the Eb and then play a chromatic scale for them after the Eb. Just so you know for future reference, stage lights exaggerate the difference between navy blue and black. My instructor, who is now a good friend of mine, still laughs about it to this day. Blue pants, black coat and red face...not a winning combo!!
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Author: donald
Date: 2003-12-15 09:22
when i first went to study in the US i was asked to perform in a wind quintet with some undergraduate students. This was no problem, rehearsals went ok, not great but ok.
when it came time for our first performance, we all walked out on stage, and i got ready to tune (to A440 as one does). Well, the others (accustomed to playing in a band rather than classical music) had all tuned out the back, and just launched into the piece without tuning.
they were all such good players, i hadn't realised how little "classical" experience they had had (or how nervous and edgy they would get). Fortunately, i didn't actually launch into a loud A440 in the middle of an E flat major chord, but at the last seccond worked out that something was up, and managed to join them, only missing the first one or two notes. a VERY close call.
donald...
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Author: marcia
Date: 2003-12-15 21:47
Don't hold on to your PAST mistakes.
Is that because there are many more to look forward to??
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2003-12-16 00:19
And now I hit a tree with my car. Busted up a few lights in the rear of the car (because due to the snow and that gutter which we didn't know was there we had actually spun around 180 degrees and were sliding backwards when we hit the tree) but my friend and I are ok. Truly the week from hell . . .
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: clarinetmajr
Date: 2003-12-16 05:08
I was in the music parking lot tonight and there was a car that was really smashed up! It was such a nice car too, and i noticed it had a note on the inner windshield reading:
Dear Ice,
You can wreck my car but you can't wreck my pride!
-Charly
I thought this was so cute and i felt so bad for them and their car! At least they still have a sense of humor.
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Author: donald
Date: 2003-12-17 08:44
once, after a BAD GIG
i reversed my car into.... get this, someones house!!!!
i mean, i actually hit a HOUSE!
made the concert seem "not that bad"
donald.....
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2003-12-17 11:10
Hey, my husband backed into a mail box the first day we met. It didn't mean anything to me but after 25 years he's still embarrassed about it. It must be a man thing.
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2003-12-17 18:21
For my most embarrasing concert, I wasn't even playing. It was a performance by a visiting concert band. I was the designated light-switcher, ready to fade the house lights at the appropriate time. Seeing the visiting conductor stride onto the stage, I turned off the lights. The entire audience hushed and applauded enthusiastically as he stepped on the podium. He asked for a tuning note and then walked away... oops!
Regards,
John
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