 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2007-07-14 18:11
I was wondering what opinion you have for a ClarFest location - have it at a University or at a Hotel.
Few years ago it was in Atlanta at a very nice Hotel. That's my personal preference strongly as a hotel would typically be in an urban location with many restaurant choices, more comfortable lodging, and handicap access being much better as everything would be in the same location. The Flute Assn. has had many Hotels and it was like that. I'm not a Dorm guy at all, haven't stayed in a Dorm since the Richmond clarfest back in the 90's.
I was helping wheel Kalman Bloch at this years ClarFest and got an idea of what Handicap access or lack thereof was all about. There was a lot of walking so Michele had gotten a Wheelchair for him.
Downside of a Hotel I would imagine would be the cost of it in lodging as well as possibly the venue cost. I'd be willing to pay $300 instead of $150 for a festival in a premium location (meaning not off-season).
Thoughts?
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: johng ★2017
Date: 2007-07-14 20:52
I think David has some good points about the convenience of hotels and the ease of getting around if you have trouble walking. I don't have trouble, but my feet still ache after all the back-and-forth walking I did in Vancouver BC. I have only gone to ClarinetFests that have been at a university, so one question I can think of is the quality of the performing spaces in a hotel setting. How does a hotel match up in that way?
johng
John Gibson, Founder of JB Linear Music, www.music4woodwinds.com
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Author: susieray
Date: 2007-07-14 21:46
I didn't care for the performing spaces at the Omni Hotel last year. The ballrooms are very nice but the seats were all on the same level so it was difficult to see anything unless you were right up front. I much prefer a theater/recital hall.
The Omni is very classy and it was really convenient having everything on site, but it was VERY expensive staying there (even with the discount they gave us, I spent over $750 for 5 nights, as compared with $200 this year at UBC)
I thought the dorms at UBC were very nice, and at $35 a night plus $5 a day for parking that is hard to beat.
In 2004 I stayed in the dorms at U of Maryland and those were hot, dirty, and too far away from where all the action was....I wasted soooo much time waiting for and riding the shuttles. So it depends on the University.
BTW Dave, how did your pictures turn out? I got a couple of good shots of Kalman but the ones of Michelle are kinda blurry. :-(
Sue
Post Edited (2007-07-14 21:47)
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Author: dgclarinet
Date: 2007-07-14 22:59
Sue...how did you get $35 a night? I must have gotten the fancy room...I think mine was $115 or something like that, including the $5 parking per night.
I much prefer a setting that is a little nicer than the campus this year. The non-a/c in the dorms and that recital hall was tough/unbearable for this southerner...I guess I'm used to being cool when it's hot. I much preferred Atlanta (and New Orleans, the other Fest I've been to), where you just took the escalator up to the concerts and down to the exhibits. The sights in Vancouver were just incredible (if you left the campus and explored), but in total, I think I prefer the hotel type setting.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2007-07-14 23:37
You know ... it depends.
This year I found it just fine - the venues were all relatively close. I remember Ohio the dorms being much farther and the venues further apart. I used a car to get around in Baltimore ... the venues were really far apart.
New Orleans was great at the hotel - except ballrooms have bad sight lines for a concert and dubious acoustics.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2007-07-15 00:07
This year was my first, and it had its pros and cons. The dorm stay was easy and convenient, and the performing venues were probably nicer (at least for C-Fest purposes) than most you'd find around hotels. The biggest problems for me were lack of accessibility to the rest of Vancouver, and the spacing of the venues. Two halls were in the music department, and the vendors and another hall were a non-insignificant walk away, which is trickier for a doubler with a lot of stuff to schlep. It would have been nice to skip from one event to another at a whim, if they'd been in the same complex.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2007-07-15 00:54
At the Holiday Inn my bill was $1300 for the 6 nights I was there. There was a long and really hot bus ride which was about 25 minutes to the venue. It was a wee bit pricy ......
I highly doubt that any hotel would come even close to the acoustics of Chan Hall, but the other halls were just average or below.
Just about walked myself to death, but needed the exercise so it was almost welcome 
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: joeyscl
Date: 2007-07-15 06:42
Speaking of the Chan Center, what did you guys think of the Acoustics?
Is it "World Class" as my Band Teacher have always been telling me? (I wouldn't know since I haven't been to Concert Halls anywhere else in the world")
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2007-07-15 15:39
I enjoyed the UBC campus.
Didn't know that rooms were available on campus.
I took my wife and stashed her in the motor home at the north end of the Lion's Gate bridge, rented a car and drove across the bridge, through Stanley Park, brushed against downtown and out to the UBC campus.
To avoid the incredible traffic snarls (where people run the yellow lights and block the intersection through a signal cycle), I drove in at 0600. Ten miles, 20-minutes (instead of the 1-1/2 hours required when we came through the day before opening day at rush hour!). Plenty of time for a coffee before teh first morning recital.
At the other end of the day, I had to skip the late night performances that began at 2230. In the dark, alone, path finding was tough, and it took much longer to unscramble my navigation errors.
On Sunday --without my horn, I was able to ride my bike in for closing day; and that was a nice change.
In retrospect, not much cost savings were realized considering the camping fees, the rental car, ...
Next time, I'll stay at the Fest and be able to sleep in in the mornings and still make the late night shows.
I thought the venues at UBC were pretty wonderful --even though the Chan Center was way over patrolled. I overstayed in the practice room and missed Backun and Powalsi --saw him on the lobby's TV monitor.
I liked the campus setting, and the tiered seating.
Bob Phillips
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2007-07-15 15:43
Bob Phillips wrote:
> To avoid the incredible traffic snarls (where people run the
> yellow lights and block the intersection through a signal
> cycle), I drove in at 0600.
LOL! I thought the Vancouver city traffic during rush hour more like Sunday traffic here. People from Boston can't believe how fast & easy the rush hour traffic here is.
You mean there's somewhere out in the US where people slow down for yellow? I thought it meant speed up - there's 10 cars behind you that need to get through the red.
It all depends what you're used to, I guess
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2007-07-15 15:47
Bob Phillips wrote:
> I thought the venues at UBC were pretty wonderful --even though
> the Chan Center was way over patrolled.
I was escorted to the lobby for finishing off my coffee in the center prior to a performance
Very nice "officer", who spent my "incarceration" time with me explaining how they tune the center for difference crowds/music.
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2007-07-15 15:57
I've never been to a ClarFest, although I'm beginning to consider it (finally...duh!). I've been to several accordion conferences when my accordionist drags us around and those have always been in hotels. I love staying at the hotels, but the ballrooms typically are NOT my favorite performing venues (or listening venues or talking venues). The vendor areas are always well-done at the hotels though, so I would guess it would depend on the reason you go to the fest.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2007-07-15 16:53
The Chan acoustics were OK. Too much concrete, though. The concrete, mixed with the fabric, seemed to make the sound boomy, but not particularly well projected. When there were shells on stage, they were solid wood with no spaces in between, which made it funky as well.
Heard better, heard worse.
Then again, I'm always going to Disney Hall, which rocks for chamber stuff.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: marcia
Date: 2007-07-15 20:00
>Speaking of the Chan Center, what did you guys think of the Acoustics?
The opening night concert was my first experience playing at the Chan. From a performer's point of view it was pretty amazing as it is the only place where I have been able to hear myself in the ensemble!
Marcia
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2007-07-16 01:37
Next year at UMKC (Kansas City) should be pretty good. I go there and I think they are going to open up the Oak Street Dorms and they are pretty darn nice dorms! And the walk from Oak to the PAC is about a 2-3 minute walk max. Plus the dorms are about a 15 minute walk to the Country Club Plaza (amazing food and shopping places) and the dorms are a minute walk to Pizza 51 (amazing), Kin Lin (good Chinese food), Russel Stovers Candies, and Subway. I would recommend eating at these places or at the Plaza compared to the dorm food. It's OK dorm food, but expensive for what it is.
http://www.umkc.edu/housing/oakhall.asp
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2007-07-16 02:42
Yes, David, an accordion conference. They're actually really fun if you can get past the fact that they don't play the clarinet! I can only imagine what my accordionist would feel like if I dragged her to a ClarFest! (One can hope, right, that my band could ever get asked to play there and get accomodations paid for? )
And FYI, at UMKC is the only college credit accordion orchestra around!!!
Post Edited (2007-07-16 02:43)
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Author: shmuelyosef
Date: 2007-07-16 03:37
I have taken my accordion to fests, but the best of them were back in the 60s when we had USY (United Synagogue Youth...yeah, I'm Jewish) and the only kids that brought their instruments were the clarinetists and accordionists. Great music! although I wouldn't take up clarinet for another 30 years...still have my accordion.
The last few years I have gone to a number of conferences at places like University of California-Santa Barbara and Stanford University. Great facilities and cheap lodging (with decent food included). Self-contained so it can be 'about the music'. Lots of venues, jams, and practice space.
focus, jeff
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Author: Sean.Perrin
Date: 2007-07-18 00:29
I stayed in the Gage towers... $35 a night. I have been to Vancouver many times, but never vistited the UBC campus. I was impressed!
If I could do one thing differently I wouldn't have played in the college choir, I missed some of the performances I wanted to see most! However, I met some excellent people there... so it's a tough call.
Founder and host of the Clarineat Podcast: http://www.clarineat.com
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2007-07-18 01:40
Temperature at the Gage was actually pretty nice. Had to close the doors later in the week, it got too cold. Sure, it was an oven when we arrived, but an hour with the windows and balcony door open made it quite pleasant.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2007-07-18 01:54
As an exhibitor I would favor the hotel format. This year was not too bad with the exhibits in the student union but then again attendance in general was low for ClarinetFest and US exhibitors where inhibited by Canadian customs regulations. I think that I was the only US exhibitor with other than instruments for sale which were then handled by Canadian dealers. My family and I stayed in Gage Apartments which were not air-conditioned but a full kitchen helped save on food expenses. The UBC campus and Chan Performing Arts Center were beautiful and a local pub was within walking distance which was custom made for good gossip and renewing old friendships.
I have not attended any international ClarinetFests other than this year. ClarinetFest 2000 at the Oklahoma University (my first) was very good with dorms and good performance venues. At ClarinetFest in New Orleans the hotel was very good and the French Quarter offered many opportunities for excellent food and entertainment. At ClarinetFest in Salt Lake City at the university the exhibitors suffered from distance of the student union from performance venues and an extreme heat spell which slowed traffic. Maryland was good for exhibitors and the Marriott was nice but expensive and the dorms too far away for many.
In general, IMO the performance venues at universities have been excellent but at hotels they are marginal if not poor. Getting here and there is of course easier at hotels but on the whole probably much more expensive than university dorms. So, there probably is no great compromise between convenience and cost.
As an exhibitor first and clarinet enthusiast wanting to soak in all the great clarinet performances second I would have to favor a venue that is vendor friendly. In order for small business exhibitors to show up they must have the ability to at least make expenses which is dependent on traffic. Having a presence is admirable but will certainly cause you to go broke eventually!!
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
P.S. Ooops, forgot that Brad Behn and Michael Notesworthy were doing a brisk business with the Behn mouthpieces - many on extended trial.
Post Edited (2007-07-18 10:25)
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2007-07-18 21:51
Katrina-
I don't think UMKC has their accordian program anymore... I have never seen an accordian player in any of the music buildings and haven't heard anything about an accordian orchestra or an accordian professor. I know they used to have a big accordian studio awhile back.
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