 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: kdk
Date: 2010-02-07 01:33
Our near-record snowfall today in Philadelphia has led to a very rare cancellation of a Philadelphia Orchestra concert tonight, Although their website proclaimed all day that the concert would be performed as scheduled, someone in the mayor's office must have contacted them and convinced them to reconsider because by four o'clock robo-calls to subscribers and a new notice on the website announced the cancellation. The website announcement called this "unprecedented," and indeed it may be that it's never happened before - certainly not anytime I was aware of in the 50 years I've attended concerts. One famous night - it may have been during the record-setting 1996 blizzard - Wolfgang Sawallisch sat on the stage of the Academy of Music at a piano with an incomplete orchestra around him and did a concert-lecture for the small audience about the evening's program, with (as I read in the next day's news accounts - I wasn't there) illustrations on the keyboard interspersed with performances by the musicians who had made it to the hall. As recently as this past December, a snowstorm that set a December record a week before Christmas failed to stop a concert. The musicians, I've been told, are expected to get into the city ahead of the weather if necessary to be within a walk of the hall in case transit and roads are shut down.
I wondered, as this "unprecedented" cancellation was announced, what other major orchestras in cities prone to occasional (or frequent) severe weather do in similar situations. I'm certain Boston, Chicago and Montreal, to say nothing of those northern European cities whose weather I don't know as much about, have more frequent trouble with snow than we do. Is "the show must go on" as much a part of the ethic in other such cities as it has (until tonight) been here?
In no trying to be judgmental - just very curious,
Karl
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2010-02-07 12:14
Absolutely everything here in the Washington, D.C. metro area got cancelled yesterday, including all events at Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and all other music venues I know about. Good day to stay home and practice. I think nearly everything's cancelled today (Sunday) as well. According to the local ABC News affiliate, this storm has now been ranked as the fourth largest in the history of the District.
President Obama called this storm "Snowmageddon" -- the media named the big one in December "Snowpocalypse." Two feet or so of snow makes folks in Canada laugh at us, but this large a storm is so unusual here that it's impractical for local governments to budget for dealing with it efficiently.
So, if you were planning to come to Washington, D.C. in the next couple of days, better cancel -- oh, and we're expecting more snow on Tuesday and Wednesday. (Are we having fun yet?)
This morning, only one lane of the Capitol Beltway is open. Accidents a-go-go, including tractor trailers and snow plows stuck sideways in the drifts. So many side streets are impassable that as a practical matter, even if the musicians could make it to the venues, the audience couldn't. There's so much snow that the guys trying to clear the roads have to bring front-end loaders, put the snow in dump trucks and haul it away. The local governments are begging people to stay home today. Dulles International and Reagan National Airports are both still closed. Above-ground Metro trains are not running. No municipal bus lines are running. Everything that got plowed yesterday has a layer of ice today because the snow was wet and heavy when it fell and temperatures cratered overnight.
At least the power stayed on at my house, though I heard transformers fizz and pop all over the neighborhood in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Even if our power goes out, I keep a well-stocked emergency pantry (and smile smugly as I watch the news reports of last minute panic, as people rush out to strip the stores of every last loaf of bread and roll of toilet paper). A lot of people are stuck without heat today (19 degrees F.) -- and unable to leave to get warm somewhere else, unless they're able-bodied enough to dig out or somebody helps.
My husband and I got out there yesterday and got a start on the digging as soon as the snow slacked off at about 3:30. Our yard only got 23 inches of snow, but because we're on the side of the street where the wind piles the drift, with the snow chest-high to me in the front yard, I was only able to dig out the front sidewalk to the curb and sideways to the driveway before it started getting dark. Meanwhile, my husband climbed up on our kitchen roof, which is nearly flat. He said he thinks he moved at least half a ton of snow off of there. At least we could go to bed reasonably sure that the kitchen roof wouldn't collapse. (A general aviation hangar at Dulles Airport did collapse, as did a church, some duplexes and some other buildings.) Fortunately, we've got a "Virginia cat-slide" roof on the rest of the house. Looks as if the neighbors are awake now, so out we go again. If the tree limbs weighted down with snow over the power lines across the street do go ahead and break, at least we've got a battery-operated TV for the Super Bowl.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2010-02-07 13:47
We had to cancel our performances of Porgy and Bess this entire weekend in Baltimore this weekend, a big loss to the symphony, and we lost a day before Christmas of our Holiday special because of the snow. We have a very limited subway and light rail system here in Baltimore so most patrons, and musicians, rely on their cars. Although we've only cancelled a few concerts since I've been in the orchestra, since 1963, when we get a snow storm like this nothing moves in Baltimore and it's actually dangerous for the orchestra members as well as the patrons to drive. Baltimore closes down when we get a big snow storm and they ask people to say off the roads so they can clear them. Most seasons we only get a few inches of snow so it's not a problem but every now and then we get hit like this year. Our average yearly snow fall is 16-18 inches over three or four small storms, this year we've already have over 62 inches and it's only February. We're already tens of millions of dollars over budget for snow removal. It's a problem for cities like ours that are not used to all that snow and rely of our cars to get around. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: DixieSax
Date: 2010-02-07 13:50
Up here in central Pennsylvania, the state has been under snow emergency conditions. This gives municipalities the ability to declare travel and parking completely off limits so that equipment can get in to clear the affected streets. IT also allows communities and municipalities to bypass normal bidding procedures to get the job done.
I had a gig cancelled Friday night, not because the venue was concerned about the snow, but because there was no nearby parking available due to the snow emergency condition. It would not surprise me if Philadelphia was operating in a similar mode. You can bet Fast Eddie R. had the state gravy train wide open to his buddies in Philly so they could go out and make a pile of extra cash on snow removal.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2010-02-07 14:08
I also had a rehearsal canceled and the auditions for our county music festival (grades 7-12) bands, orchestra and choruses were canceled as well. And they were bagged long before the storm actually hit. Orchestras that I play in have also canceled for many of the same reasons Ed gives for the Baltimore Opera's decision.
All of which has made me that much more amazed that the Philadelphia Orchestra, last night excepted, NEVER cancels (as I've described) whether or not the audience or even the musicians can physically get there - safely or not. Presumably the cost in ticket sales is one motivation. No refunds are available, but ticket holders for last night's concert can exchange the tickets at no charge for available seats at any of the orchestra's remaining concerts this season.
I'm interested that Baltimore Opera canceled, since they must have similar cost considerations and fewer opportunities to make up the losses. Ed, have they rescheduled or simply canceled the weekend's services?
I'm interested to know whether cancellations are as rare (or unheard of) for other major musical institutions in snowy cities. I don't think this storm hit New York City as hard as points south, but do the Broadway theaters close in the face of a 2-foot snowstorm?
Karl
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Author: Curinfinwe
Date: 2010-02-07 14:20
Two feet? Pah! That's nothing big for us hardy Nova Scotians! Sure, school might be cancelled if the storm hits overnight, but even then the city would be cleaned up by lunchtime! A couple of years ago we had close to 100 centimeters in a day or so, and apart from the province almost running out of road salt, after the first day hardly anything was cancelled.
Toughen up! (And if you think you've got a lot now, never move to Quebec city or northern New Brunswick!)
(Just kidding. I know how out-of-the-ordinary that amount of snow is for you and how it just throws the entire region for a loop.)
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Author: weberfan
Date: 2010-02-07 14:29
Karl,
Not a flake fell in Manhattan this time.
As for Broadway, there have probably been cancellations over the years, but I would guess very few. Perhaps during the big storm of 1947-48. The only other weather-related event that would have a serious impact would be a hurricane.
In snow, however, New York's subway system really makes it easy to get around, at least within four of the boroughs.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2010-02-07 14:30
So what happens to the Montreal Symphony or the Quebec Symphony during a really big (plug in your own numbers), perhaps record-threatening snowstorm?
Karl
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2010-02-07 19:27
KDK, it's not the Baltimore Opera, they went under last year. It was the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, we were doing a condensed concert version of the opera. I suppose they will offer an exchange as well but if someone insists they have to return the money for public relations but hopefully few if any will ask for their money back. Still a big lost, no ticket sales at the door and still having to pay the singers something. It's always a big loss to a non profit that can't meet their expenses from ticket sales when things are going well.
Weberfan, I was a kid in NY when the big storm hit in 47-48, that was the only time I can remember the schools were closed. I can still picture the street I live on in the Bronx with the snow well above the wheels of the parked cars. I believe it took a whole week to clear out the snow. Yes, the subway system makes it much easier to get around in a snow storm in NY as opposed to a place like Baltimore where most people rely on their cars. We had one highway, I-95, that people use here to get in and out of the city closed for 6 hours because a tractor trailer overturned and blocked the only lane that was clear. People had to stay in their cars all that time if they were behind the truck, a one mile backup for six hours. Snow storms like this are dangerous ESP
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
Post Edited (2010-02-07 19:37)
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2010-02-07 19:51
Curinfinwe, I lived in Halifax in 1992, playing with what was then called the Halifax Symphony. I lived in the city and was able to walk to rehearsals and concerts. I don't remember having a real big snow storm like this one that year but Halifax is a small city. Baltimore has over half a million people living in the city and several million in the surrounding counties, many of whom work in the city so there's all that coming and going. Baltimore doesn't handle a small snow storm well anyway but the reason they close the schools so soon, in the counties not the city, is for safety reasons because of the school buses. The students in the city use the city buses but in the county the buses have to pick the students up and when one bus has an accident because of the snow there's hell to pay. We've only cancelled concerts with the BSO when things get really bad and the governor asks everyone to stay off the roads.
I live in Baltimore County, different from the City, we have 2200 miles of roads to clear, that's an awful lot of roads. It's a large county and spread out with a lot a small and large roads. ESP
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Author: Franklin Liao
Date: 2010-02-07 19:58
On the other hand, the pacific side is going through weather that would have you think that it's spring. I am sitting at about 8 degree Celsius (45F or so) in Vancouver.
Snow cancellation cannot be avoided if the municipality has no budget or equipments that can be allocated to keep the streets clear. Driving when the road condition is horrid really can be quite treacherous.
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Author: Brenda ★2017
Date: 2010-02-07 21:15
Having come from north-east Ohio, where we used to aim the car at the driveway, drive fast and sink into the snow and then shovel, the weather in the Toronto-Hamilton area surprised me. We've been dumped on a few times but this winter we've barely had to pull out the snow shovel. We've been cold but very fortunate this year with no snow to speak of. We actually had to go to the States to see snow.
The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra had to cancel at one point and reschedule the next weekend. That weekend there was no parking available, and driving was treacherous. The brave-hearted may have come through, annoying the police along the way, but it wasn't safe. The audience would have been non-existent as well.
Winter tires! Makes a big difference. Oh, and also gearing down into 2nd gear or even 1st gear in your automatic car can mean the difference between getting through a rise in the road or not.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2010-02-07 23:21
Some people forget that, in crowded areas like DC, what an individual does to improve his own ability to drive in the snow (e.g. snow tires) is almost irrelevant because of the thousands of other people who must get THEMSELVES out of your way in order for you to get to your destination. As in the example Ed described, one tractor-trailer going sideways brought hundreds of cars behind it to a dead stop for HOURS --- and it mattered not one whit that those drivers may have had four-wheel drive vehicles with snow tires or whatever. The roads in most mid-Atlantic urban and suburban areas are jam-packed with bumper-to-bumper vehicles almost around the clock, including weekends. My daily commute is only 32 miles each way, but takes me an average of 1-1/2 hours (in perfect weather), and with just a bit of snow, or ice, or even heavy rain or some fog can be a 3-hour ordeal in each direction. Tomorrow it might take me 4 hours to get to work. Were he still performing actively with the Washington National Symphony, Larry Bocaner (who lives not far from me) would be facing the same difficulties trying to get downtown to the Kennedy Center for a performance.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2010-02-08 00:07
That was pretty much the point of my question. Granted it doesn't snow like it did this weekend in DC very often (was this the record or only second most snowfall in DC's history?), and from what I've read the Kennedy Center closed and no performances were held. What does it take for the National Symphony to cancel? Has it happened before? Are the players expected to come into town early to avoid the snarled traffic and closed public transit in the event of a predicted storm, or is canceling something that's within the normal range of possibilities, or can they afford to wait and see what decision is made? The Philadelphia Orchestra on Saturday waited until 4 PM to announce the cancellation (by then the actual snowfall had ended) - until then it was advertising on its website and with robo-calls that the concert would be performed as scheduled. By 4 PM probably many, if not most, of the musicians had already braved the weather (and risked possible catastrophe) and were already in town, either in the hall or a nearby hotel.
There is, I guess the possible difference between DC and Philadelphia that the Philadelphia Orchestra's concert hall (both the Kimmel Center and the Academy of Music, its former home) is owned by the orchestra - the decision to cancel can't involve a conflict between the hall's administrators and the orchestra's. Kennedy is, I believe, owned by the Federal government, so if the hall is closed the orchestra has no choice.
Karl
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