Outdoor Concerts

As a professional musician, I have always hated playing outdoor concerts. It’s hot, or it’s cold. The music gets blown off the stand. We play crappy music, or crappy arrangements of good music. Kids yelling, planes flying overhead. I did a concert where there was goose poop all over the stage. One concert we played, they passed out recorders, or was it kazoos? Anyway this racket was heard throughout the entire performance. Are these people even listening to what we are playing? I did an outdoor concert once (1812 Overture) and the cannon dudes got carried away and their actions generated a a whole SLEW of legal actions. OY! Pop Schlop, is what I call it. I recognized it as an evil necessity so that when music issues are raised, someone somewhere remembered that they went to a nice outdoor symphony concert and they will vote for the bond measure, or send a few bucks to the local arts organization so that we can play ‘real’ music, indoors as God & Beethoven intended.

The logistics of playing outdoors is also a daunting task. You have to move the percussion gear, make arrangements for chairs & stands. Shade cover, clothespins, water for musicians, local permits & fees. And what about parking? Some of these places you have to park in the next county and walk a marathon.

Ok, Last weekend (May 9) I did an outdoor concert with the Ohlone Tuba Ensemble - http://www2.ohlone.edu/instr/music/tubaensemble.html and the Ohlone Community Band - http://www.ohlonecommunityband.org/ and I had the BEST time! We had a potluck beforehand. The weather was perfect. We played good music, WELL. There were kids yelling and a blimp flew overhead. Central Park in Fremont is an IDEAL location for an outdoor concert. They have a wonderful pavilion that actually has excellent acoustics. From the podium, I can see over Lake Elizabeth and Mission Peak. There were folks there that had never heard ANY of the ensembles from Ohlone College. This was fun for us; the audience loved hearing the tuba ensemble & the OCB. It was good for the community, a fun, rewarding experience for the musicians and good exposure for the College. My music got blown off the stand, TWICE.

I loved it!

Maybe I'll bring kazoos for the kids next time.

Home!

Wed - April 29. There IS no place like home. After a wonderful week in RI, and some time on the train, it is nice to sleep in my own bed, snuggle with the poochies and watch some TV. I have a ton of laundry to do, more when/if my suitcase comes from Providence, and I am ready to start preparing the next concerto, to be played in two+ weeks.

Thanks for following me on my journey, I hope you had as much fun sharing the experience, as I had sharing it with you. OCB tonight, I can't wait!

Tuesday, April 28 - Home tonight!!

Yesterday was kind of a weird day. I wasn’t feeling very well and managed to sleep most of the day. There was some beautiful scenery in Colorado as a result of the storm the day before. We stopped here & there and I took pictures of the train in the snow. They are posted on FB. Like I said, I slept most of the day. After lunch I came back to my room, put on “Bourne Supremacy” and promptly fell asleep. The dining car steward came around and took my 7:15 dinner reservation. When I didn’t show, he came and knocked on my door; I never heard him. My neighbor in Room D who DID hear him knock confirmed this. Anyway, I have been eating so much I really wasn’t hungry. At 10:30, I had Linda, my train attendant make up my bed. I put on “Bourne Supremacy” but didn’t make it through the opening credits. I woke at about (what I think was) 5:00 AM. I took a photo (posted on FB) of the desert, and went back to sleep. I got up at 6:00 showered; put on fresh clothes and went to breakfast. Broke fast with a nice couple from Denver (he runs a hotel in Aspen) and a retired gentleman from Pittsburgh. I am anxious to get home as I have SEVERAL Union matters that need tending, I need to start working on the Gregson, and I have my last 4 concerts of the year coming up.

The train is on time. If it STAYS on time, I’ll be in Emeryville at 5:20, taking the 547 Capitol Corridor at 7:20; home before 9. I hope, I hope.

On the Home Stretch.

2 more stops: Martinez then Emeryville. Then I catch the Capitol 547 home to San Jose. I had lunch with a young couple, he works for the railroads (Union Pacific) and she is a nursing student, working on her BA. Nice couple, just starting out we had a nice lunch together. I’ve been on FB most of the day, and answering emails. I have an important meeting with Team San Jose, regarding the shows in 153 jurisdiction as well as a broiling pot at OSJ. I am anxious for a report from my groups about my subs as well as sleeping in my own bed and snuggling with my spaniels.

Looking back, it was a great trip. I LOVED being in RI and hanging with the kids, soloing, conducting. Young musicians sought me out, asked for advice obviously wanting to spend time with me. It was really nice to feel respected, useful, appreciated.

Still, I missed my OWO, SVBB, TE & OCB guys. Can’t wait to see everyone at Zorba’s tomorrow.

Monday AM

As I write this, I am looking out my window at a beautiful winter snow scene. The ground is dusted with snow. It is either 7:00 or 8:00 (depending on if you believe my computer or iPhone). The sun is blocked by clouds and there is a peaceful serenity about all that I can see. I'll have coffee in a moment, but for now, I am enjoying the scenery. We are at about 4700 feet in elevation. Last night, in Iowa, we went through QUITE a thunderstorm, so I can only surmise that that storm was responsible for all this snow.

Last night, I had a wonderful steak dinner with a woman from Sacramento and her dad who lives in Pennsylvania. There was also an asian fellow who didn't speak much english. Try as we might to include him in our rather animated discussion, he didn't really get involved.

I DID manage a long hot shower in my room (WENDY!), and it really felt great. I tried to post some picts on FB of my accomodations, but only one managed to get uploaded. I also uploaded 2 picts of crossing the Mississippi.

Well, dear friends, I'll sign off for now, get my coffee and head to the dining hall.

More later...

Sunday, heading home

Last night, after dinner. I went back to my room and promptly fell asleep. I guess I was more beat than I thought. At about 8:30, Sharon knocked on my door to make up my bed. After she did that, I went right to sleep and slept through Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Erie & Cleveland, where I BRIEFLY woke up. After we left Cleveland, I slept through Elyria, Sandusky & Toledo. I breakfasted in Bryan and as of about 9 AM, I am 1/2 way between South Bend, IN & Chicago. I'll be at the Union Station for 4+ hours, waiting or the California Zephyr, which departs Chicago at 2:00 PM. One of my OWO guys, Mark Beyer is in Chicago on family business. I'm hoping we can meet for lunch.

I got into Chicago right on time. I couldn't make a connect with Mark, DARN! I posted a pict of the Sears Tower (the best I could under the circumstances) that I posted in FB. There is a really nice lounge in which the sleeper car passengers wait. There are snacks available as well as baggage storage so I put my stuff there (tuba, too) and walked around Union Station. I purchased a Chicago T-Shirt and got a smoothie that in California would be called Horchata, cinnamon-y vanilla. I upgraded my ticket from a roomette to a deluxe room. The cost: $13. Thirteen bucks for all this extra room?!? I am waiting for the dining car steward to come to take my dinner reservations. After which I am going to take a loooonng hot shower!

I can't WAIT to see my Bay Area friends.

More later....

Saturday, heading home

After a couple hours in Penn Station, I'm on the 49 train heading towards (kinda) Chicago. My train attendant is Sharon, who gave me TWO roomettes so I can put my tuba in the other one. This sleeper seems to be older equipment. One level with a sink & toilet in each room. We are heading due North up to Albany (NY) then over to Buffalo. Then to Erie, PA; Cleveland & Toledo, OH; Elkhart & South Bend, IN before making Chicago. Tomorrow, I'll have about 4 hours to kill in Chicago. This leg of the journey is planned to take 19 hours. I have a 5:30 dinner reservation, after which I will shower and watch a movie, probably Casino Royal, the next to the last Bond film.

Day 3 @RIC and starting home

Day 3 at RIC. This morning I ran a brass master class. I coached the freshman brass quintet. Nice bunch of kids, good players and needed a little coaching. I adjusted their seating arrangement (DUH!) and worked with them on Monteregian Hills, & their own arrangement of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” That was fun. THEN, I coached a graduate-type tuba quartet who did ALL of their own arrangements. These kids play great and if they play their cards right, just might be able to make it as a pro group. They are talking about coming out to SJ to hang for a week or so. They offered to trade coaching & housing for work around the house. Maybe I’ll finally get my barn painted!

After a great lunch on “The Hill” (where all the Italian restaurants are) we had a tuba session with about 30 HS & College tuba players. I did my spiel on maximizing your warm up time, talked a lot about intonation & tuning. I followed the talk with a round of ‘Revolving Chords.’ We rehearsed 2 tuba ensembles, Song without Words and William Tell, to be performed that evening on the concert. After all that Rob & I went to a neighbor hood bar (there are these sprinkled ALL OVER Providence) for a little relaxation & Miller High Life. We went back to school to prepare for the concert.

RIC has a nice concert hall. I’m GUESSING it holds about 800-900. The stage is a little small for their wind ensemble, but Rob knows how to use the stage for maximum benefit.

The concert started with the TE, before which Rob gave me a wonderful introduction. After the tubas, the band played 'Creation of the World' by Milhaud. My concerto was played next; I was very pleased with the performance. I biffed a coupla notes, but overall, I had a good time, the band played great and Rob did a wonderful job of not only prepping the band, and of conducting the concerto. By this time, I was pretty tired so I went back to my dressing room and chatted with some of the kids. Last on the concert, I conducted Broughton’s Silverado end credits. The band played great for me in spite of my sometimes ‘unorthodox’ conducting technique.

Many of us went out to Gregg’s for a drink & food, the same place to which I went the last time I played at RIC. It was a lot of fun and when I went to the bar, the kids told the servers it was my birthday so after my sandwich, the wait staff brought me this HUGE éclair with birthday candles. NO, I didn’t eat the whole thing!!!! I’m a good sharer. We got home after midnight after Rob missed the turnoff and we almost ended up in Massa-fucking-chussets!

I packed up this morning and Rob offered to SHIP my big suitcase, heavy coat and bag of laundry. THANK YOU, ROB! As I have THREE transfers, this will be easier as I will only have my tuba (it’s an F, Phil), my computer and my grip.

As I write this, I am on the 161 train from Providence to NY, Penn Station, travelling 110 mph! This train kicks ass. I am thinking back on my visit with the young artists, grateful for this opportunity, and look forward with eager anticipation on seeing my Bay Area friends.