You Who?

No Way To Stop It

One rehearsal, one dress rehearsal (no stopping) and two performances -- my first musician gig in a long time is behind me. It went OK. I think opening night went a little better than closing night... there were a couple places where the singers and the orchestra didn't exactly cooperate. Our conductor deserves a lot of credit for holding it all together, especially with no piano to cover. But most importantly, I didn't embarrass myself -- I'm not saying I played every note -- just that I didn't play any unintended solos or let out a squeak. And I nailed that high fast part in the Entr'acte.

Talk about truly bizarre coincidences... As we picked up our tickets Saturday night (my wife, sister and first cousin-once-removed were seeing the show) someone came up to the ticket table to complain that their front row seats were obstructed by the barrier put up to protect the harpist from the audience. They had three tickets, as did we... I was just considering whether we should offer to swap since of course my family would prefer to sit right next to the orchestra (right?), when I looked up to see the woman conferring with someone else in her party who in profile looked an awful lot like my wife's aunt [my wife's mother's brother's wife, for those keeping score at home]. I couldn't see her full face and certainly didn't think it was conceivable she would be there. I was actually trying to catch my wife's eye and nod to say, "Hey doesn't that look like..." when her uncle appeared out of the crowd and said jovially, "Jeez, the nerve of some people, this guy just keeps staring at you!" Turns out they had a niece in the show and had made the trip to see it.

So, now I have to figure out what to do next. I'm not sure how long I'll last just practicing on my own with no real goal. I wish there was a nice low-commitment group to join. The only ensemble I'm aware of around here is the Strafford Wind Symphony, but they rehearse in Rochester and it sounds like they already have clarinets coming out of their ears.