The commuting flute's nightmare
by Merlin Williams
Most working musicians I know have similar recurring nightmares. They usually involve arriving late for a gig, arriving without your instrument, going out on stage with the wrong clothes (or no clothes!), having to play music you’ve never seen before on the wrong instrument…the list is a lengthy one.
I had one of those true-life gig nightmares happen to me this past weekend. I’ve been subbing on a show up in cottage country, and was booked on Saturday for an 8pm performance. I left downtown Toronto at 5:30, and started up the 427. The trip from downtown takes about 90 minutes. As I got onto the 401, I noticed the battery light on my dashboard had come on. For those of you who aren’t car savvy, this generally means that your electrical system is not charging your battery anymore. If you keep driving, the battery will run down, and the car will die.
I knew that there was no way for me to rent a car after 6:00 on a Saturday, so I called my folks in Brampton, and they offered to loan me their car. I hopped onto the 407, and sped west to pick up their vehicle, hoping all the while that mine had enough juice to make it there. It did make it, and I transferred all of my gear into the new car, and got back onto the highway.
Now the trip from Brampton takes an hour and three-quarters, based on previous experience. It was now 6:45 – an hour and fifteen minutes to show time! I got stage management at the theatre on the phone and explained my predicament. The next hour and a quarter went by in a flash.
I miraculously found myself pulling up to the theatre at about 10 minutes after the curtain went up. There’s a dialogue sequence after the opening number, and I arrived just as they were starting the second orchestra number. I dread this particular piece, since it’s the first flute entry in the show, and I usually spend about twenty minutes warming up on flute beforehand just to pull it off. I get up into the orchestra loft, out of breath, and get through the thing. Whew! During the next several numbers I filled in one of my section mates on my adventures. He was very sympathetic, but managed to top my adventures. Just that afternoon, he had arrived at the gig without his instrument!
I’m glad this is NOT a common occurrence for me. It’s only the second time in ten years I’ve been late for a gig. Now if I could just stop having that nightmare where I show up and have to replace one of the actors, I’d feel MUCH better!
Bandstand reader Charles Rolfe is a fellow columnist who writes for the International Military Music Society. Charles very kindly forwarded a copy of his summer concert listings to me to share with Wholenote readers.
One of the things Mr. Rolfe has managed to get that I’ve always looked for is the complete series of concerts at the Couchiching Beach Aquatheatre in Orillia. This year’s series features: the Metropolitan Silver Band – June 26, Orillia Wind Ensemble – July 3, Weston Silver Band – July 10, Barrie Concert Band – July 17, Mississauga Pops Concert Band - July 24, Markham Concert Band – August 7, Northdale Concert Band – August 14, Whitby Brass Band – August 21, Brampton Concert Band – August 28, and the final concert with the Orillia Silver Band on September 4.
The Weston Silver Band and director are proud to announce their upcoming concert featuring The Young Ambassadors Brass Band of Great Britain. The concert will be held Sunday, August 14 at Weston Collegiate, 100 Pine Street, Toronto, Ontario at 7:30pm. The Young Ambassadors Brass Band of Great Britain was formed in 1978 to re-unite former members of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain and fellow music students. Check out the Weston Silver Band’s website: www.westonsilverband.org for info.
It’s the time of year again when I start compiling all of the contact information for the annual listing of community bands in the September WholeNote. I need updates, even if it’s just to say everything is the same as it was last year. You can check last year’s list at here; it was in September 2004. I need the name of the group; rehearsal day, time and location; contact person; e-mail/website address; and a list of instruments needed by the band. The Wholenote devotes a two page spread to this listing every year, and you should really take advantage of it if you want to reach out to prospective new members (musicians and audience!) for your group.
As always, please take the time to check all of the listings for a concert near you, and support your local community band.
Woodwind
doubler Merlin Williams is an Artist/Clinician for Jupiter Music Canada. If you
would like an upcoming band event to be featured in the Bandstand column, feel
free to contact Merlin by phone at 416-803-0275 or by e-mail at
merlinwilliams@sympatico.ca
You can also find him
on the web at http://www.merlinwilliams.com.
