Showing posts with label Musician. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Musician. Show all posts

Saturday, August 20, 2022

The Stage Manager- A Musician’s Best Friend

 by Janet Horvath, Interlude

Cello being left behind after concert

Cello

Stage managers of orchestras have a very important role. A good one takes expert care of our instruments and the musicians, soloists and conductors— meeting their every wish and whim. The stage manager is the one who announces, “Orchestra… On stage please. Orchestra on stage.” They’re the ones that proffer a towel to a sweating conductor and indicate to the soloists how to maneuver through the string section to get to center stage. They’re the ones who set up the stage and who know exactly the instrumentation for every piece. Different set-ups often occur in one program.

Not the least of their duties is packing up all the instruments and equipment when the orchestra is on tour— a huge job. Our stage manager, Tim Eickholt, now retired, was someone we trusted implicitly with our instruments. From a family of stagehands, he has an impeccable background as a master designer and builder and he had lots of experience with showbiz. He understood that musicians often hastily exit after performances to get some food and a beer. Tim was so conscientious that after concerts, especially on tour, he would check backstage for any belongings that might have been left behind. He’d find items of clothing like cummerbunds, shoes, belts or socks and worse— instruments, even unpacked. Once I woke up in the middle of the night in a panic, realizing that I had left my cello backstage! Fortunately, it was a local concert and Tim took my cello home with him.

Tim, the stage manager, at the ready at the Musikverien Vienna

Tim at the ready at the Musikverien Vienna

One concert night the temperature dipped well below zero, as happens often in Minnesota. My warmest down coat was in for repairs. I borrowed my mother’s full-length mink coat to get to Orchestra Hall for that evening’s performance. I lugged the cello outside and into my car, which sputtered in protest when I tried to start it. On the highway my car lit up like a Christmas tree. Everything flashed. Then the car went dead. Somehow I got the car onto the shoulder.

Stranded. For a few moments I sat dumbfounded wondering what I was going to do. I couldn’t be late for the concert! But more important, I knew I couldn’t walk in this frigid weather carrying the cello. With trepidation I left the cello. I started running, in my full-length black mink coat, along the shoulder of the highway towards the nearest exit. A car pulled up and a man said, “Get in. It’s much too cold outside.” So I did, more worried about the cello than for my own safety. The driver took me to the Orchestra Hall. I literally flew down the stairs directly to our stage manager’s office. In tears I told Tim that I had left my cello on the highway. We made a hasty exit and jumped into Tim’s car to find where I left my car, despite the fact that it was almost 8:00 p.m. There was no time to lose. The tow truck had already pulled up beside my car to take it away. Believe it or not we made it back in time for the concert.

There are endless stories of the idiosyncratic behaviors of soloists and conductors. Some artists demand peculiar foods to be brought in backstage. Others need their outfits pressed, fresh towels delivered, ice buckets with drinks, even stationary bikes (as in the case of Christian Tetzlaff) or personal chefs (as in the case of Vladimir Horowitz) and every soloist was personally escorted to the wings of the stage. Tim, always respectful, handled it all.

I remember when renowned violinist Henryk Szeryng came to play the Beethoven Violin Concerto—impeccably, I might add. During the rehearsal he found the stage much too bright. Over and over he said, “The lights, the lights…” Tim turned the lights down and down until the musicians on the periphery of the stage couldn’t see their music. Post haste, Tim had stand lights for all the bass players affixed to their stands.

Ottorino Respighi: Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome), P. 14 – II. Pini presso una catacomba (Pines Near a Catacomb) (Philadelphia Orchestra; Eugene Ormandy, cond.)

Manny at the top of the catwalk rehearsing the Pines of Rome

Manny at the top of the catwalk rehearsing the Pines of Rome

Other soloists need the heat turned up perhaps due to revealing dresses as well as trying to keep fingers warm. Tim would be the guy to take care of it. And when an offstage musician was required, he’d make sure everyone was set up in the audience balconies or stairwells backstage. Unless, as was the case recently with Ottorino Respighi’s Pines of Rome, for the spooky ancient catacombs movement the solo trumpet, Manny Laureano, was requested to play from the fourth level—a system of catwalks about one-hundred feet above the stage. Manny had to race up the narrow flight of stairs to dizzying heights, where there is no room for even a music stand, just a TV monitor hooked up so could get his cue.

The stage manager duties in an orchestraTim relates that as a very young man he was one of the stagehands at Northrop Auditorium for a new production of a Mozart opera when the Metropolitan Opera still came annually to Minneapolis. Tim was asked to hang enormous, brilliantly painted murals, which he had to install in the middle of the night. Little did he know that these were the very Chagall paintings that now hang at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, which one can see through the windows as you approach the hall. He had no idea what he had in his hands.

Tim never failed to sit in the audience during rehearsals or concerts whenever he could. He always has perceptive opinion about the pieces being performed. And did I tell you that he’s a decorated Vietnam War veteran with a great ear and passion for classical music and the musicians? He especially loves Shostakovich.

Thursday, January 17, 2019

The incredible 14-year-old self-taught violinist who fled Syria ...

... and joined Sydney Youth Orchestra


By: Helena Asprou, ClassicFM London
After a turbulent childhood in the midst of a war zone, young musician Aboud turns his life around using his incredible gift
For most 14-year-old Syrians living in Aleppo, life is a series of great challenges – but one young boy has managed to turn his luck around.
Born into a war zone, Aboud Kaplo is a self-taught violinist who originally used his talent to help him cope with his city’s ongoing conflict.
As the Syrian unrest escalated, Aboud and his family fled to Lebanon carrying only their essential belongings – including the boy’s rickety, child-sized violin.
While seeking refuge in Beirut, they met a musician from the University of Oxford who quickly realised Aboud’s skill and loaned him a restored, full-size violin from the university’s archives.
The musician was Susie Attwood, a former student and violinist at Oxford university, who had met Aboud while filming The Wait – a movie about Syriac Christian families waiting in a monastery in Lebanon in hope of receiving a visa for a new country.
Since then, life has become a very different story for the young performer…
Aboud Kaplo plays the violin
Aboud Kaplo plays the violin. Picture: Amr Kokash

New strings – and new horizons

It’s not every day that you’re given a violin after a chance encounter – and the university’s donation to Aboud was extra special.
With more than 2,000 instruments dating from medieval times, Oxford’s Bate Collection is rather exceptional.
The violin they sent to Aboud, which is manufactured by German brand Wolff Brothers, is a 19th-century instrument with a heart-warming history.
Andy Lamb, the Collection’s manager, said: 'The moment I read about this lad’s situation, I realised that the Bate Collection and Faculty of Music could make some kind of positive contribution towards his quality of life.
“I immediately had an instrument in mind. It belonged to a former curator, Dr Hélène Larue, a very generous person, and I knew that if she had been confronted with this situation, she would have donated an instrument instantly.”
After receiving this exquisite gift, the teenage string enthusiast hasn’t been able to put his violin down and has now joined the Sydney Youth Orchestra.
Aboud Kaplo
Aboud Kaplo. Picture: Amr Kokash

From Aleppo to Sydney

Despite his lack of music education while living in Syria, Aboud’s passion and commitment for teaching himself the violin has led him to happier times.
Through sheer determination and a lot of YouTube tutorials, he has landed himself a scholarship with the prestigious Sydney Youth Orchestra and now lives in Australia with his family.
Since his arrival, Aboud has been receiving weekly violin lessons in the traditional Western Classical style to ensure that he can read well and play in orchestras or chamber ensembles.
Speaking to SBS News about the opportunity, Aboud said: "I love playing the violin because I can express myself; when I'm sad I play the violin… when I'm happy. Every time when I feel, I play the violin."
When Susie Attwood heard the news, she said: "I got a message from Aboud's mum with this picture of him in Sydney with a violin on his back – a selfie with his family in the background.
"It's amazing that this violin has travelled from Oxford to Lebanon and now all the way across to the other side of the world to Australia. He takes good care of it and I hope that he'll be able to take lessons soon and fulfil his dream."
Self-taught violinist
Self-taught violinist. Picture: Amr Kokash
His father, Amanouel Kaplo, added: “I’m very proud, he has known his way since childhood, and he has always loved music.”
The orchestra is delighted to welcome Aboud and will be helping him to improve his technique even further by teaching him music theory.
The orchestra’s general manager Mia Patoulios commented: "He has this beautiful understanding of music and I think that's the thing that unites all our young people."

Thursday, September 21, 2017

14 Things you need to know before dating a musician


14 things you need to know before dating a musician

4 April 2017, 19:42
relationship with a musician
5K
Thinking of becoming involved with a musician? We advise caution. And flexibility.
Before you know it, this could be you...
What is it like being married to a classical pianist?
01:10
Here's a detailed breakdown of when you need to know.
1. They will never be on time

Rehearsal will always overrun. The pub will always be open on the way from a concert to your house. Their flight will always be delayed. Just add a couple of hours onto everything and you’ll be fine.

2. Practise comes first

‘Just coming!’ *continues to nail Paganini caprice*

3. If you’re having an important conversation about the future of your relationship, they’re just playing the third act of Tosca in their head

That misty, far-off look in their eyes: there’s a reason for it.

4. They will sing at you

Just in mid-conversation. You won’t know it’s coming, so just maintain a permanent state of high alert.

5. All the space in your wardrobe will be filled with concert black

What’s your favourite colour? Black? Good.

6. They will be more talented than you

Even if you are genuinely more talented than them in another arena, their talent will always outshine yours. Get used to it. Musicians are always perfect, even when they’re not.

7. You will be the least interesting half of your couple

‘What do you do?’
‘I’m a humanitarian lawyer and part-time curer of sick kittens who is also developing a new green energy source for the world. And she plays the oboe a bit.’
‘A MUSICIAN?’

8. They can sing a harmony with everything

Like, everything. Not just songs on the radio, but the microwave hum, the sound the shower makes when you turn it off… everything.

9. If you’re dating a singer, you will have to cut out dairy from your diet

Don’t kid yourself that you can just eat different things and it won’t be inconvenient. You’ll be sneaking Frijj milkshakes at work within the week.

10. When they’re listening to Bruno Walter’s 1956 recording of Mahler 4 in a darkened room, just leave them to it

Don’t even knock.

11. Beethoven will be an equal part in your relationship

Prepare to be polyamorous with The Master.

12. You don’t have a weekend any more

Make all the plans you want, but don’t expect your partner to join you. Cos y’know, rehearsals.

13. Your new part-time role is box office helper/stage hand/roadie/page-turner

Enjoy your antisocial working hours!

14. The record collection is out of bounds

Do not attempt to re-order it. Do not even look at it. You do not understand it.
5K

Thursday, June 8, 2017

United Airlines staff "wrestled" violin from musician in airport altercation

United Airlines staff 'wrestled' violin from musician in airport altercation

6 June 2017, 11:23
United Airlines violin statement
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According to a statement from violinist Yennifer Correia’s lawyer, a United Airlines supervisor attempted to use physical force to remove her instrument from her.
Violinist Croreia was attempting to travel from Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport to a concert with the Missouri Symphony Orchestra when the alleged incident took place. 

In the statement, written by lawyer Philip A. McNaughton, it is said that Correia was “in the process of boarding her flight from Houston to St. Louis when a United supervisor refused to permit her to carry her violin onto the plane.”

After explaining that she needed to carry the violin with her into the cabin, the supervisor “told her there were ‘no options’ and became belligerent… Without provocation, the supervisor lunged for Ms. Correia’s case and, incredibly, tried to wrestle it away from the musician.”

The full statement was posted to McNaughton’s Facebook page:
It concludes by saying that Correia was not able to board her intended flight as a result of the altercation, and that she missed her first rehearsal with the Missouri Symphony. Concern was also expressed for a possible injury to her hand. 

United Airlines’ carry-on baggage information states that violins, guitars and other small instruments are permitted on board:
united airlines baggage restrictions
Musicians in recent years have had difficulty with many airlines, with the myriad regulations from company to company often causing instruments either to be damaged or musicians to be denied travel.
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