From my friend Michael Steinberg, eminent musicologist, after his first night out with the Oregon East Symphony (if you know Michael’s inimitable way of speaking, it is even funnier)…
“This orchestra drinks like…. a German orchestra…..”
I’m not really sure what that means, but it sounds good.
Michael later suggested we write a grant for a musicologist-in-residence so that he would have ample time to sample all the local beers and wines…..
Oh, it is definitely a compliment—that’s for sure!
Hi Ken,
I was talking to a very well known conductor recently who told me he can identify the various orchestras of Europe by their drinking habits..!!
Just remember this germanic advice from Brahms…
“…any beer that has to be chilled is a bad beer…a very bad beer”
Is that THE Michael Steinberg, author of, I’m sure, thousands of program notes for the BSO and SFS? He is a great music writer.
Hi Lisa-
Indeed it is- he was the host of our concert in Pendleton and spoke beautifully about the Elgar and Firebird (not to mention the beer and wine options in the region)
K
I do believe that while OES has been referred to as “The Best Damn Redneck Orchestra”, other people in the know have called us “The Hardest Drinking Orchestra”. I don’t like to think the two go hand in hand but it’s good to hear we live up to to our reputation.
Yes, Travis is right- at least I’ve heard the orchestra called the hardest partying orchestra in the Northwest on one or two occasions.
However, I think the truth of the matter (also vis-a-vis Michael’s quote) is that it is not so much a question of how much the orchestra drinks in a concert sequence, which is about par for the course, but that we drink it together, and by and large socialize en masse, and that there is a real feeling of celebration and community that comes with each concert week. In fact, as you would expect, many in the band don’t drink at all, but it is a group that tends to hang out after rehearsals, which, in my opinion, is a grand thing and very good for the music.
Michaels statement was made after the first rehearsal, and isn’t at all surprising as that is the night that friends from all over the Northwest, many of whom only see each other in Pendleton, meet up for the first time. After an intense first rehearsal, spirits do tend to be high….