{"id":30,"date":"2006-04-18T20:45:19","date_gmt":"2006-04-18T20:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2006\/04\/19\/life-and-death\/"},"modified":"2006-04-19T20:54:12","modified_gmt":"2006-04-19T20:54:12","slug":"life-and-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2006\/04\/18\/life-and-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Life and Death"},"content":{"rendered":"

Of course, it is an absolute certainty that on a big project one will always have things come up: cancellations, crisis and so on. Most of them are the results of either good things that get in the way like Amy\u2019s big break in New York, or flaky behavior, like the horn guy. What is harder to deal with is the logistical problem that is the result of a genuine life emergency. Today was our first, and hopefully last of those.<\/font><\/p>\n

This evening was the first rehearsal of concert week. Things are looking great, and about 5PM Peter arrives from PDX with our new horn player, one of my old college friends who is a wonderful violinist and my wife, Suzanne, in tow. My lucky wife is spending her vacation from her orchestra in the UK playing in my orchestra in the US. We all grab a very pleasant bite and then I head over to the hall.<\/font><\/p>\n

About 20 minutes before the rehearsal one of our players arrives. He\u2019s one of my very favorite people and musicians in the orchestra, and we\u2019ve worked together for many years in more than just this group. I\u2019m leaving his name and instrument out of this since what follows involves his family. Instead of his usual greeting, he comes up to me, and after a long, deep breath says “I\u2019ve got a big, big problem, and it\u2019s about to become yours.”<\/font>It turns out that his son has to have open heart surgery on Friday several hundred miles away. He\u2019ll have to be there for the surgery and the morning after. He and his wife have to come back on Saturday night, so, if we can\u2019t find another player, he could play just the concert, but he can\u2019t be at any more rehearsals. Since he\u2019s a wind player, he\u2019s playing an independent part, which makes the whole thing tougher. Of course, if the surgery goes badly, he won\u2019t be back at all.<\/font> <\/font>My first thought is that no parent should ever have to see their child have open heart surgery, least of all him. We can certainly engage another player, but he\u2019s invested a lot of energy and time and ability in the orchestra, and I know he wanted very much to play this piece. The whole thing is awful.<\/p>\n

We have a little conference with his section mates. We all decide that we should accept the risk and let him play- I know his preparation will be first rate, and he\u2019s very reliable in concerts. We can always have a list of names to call on hand in an emergency. The issue is resolved, but my mood has sunk.<\/p>\n

Rehearsal goes very well, except we don\u2019t cover as much as I wanted to. Horns are going to be great.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n