Yesterday was our last full day in Chicoutimi. The orchestra had two student matinee concerts during the day, and I think they went really well. We had an actor playing the role of Mozart and two violin soloists. The music was pretty varied – a bit of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Haydn’s Farewell Symphony, an excerpt from the Four Seasons, and even a Canadian fiddle piece. It’s always fun watching the little kids come up on stage to play their recorders with the orchestra.The one thing you can count on with touring is that things never go as planned. For example, our guest Concertmaster for the student matinee got stuck in Montreal on Sunday night (Air Canada messed up her connection). She called as I was enjoying a dinner with some friends to say she wouldn’t be able to make the concert the next morning.Luckily we have another guest Concertmaster doing the main tour concerts, so Nelson (our Personnel Manager) talked to her and she graciously agreed to fill in. She even learned the big fiddle solo and nailed it during the concert. Luck seems to play a big part in solving tour problems…Today is the longest day on tour. Our buses leave in about an hour for Québec, then there’s a short rehearsal and an evening concert, followed by a reception. I’m already stressed out about whether the rooms will be ready at the Hilton when we arrive this afternoon. There’s nothing like having dozens of tired musicians sitting in a lobby waiting for you to get their room key…
Monthly Archives: November 2006
Quebec Tour: Day Two
I’ve got a few minutes between Student Matinee concerts to post a few thoughts about the first full day on tour.The orchestra had a matinee concert in Chicoutimi. It would have been nice to have a free afternoon as the sky was clear and blue and it warmed up enough to melt away the snow and slush. It did mean that we had a free evening, which is always a good thing on tour.The Auditorium Dufour was probably built in the 60′s and has that brutalistic pre-fab concrete feel to it. It was a dry hall, but not nearly as bad as some I’ve heard on tour. The audience was very appreciative and everyone seemed happy.The Holiday Inn Saguenay is a nice enough hotel, but it sits in the middle of a huge parking lot with nothing more than a Tim Hortons for entertainment. Luckily one of my colleagues has a rental vehicle and a bunch of us escaped to Chicoutimi for what turned out to be a pretty good meal in a hip little restaurant.I’m getting sick, which I knew would happen. Bronwen, Aidan and Kieran were all sick last week, and I figured it would strike me during the tour. Sure enough, my throat is sore and my voice has dropped about half an octave. I think I’ll have Subway for dinner and get to bed early.
Quebec Tour: Day One
Greetings from Jonquière, Québec. It’s day one of the tour, and so far, so good.The past few days have been a little rough. Some problems with the charter flight, a couple of last-minute replacement musicians, and an unfortunate scheduling problem that has yet to be resolved. Despite months of planning, there are always things that happen on the eve of a tour that can really ratchet up the stress level.We flew on a charter flight this afternoon from Ottawa to the Saguenay. If you’ve never chartered a plane before, I highly recommend it. You show up at a fancy private terminal, board directly from the buses, you never have to touch your luggage, no photo ID, security checks, nothing. It saves a lot of time and aggravation, especially when the group is traveling with a lot of carry-on instruments.Aidan and Kieran came out to watch me fly off. I think they really enjoyed the experience. We watched a military plane take off, and I think they got a kick out of seeing Daddy’s 737 taxi up to the building. As always, it was hard to say goodbye to Bronwen and the boys. Luckily it’s a short tour and I’ll be home before they forget what I look like.After getting all the musicians checked in to the lovely Holiday Inn Saguenay, I headed over to a party that one of the musicians was hosting at her parent’s home (conveniently located just around the corner). We each had a huge plate of tourtiere and meat pies, with wild blueberry pie for dessert. Some of the guys hung out in the basement watching the Leafs and Canadiens do battle. It was a cool way to spend my first night in Quebec.If you want to follow the tour, just visit www.nacotour.ca for photos, blogs, podcasts and more.
What a Week
It’s been a trying week. The Quebec Tour is almost here, so I’m in what Bronwen calls “tour mode”. Cranky, short-tempered, and utterly lacking in good humour. This will last until the tour ends on November 19th, when it will be replaced by euphoria for about 2 hours.
Aidan was sick to start the week. Early on Monday morning he crawled into our bed moaning that he was sick. Over the next three hours, he threw up in our bed twice, which meant the bed had to be stripped, pyjamas changed, shower started, etc.
Later that day I took him to the doctor. For nearly 100 minutes he was completely inconsolable – he just cried and cried and cried. In the car stuck in traffic, in the waiting room, the exam room, the pharmacy, and then in the car again. I’ve never seen him like that.
Bronwen’s been working late every night this week on an Ashbury College phone-a-thon, which means three “boys night in” in a row. I enjoy having time with just the boys, although I sometimes feel more like a referee than a parent. I can also state that there is nothing quite like trying to get two boys under four years old to go to sleep at the same time. The frustration you experience is somewhat balanced by the feeling of accomplishment when they both finally go down.
O.K., enough venting. Just 68 hours until we touch down in the Saguenay. Man I wish I spoke French…
Now THAT’S A Blog
Some people take this blogging thing really seriously. One of the best entries I’ve ever seen is here. I can’t even begin to think about how much work it would be to put something like that together.No need to worry about this blog getting all fancy on ya. I’ll have to make do with sarcasm and jpeg’s.
