Monthly Archives: November 2007

Nov 18 2007

Freaky Visitors


I regularly use an on-line tool that tracks visitors to this blog. Among other things, the site tells me who visited the site using a Google search, and what words they were searching for. Usually it’s pretty boring stuff.

Earlier this morning, someone from Queensland, Australia visited my blog using search results from Google.com.au. His (or her) search? “Bob the Builder in stockings and high heels”. That’s just wrong…

I immediately went to Google and typed in the same search string. To my horror (and amusement), that search brings up 206,000 results, of which my blog is number 10. I’m on the first results page! If you decide to try it yourself, please be advised that some of the other top results will lead you to sites of questionable content.

Let me state unequivocally that I have never written about Bob the Builder, or any other animated character, dressing in drag. Google picks my blog because in March 2007 I wrote separate entries about Bob and the costumes from a Theatre Ashbury production. That’s it, so don’t go digging through the archives looking for weird fantasies involving the stars of TVO Kids.

By the way, if you Google “Murray Perahia in stockings and high heels”, I’m number 1.

Nov 16 2007

Where’s the Tour?


It hadn’t occurred to me until a few days ago that this is the first time in the past six years that I haven’t been on tour with the orchestra in November. Usually around this time of year I’m far from home, living out of a suitcase and praying that flights leave on time.

I have a love / hate relationship with touring. There’s no doubt that it was the most stressful part of my job as Orchestra Manager. Traveling with 75 people is never easy, and it became exponentially more difficult when the orchestra toured internationally. Visas, buses, hotels, flights, artists, cargo, language, currency, sponsors – these are the things that kept me awake for many a night before a tour.

On the other hand, there’s a part of me that really misses touring. For a few weeks a year, you get to leave your comfortable existence and go on an adventure. Charter flights, luxury hotels, fabulous concert halls, lavish receptions – there are definitely some nice perks. You work hard, but there are times when you can sneak in some sightseeing or a nice dinner.

Some of my favourite moments on tour were just hanging out with staff and musicians. You really get to know people when you travel with them, and I will miss spending time with people backstage, or on the bus, or in a hotel lounge after a concert, discussing music, family, whatever. I found tours broke down some of the natural barriers that exist between an orchestra and the administration, and it was a welcome change.

Once the boys arrived, the best part was coming home from a tour. It was hard being away from Aidan the first time. He was five months old during the U.S. Mexico Tour, and I can remember how anxious I was to get off the plane in Ottawa and hold him for the first time in 17 days.

Over the years, I traveled with the orchestra to 50 cities in 10 countries. Someday I’ll write about some of the more memorable tour stories – the ill-fated trip to the Middle East, flooding in Locarno, the missing pants in Dusseldorf, the snowball fight in Charlottetown. Of course, names will be changed to protect both the innocent and the guilty. After all, what happens on tour stays on tour…

Nov 11 2007

Digging Through the Past

It begins with a picture, posted by a stranger on Flickr…


I want to know more about him, this soldier who shared my last name. Who was he, where is his grave, what happened?

The online search is slow at first. Lots of dead ends, searches that result in information on other Dearlove casualties, but not A. Dearlove.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission reveals that he was buried at Tyne Cot Cemetery, and that he served in the East Surrey Regiment, 2nd Battalion. The site also has information on 21 other Dearloves who died in World War 1, including Albert Shirley Dearlove, a bandsman with the King’s Regiment. Of the 22 Dearlove casualties, none are officers. We’re a humble lot.

A. Dearlove still doesn’t have a first name, and I don’t know how old he was when he died. These two things feel important to me.

More searching brings me to this website, which promises to show me more details on A. Dearlove in exchange for £5.00. I can’t resist – I quickly register, provide my credit card details, and hit view…

A. Dearlove was Albert Dearlove. He was born in Fulham, Middlesex. He was killed in action. That’s it.

I turn to Wikipedia, wondering what happened on April 25, 1915, the day Albert Dearlove died. He met his end on the fourth day of the Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium. Albert’s battalion was on the front line, the 1st Canadian Division holding the line to his left. Three days before his death, he would have witnessed the first use of mustard gas on the Western Front. He died on the second day of the Battle of Saint Julien, probably the victim of a German artillery shell.

My search for more information on Albert Dearlove has not been successful. I can find no birth record, so I don’t know how old he was. I don’t know who his parents were, whether he had brothers or sisters, or whether we are linked by anything other than a last name. All I know is that he died far from home, far from his family, surrounded by horrific events.

Albert Dearlove was one of 885,138 British soldiers who died in World War I.

Nov 5 2007

CSO Bass Blog

One of my favourite diversions these days is a blog written by Michael Hovnanian, a double bassist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. CSOBassBlog is a fascinating glimpse into the life of a professional musician in one of the world’s great orchestras.

Michael’s frankness is both revealing and surprising. He makes no bones about some performance issues within his section, and frequently criticizes guest conductors (most of whom are household names). Clearly he’s not a man who’s worried about ruffling some feathers. From time to time he also comes up with some great anecdotes, like the time Pavarotti and Muti had a week together (he coined it King Kong v Godzilla).

I loved reading his posts during the CSO’s recent European tour. As someone who organized and ran a lot of orchestra tours, I got a kick out of reading Michael’s thoughts on hotels, busy travel days, and mediocre halls.

Orchestras are fascinating creatures, and I sometimes wish I could write about some of the truly unbelievable things I’ve seen. Of course, I can’t do that, but Michael can – happy reading.