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Hi Everyone,

Sorry to let you know that tonight's final concert @ 7:30 p.m. has been cancelled due to snow.

The final event of the day will be the 4:30 p.m. Mass Reading Session.

Thanks,
Tom Bratten

So, it snowed and the Army couldn't make it?

I arrived at work this morning at 4:50 AM in my civilian minivan before any of the roads were cleared.
Seven and a half hours later, still haven't had "first chow" yet, either.


And, yes, for once we got a lot of snow here in TN, covered with a 1/2" thick layer of ice on top.

Doesn't matter. It's the ARMY. They should have had the concert if only two people were there.
If they were redirected to a humanitarian mission in Haiti, then that's another story and my hat is off to them.
In my "civvie" job, we got an email on Thursday telling us to be there, and be there on time Friday, or else. We were.
I would expect the same from the army.

Just got home, half the roads still not cleared. I will eat my Ramen noodles now.

I know that these decisions are never made lightly, but must be made in the interests of everyone involved. And while a certain fearless driver of a "civilian minivan" may be upset, and many more people disappointed, one fact remains... By playing this concert, they would be encouraging a large number of audience members to be driving in potentially dangerous conditions. I think they made the right decision.

Bummer!

I lived in Baltimore/DC for 28 years. It's weak and getting weaker, people don't know how to handle it. For the nonsense ways people act down there in the snow, it's for the best that they cancelled it. Sucks though, that would have been a great concert.

Good news is that the brewpubs are still open!

I feel terrible for the performers and the bandsmen who have put so much time into this, it's really been a first-rate event. However, I totally understand the cancellation. If someone slips and breaks their neck in the Kenmore MIddle School parking lot, it's not the Army that's going to be sued. I tried to make the short drive from Fairfax this morning, and had to turn around after spending an hour and moving 3 miles, not to mention seeing numerous accidents.

I'm sure they didn't want to cancel tonight's finale, but had to for safety concerns. Too bad. I'm sure it would have been a great concert. Maybe some day they'll move the conference to a better date?

I thought the Marine Band euphers did an awesome job with the tribute to Arthur Lehman. Way to go guys!! I sure hope that will be archived.

To clarify,

Many of the members of Pershing's Own are from further away than most would think, where it might have snowed even more and the road conditions could be even worse. Col. Rotundi and Don Palmire made the decision together to not put the band members OR the audience members in harm's way.

Events have not been cancelled at this conference before and I respect their decision to not have the concert. I came all the way from northern New Jersey, a 4.5+ hour drive, for this conference, and while I'm disappointed, I know they made the right decision.

Thanks to the Army Band and staff for another great year and conference. After 7 years attending, I will definitely be back for many more.

I stand by my original assertion. It's the Army. Period.
Not the BHO Community Band. There is no reason this should have been canceled. Sends the wrong message.

Marty "who has taken "orders" and played "missions"

Marty, I really think you're missing the point here. The question is not whether the U.S. Army can get from Ft. Myer to Kenmore middle school in the snow. I have no doubt that if the band was told to be there in a tornado, the fine men and women of the U.S. Army would find a way to be there. However, I think the cancellation is appropriate for the following reasons:

1. the performance is not at a military venue, it's at a public middle school. If someone falls down and gets hurt in the parking lot, the middle school would likely be responsible for any liability, not the Army band. It would be unfair to put a public school in this position. I can't imagine any middle school principal that wouldn't agree with the cancellation in the current conditions.

2. The road conditions are terrible, and traffic is very slow. I tried to get there today from about 16 miles away and made it about 3 miles in an hour. There were multiple accidents. Many of the audience who attended last night's concert were elderly. I don't think it's safe for anyone to drive in. Some of the performers are civilians, and are coming from out of town. As a non-military musician and an out-of-towner, I would feel very uncomfortable being told to drive right now in an environment that is not safe, and in an area that I'm not familiar with.

3. The full resources of the Army are not available to make this happen. This conference is the result of a small group of dedicated military musicians that work their butts off on a volunteer basis to make this conference happen because of their love and dedication to the tuba and euphonium. I seriously doubt that this concert is of large enough importance to "The Army" as a whole to mobilize extra man power/troops to make this concert happen.

4. This entire conference is free. While it's unfortunate that this great concert has been canceled, the tuba-euphonium community is not "owed" anything by the Army band. They put on an entire free conference, including free live webcasts for those who couldn't make it. Everything except a single concert was accomplished and done in a thoroughly professional manner. Even without this concert, the conference was a great success in my opinion.

Bottom line is that having this concert in these conditions could potentially put civilians at risk. I personally don't see how the importance of this concert would or should outweigh this potential risk in the eyes of the Army brass.

Ken, were you here? Sorry I missed you if so, I'll be trying to drive back to Alabama tomorrow, hope the interstates are unfrozen by then!

mceuph wrote: 1. the performance is not at a military venue, it's at a public middle school. If someone falls down and gets hurt in the parking lot, the middle school would likely be responsible for any liability, not the Army band. It would be unfair to put a public school in this position. I can't imagine any middle school principal that wouldn't agree with the cancellation in the current conditions.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised, if it was the SCHOOL DISTRICT that pulled the plug on the concert!

BTW - I wasn't able to attend, but I kept up with the performances via the internet broadcasts (ain't the internet grand?). BRAVO to the folks who organized another GREAT event!

The public explanation made at the conference was that the primary concern was the safety of band members who would have been commuting in from fairly great distances (through snow that was significantly deeper than that at the post itself). Perhaps insurance at the middle school or the advanced age of the attendees was a factor - but no one mentioned it.

The snow arrived here in mid morning and accumulated quickly. I consider myself moderately capable of driving in these conditions (which would be considered "typical winter storm" in the part of Northern New Jersey where I grew up and learned to drive). I left the post after the reading session and went to dinner in Arlington. By my standards, the streets were treacherous - requiring extreme care, but not really dangerous AS LONG AS EVERYONE ELSE drove as I did. Not everyone that I saw on the road was doing that.
On idiot tailgated me for several miles, apparently under the misapprehension that he had his normal braking capabilities.

So - would it have been a problem for *me* to make it to the concert? Not at all. Would it have been a problem to get there from 30 miles to the Southwest? On a tight schedule? I don't know.

No one was happy about the cancellation - but I didn't talk to anyone actually on-site who thought it was a mistake.

Note that this was far from the worst snow that has hit the conference in the last 10 years or so - but it may be the first such snow that fell DURING the conference. If memory serves, there was at least one recent year where about twice as much snow fell the day before the conference.

Now...canceling the party - THAT was criminal. What could be wrong with entertaining lots of people with free beer and food and then sending them out to drive home at midnight?

As for "it's the ARMY" and talk of "missions" - this is a volunteer project that proceeds with the blessing (but not the "direction") of the Army. It's not an Army-initiated "mission". If it came down to devoting resources to the event sufficient to make it happen come hell or high snow - you might find that
the event would just go away. Please don't go there.

mceuph wrote:Ken, were you here? Sorry I missed you if so, I'll be trying to drive back to Alabama tomorrow, hope the interstates are unfrozen by then!

I'm leaving mid-day and going as far as Abingdon, VA on Sunday, and the rest of the way starting as early as the road conditions will allow (o-dark-hundred if they are clear, noon if they are not). In the past, I have left the Sheraton at 0600 and pushed all the way through to BHM - but that's not going to happen this year.

If you are interested, I may have a passable recording of your performance. Let me know if you want it.
I haven't listened to it yet, and was having some difficulty setting the right levels at other performances (one in particular that I really wanted seems to be a total loss), so I'm afraid it's an "as-is" offer.

Thanks Ken, I actually had a cd in my hands within 90 seconds of leaving the stage, those guys were really on top of things.

Having attended (and sometimes performed) at every Army Band Conference from 1983 -1994 , I knew that the concerts would come off "Come hell or high water".

But it was the ice, man, the ice!
Spoke with my sister who still lives in D.C. and she said
the roads were really, really awful.
Kudos to all at TUSAB who made a difficult but correct call.

I hope everyone gets home safely.

Where was Al Gore when we needed him?



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I think it was a smart move to cancel. Granted, I didn't attend this year. But I grew up in Chicago and lived in DC for two years (non-military). That city can't do it. I think they have 3 plows and don't like to get them dirty. I lived right off Connecticut Avenue, and we had 12" mid-March one year, and the city shut down. Literally. You'd think it was Oaxaca - every time it snows it's as though no one's seen snow in generations. Their grandparents remember the stories THEIR grandparents would tell about "the time it snowed." Conn. Ave. is a major thoroughfare (6 lanes at peak times) and there was a foot of virgin, unplowed snow for HOURS after the snow stopped. After a fire truck made some tracks, a few brave souls started driving down the street like it was bare pavement. Now THAT was funny.

DC traffic is bad on a good day. Add snow=potential disaster. Add tourists=real disaster. Add lots of tourists from all over the world who don't know how to drive in snow=just stay home for the love o' Pete if you can help it, and if you have a view of the street, pull up a chair, put your feet up, put a little schnapps in your hot chocolate and enjoy the show.



Canceling was a most prudent, informed decision.

I can understand feelings of disappointment but I most certainly understand the concert being cancelled. The Mrs. and I left much earlier than intended and I am glad we did. The 3 hour tour back to Virginia Beach was expanded to 6 hours. LOTS of cars off the road, bent around "Jersey" walls, etc. and I have wondered several times if all made it home safely and pray that is the case. As Ken said, as slick as it was, the driving was really a minor challenge with a little common sense, it was the "idiot factor" that kept it entertaining.

Great event all around and I can't wait until next year!

PhilSloan wrote:I can understand feelings of disappointment but I most certainly understand the concert being cancelled. The Mrs. and I left much earlier than intended and I am glad we did. The 3 hour tour back to Virginia Beach was expanded to 6 hours. LOTS of cars off the road, bent around "Jersey" walls, etc. and I have wondered several times if all made it home safely and pray that is the case. As Ken said, as slick as it was, the driving was really a minor challenge with a little common sense, it was the "idiot factor" that kept it entertaining.

Great event all around and I can't wait until next year!

Totally agree with Phil here. It was the right decision to cancel the PM concert. Unless you are there, you would not know the magnitude of the conditions. Driving home to CT, I took an exit ramp only to find it not been plowed at all. 6+ inches of snow awaited. Not fun! It was slow going, but I made it back in 8 hours which left just enough time to grab a nap and the drive up to the UCONN Brass Day on Sunday...

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Marty: Unless your job has an audience watching you, I can't see how your job has any correlation to the performances that would have happened on Saturday night? The cancellation sends the absolute correct message. I have no facts to back this up, but I feel the decision was made in the best interest of both the audience members and the performers. While at the conference, I did not see anyone miffed, pissed, wildly upset, etc. as you seem to be. They all understood what was going and it was expected as the day progressed. All you had to do was look outside, see the snow piling up and you knew it would be cancelled. The only question was when would the announcement come. I also applaud the decision makers for making a decision early on. This took out the temptation to stay and possibly risk the safety of ourselves and the other attendees.

MANY people who had not planned to stay until Sunday decided to stay an extra night as to not risk the drive home. Especially in today's times where people are watching their budgets much more closely than in the past, that should tell you something about the conditions.
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Big thanks to Don for putting on another great show and Aaron for working with the dealers (we are a big pain...). A bigger thanks to anyone who happened to come by my booth, purchase a chart or just say hello. Putting names to faces is always nice and just having the opportunity to hang out with a few TubeNetters for a couple hours is a thrill! Maybe next year it will be sunny and 60 degrees!!

WIshing all well,

1. The schools around here shut their facilities down in snow emergencies as a matter of policy. The concert facility for Saturday night would have been made unavailable without even consulting the Army Band folks. Our band--a few miles to the west of DC--has had concert venues pulled out from under us for similar reasons without the option.

2. There were already lots of people at the conference. We arrived just as the snow was starting to come down hard, so getting there in the morning was no real problem until we were on the city streets right around the base. But Fort Myer received a solid 8 inches of snow after that. We wiped off AT LEAST that much off the back of the car to fetch the tubas for the reading session in the afternoon, and there was another inch or two on the car after the session.

3. The drive from Fort Myer to our dinner location was not too bad, but Dr. Sloan's description is accurate enough. We had a good crowd at dinner.

4. The drive home from the restaurant was far worse. The west side of the Beltway was still snow-covered and was not de-iced, and the maximum safe speed was 20-30 mph. And lane lines were covered up, making for a chaotic situation. Once we left the Beltway for the Dulles Access Road, it got better, but down towards the District and in parts south it was difficult, and deep enough to prevent travel by vehicles that didn't have a high ground clearance and preferably all-wheel drive. Our normally 70-minute trip back to the house took a solid half hour longer, even though there was (thankfully) not too much traffic.

5. They did consider relocating the conference to Brucker Hall on base instead of the middle school, but apparently this did not solve all the problems to the satisfaction of the organizers. Note (to Marty) that most of the audience and conference attendees are not "The Army".

Rick "who enjoyed the longer reading session and the more leisurely dinner, in spite of mourning the cancellation of the concert and party" Denney