Whats the wierdest thing to happen during a rehearsal?

Jeff Keller · Post by **Jeff Keller** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 2:33 pm

The Univ. of KY symphony performed with the opera dept last night, in a gala to showcase both the opera and the symphony. Well in Thursdays run of our show, which KET was a part of, there was something that "shocked" all of us. KET is an education TV station - they were taping the dress and the concert for a broadcast and also to send to KY schools as a recruitment aid for us. They hired in this independent contractor to operate a crane with a camera on it. This guy's equipment is faulty and there is an exposed wire that is touching the thing making it a large conductor for electricity. Well guess what - he touched it. We were in the middle of a selection from The Magic Flute when we start hearing this blood curtling scream. I had never been in rehearsal while they have done that piece since mozart was not a big fan of the tuba:) We don't know where the scream was coming from and the low brass section just thinks its someone off stage about to come onstage. WRONG! We can't see the guy's face because he is one the other side of the crane ( the crane is onstage next to the basses which are just to our left). We just keep on playing and our conductor has this look on his face like shutup. One of trumpet players figures out what is going on and stands up waves down the conductor and stops the orchestra. So this guy has been getting electricuted for about 20-30 secs now. The orchestra stops playing as I see Dr Everett McCorvey (dir of opera dept) Run down a row of seats, down an ailse, grabs a power cable and just rips it out of the wall. As soon as the power stop the operator just collapses on stage. About 15 secs later the guy leans back up and starts talk, paramedics got there said that he's ok - guy gets up packs his stuff up and leaves. He is ok today -- but isn't that weird!! Has anything ever happened like this or anything else as bad in rehearsal.

Now, I know about the fireworks in a trombone story in a rehearsal and thats pretty bad, too. But this one is right up there with it.

Jeff Keller
University of Kentucky

Tubainsauga · Post by **Tubainsauga** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 3:45 pm

I don't have a story to top any of those, but the weirdest thing that I've had happen was light fixture fell from the ceiling and landed on my music folder that was right behind my chair. Slightly alarming.

Biggs · Post by **Biggs** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 6:28 pm

I was playing in a community band concert already made somewhat 'interesting' due to gale force sending stands, instruments, folders, etc. flying into the lake behind us. But the coup de grace occurred when one alto sax player began complaining to his standmate of nausea and other symptoms. Then, during one of our songs, he lurched over, obviously in medical trouble. Fortunately his standmate, myself (being the Boy Scout I am), and about three other people helped Eddie get to his feet and out of the way. Someone went to call the paramedics, who later informed us the poor guy had suffered a stroke (he is currently recovering). However, our conductor kept beating out time as if he was oblivious to the emergency going on in front of him - and 98% of the band followed! I thought this was unproffessional at best. But imagine what the audience thought, when suddenly a few people get up and leave in the middle of the song, the ambulane wailing in the background while the band plays on. Finally, as if this wasn't bad enough, our principal euphonium (a bit of a blowhard with a shoddy attendance record) takes advantage of the confusion and arrives halfway through the concert and proceeds to get set up without either helping Eddie or at the very least, waiting until we had finished that song.

Mudman · Post by **Mudman** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 9:15 pm

Was a freshman in college. Wind ensemble dress rehearsal. Playing some piece. Inched my chair backwards a tiny bit to get a better look at a real cute clarinet player. ---WHOA--- Chair went over the edge of the riser. I fell four feet, clutching my brand new trombone. Cracked a Wenger sound shell. Conductor kept going, not sure if he saw me go over the back. Landed on my ***. Could have landed on my feet, but was busy holding out my brand new trombone. Not a scratch on the horn

My ego was bruised, and it took until the following semester until I was able to get a date with the clarinet babe. (That is another story.)

scottw · Post by **scottw** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 9:28 pm

High school, doubling on string bass: I leaned my bass against the edge of the stage in order to get a piece of music from the conductor in the pit. Has anyone ever heard the sound that a bass makes when it falls on it's back and snaps the neck off?Major explosion, scaring everyone nearby! A bad rehearsal all around! (and expensive!!!)

tubatooter1940 · Post by **tubatooter1940** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 11:12 pm

After playing trumpet in a large club for two years accoustic against an
electric guitar.I was amazed to find out at rehersal in a small lounge that
my trumpet playing had got so loud that I could only play this small room
with a mute.I left rehersal to go to a music store and found the perfect
mute.It had three clips that held it to the outside of the bell and had fabric
inside that did not change the sound of the horn but quieted the volume
by two thirds.We finished rehersal and left our stuff set up.
When we came in to play that night,I found the fabric missing from my
mute.No way could we go without it.I asked the bartender for a bar towell
to stuff in my mute.She pulled a Kotex feminine napkin from her purse
and said,"Try this".I rolled it up and it fit in my mute perfrectly and it
sounded fine.Late that night I swung my horn and it hit the mike stand
and the mute fell out on the packed dance floor and the Kotex naturally
came out and unrolled full length.A nice young lady picked up the feminine
napkin,gingerly,and handed it to me saying, "This must be yours.
"Thank you",said I wishing for a clever comeback or a hole I could crawl
into.
The Fart Man

Steve Marcus · Post by **Steve Marcus** » Sun Oct 31, 2004 1:43 am

Friends who sing in the William Ferris Chorale in Chicago will never forget what happened about two years ago. William Ferris was conducting a dress rehearsal with full orchestra and suddenly, within one page of the end of the piece, fell lifeless to the ground.

The piece was--the Verdi Requiem.

Chuck Jackson · Post by **Chuck Jackson** » Sun Oct 31, 2004 1:35 pm

Back in 1981 when I was working for Ringling Brothers at the old Circus World just south of Disney in Orlando I walked off the band stand one day and Mico, the Elephant dude was moving his charges off the floor after the show. I must have spooked one when I inadvertantly let out a grunt from the horn while emptying my spit. The elephant pinned me to a wall with my tuba between me and about 2 tons of really pissed off pachyderm. It took Mico and his trainers about 10 minutes to get the beast backed off. Tuba was flattened a bit, but nothing compared to the bruise in the middle of my chest. Not particulary funny, actually pretty terrifying.

Chuck

phoenix · Post by **phoenix** » Sun Oct 31, 2004 2:02 pm

Cell phone started ringing at the very end of a song called October (if anyone is familiar with the piece, you know how awesome it is). Well the folks around me started laughing, this was an All-State Band, by the way, and the conductor was like, "Did Brett not come in?" And then my supportive stand partner was like "Yea, but his cell phone didn't!" What a jerk....

MaryAnn · Post by **MaryAnn** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:58 am

Worst I saw in rehearsal....older lady bone player's chair went over the edge of the riser. She was ok.

Worst in performance....decades ago when I was still silly enough to perfrom on violin, I was in the outside row of the 1sts; in extreme nervousness dropped my bow, it went off the edge of the stage, audience member had to retrieve it for me.

I much prefer sitting in the back.

MA

DHMTuba · Post by **DHMTuba** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 11:38 am

A trombone player's cell phone rang during orchestra rehearsal. He answered and proceeded to have a huge fight with his girlfriend. The rest of us just kept playing. (I believe the conductor chewed him out after rehearsal but I'm not sure.)

A few years later, during an orchestra concert, a timpani player's cell phone rang. She walked offstage and talked on it, loud enough for the rest of us to hear onstage and maybe loud enough to hear in the audience. In the middle of Mahler's 2nd.

Ever since these incidents, I've been really really paranoid about my cell phone whenever I perform!

And finally: A trombone player lit up a joint (not a cigarette, a joint) during a wind ensemble rehearsal. The director, not realizing what it really was, yelled "PUT OUT THAT CIGARETTE!". The trombone player said "Oh, sorry, man" and put it out.

BTW, these were all professional ensembles!

jdsalas · Post by **jdsalas** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:48 am

This was'nt a rehearsal but a performance (sort of) when I was an undergrad at Baylor. We were just getting ready to start the wind ensemble concert when all of a sudden the power goes out in the entire building. It turns out that one of the many squirrels on the Baylor campus had jumped onto the main transformer and electricuted itself. The transformer was fried out and the concert was postponed. Even squirrels get lonely.

Louis · Post by **Louis** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 10:47 pm

At a university wind ensemble rehearsal, my then-three-year-old son managed to set off the fire alarm and the whole building was evacuated. The worst thing was that I was not in the wind ensemble - we were just visiting the university and listening.

It was a very modern facility with the alarm triggers very low (to accomodate wheelchair students I think). I didn't notice until it was too late.

Louis

Captain Sousie · Post by **Captain Sousie** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 7:53 pm

I have a couple,

In marching band rehearsal the director was talking about a dynamic in the piece and all of a sudden he throws down his microphone (big band outside) and starts freaking out that one of the mellophone players had just flipped him off. He really hadn't and everyone just stared at the director like he was nuts. We got a lot of mileage out of that one and the director wished he hadn't done it.

The other one was when my girlfriend, who was playing first bass at the time, executed a perfect drum-roll...she tripped in a sprinkler hole.

Dylan King · Post by **Dylan King** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 5:21 am

I was in high school in 1992 when we had the LA riots. We were rehearsing "The Music Man" and I was playing lead trombone. We had been hearing about what was going on in the city during the rehearsal, but the auditorium was shut and for a few hours we were unaware of exactly what was going on outside.

About 4pm one of the teachers came into the reahersal and told us all to pack up our stuff as quickly as possible and that the school was being evacuated. The Montgomery Ward down the street had been looted and set on fire, probably by some of my fellow students. I packed up the trombone and went outside. It was dark, like there was going to be thunderstorms, but there weren't any clouds. Smoke filled the air everywhere and there were sirens going off in the street. On the way from the auditorium to the band room, the bassoonist was "pile-drived" by a black student who didn't even know him. And there were two girls on the ground fighting to the death. One of the girls ripped the other ones eye out. I had never seen so much chaos. The campus, just like the city, was involved in an all-out race riot.

I put my trombone away in the band room and ran for home. I was lucky to live only a block from the school. The worst thing was that I had turned 18 just two days before and starting that night, there was a curfue on the city for a full week.

The next day I went out to my car and it was covered in ash from all the fires. I heard later that over 20 students were arrested for assult the next day, including the dude who hit my friend.

The Music Man went on without a hitch. everything was back to normal in a few days. The thing that sucked the most about the whole situation was that the whole entire school had to go to racial sensitivity classes. I had to learn all over again that because I was a white male, I was automatically racist and evil. When I raised my hand and asked the "racial sensitivity counselor", "Why can't I do what Martin Luther King said and judge people by the content of their character?" The counselor answered that people of color did not have the opportunity to develope good character because of our racist society. Who are the real racists? I think we find many more looking over our left shoulder than our right!

MaryAnn · Post by **MaryAnn** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 9:17 am

Doc wrote:Too bad there's no political forum anymore. I'd like to explore this further.

what happened to the politics forum? I do see it is gone.

MA

Jonathan Fowler · Post by **Jonathan Fowler** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 11:00 am

A few years ago I was leaving orchestra rehearsal and saw a few of my colleagues still hanging around, outside of the rehearsal space. Since the brass section was done (only strings and winds remained inside) I stuck around to see what was going on. A friend suggested I peek into a practice room, whose window was covered by paper. While looking to see what my friend wanted me to see I saw some "fleshy bits" moving inside and realized that some people were...expressing their love. As the rehearsal let out more and more of the orchestra congregated outside of the practice room, which is just outside of the rehearsal space. After about 60 of us waited patiently, and silently, the couple emerged from their bungalo to slip away undetected. They were met with raucous applause and cheering, and quickly ran back into the room...embarassed and crying.
Morale-Don't practice; you don't know where that room has been!

Rick F · Post by **Rick F** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 2:39 pm

ROFLMAO

dkrahl · Post by **dkrahl** » Thu Nov 11, 2004 3:05 pm

At an outdoor community band concert in Lafayette, IN someone kept playing after the end of the piece. The conductor cut us off twice, but someone still was playing. After a moment, we realized it was an airplane flying overhead... perfectly in tune to the last chord of the music.

dkrahl · Post by **dkrahl** » Thu Nov 11, 2004 3:13 pm

At an outdoor community band concert in Lafayette, IN someone kept playing after the end of the piece. The conductor cut us off twice, but someone still was playing. After a moment, we realized it was an airplane flying overhead... perfectly in tune to the last chord of the music.

TubeNet

Whats the wierdest thing to happen during a rehearsal?

Whats the wierdest thing to happen during a rehearsal?

FALSE ALARM!