...so we've prepared all the tunes, hymns and whatnot for the Christmas fundraiser this year. (We do play for the Salvation Army, they have the venues, we have the music).
Well. None of the other bands (apart from the singing ensembles, tough folks! <bows>) showed up. In a stiff breeze we rig up our music stands and get ready. Play one hymn, then a second, but the music gradually becomes thin and thinner. My alto (clarinet) grows ice chunks on the throat A and long C#, the bass passes out, then the tenors, then the small brass. Frozen valves, binding keys, we're simply frozen into silence. Awkward. Embarrassing. Lot of shrugging.
Later it dawns on me that the Salvationists probably know better than go playing at -10°C (14F).
Ironically, we met a Greenpeace manifestation against global warming. As much as I sympathise with them, I wouldn't have minded one or two degrees more today.
But hey, it was fun. (Ever had a mishap gig you could blame on the weather?)
Well. None of the other bands (apart from the singing ensembles, tough folks! <bows>) showed up. In a stiff breeze we rig up our music stands and get ready. Play one hymn, then a second, but the music gradually becomes thin and thinner. My alto (clarinet) grows ice chunks on the throat A and long C#, the bass passes out, then the tenors, then the small brass. Frozen valves, binding keys, we're simply frozen into silence. Awkward. Embarrassing. Lot of shrugging.
Later it dawns on me that the Salvationists probably know better than go playing at -10°C (14F).
Ironically, we met a Greenpeace manifestation against global warming. As much as I sympathise with them, I wouldn't have minded one or two degrees more today.
But hey, it was fun. (Ever had a mishap gig you could blame on the weather?)