[Harp-L] Good Philharmonic Gig Story

[Michael Rubin <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx>]

About two weeks ago I receive a call from a woman named Toni.

Toni:  Do you play chromatic harmonica?

Me: Yes.

Toni: Can you read music?

Me: Yes.

Toni: I'm with the Laredo Philharmonic. We are putting on a show on Friday,
January 31st.  We are playing John Phillips Sousa's Harmonica Wizard.  We
had a harmonica player but he plays the wrong kind of harmonica.  He cannot
read music and he was learning the song by ear.  He just realized he can't
do the song.  We're still having him perform.  It would be great if you
would do a dueling harmonicas song with him.  Could you do that?

(Laredo is 4 hours drive from Austin, where I live)

Me:  Sure.

Toni:  You would have to come down on Thursday and practice for an hour.
Then we'll pay for your dinner and hotel and give you $250.  Can you do it?

Me: Let me discuss it with my wife.

I get the okay.

Due to previous experiences with trouble getting paid, I sent an email to
Toni explaining exactly what I understood was expected of me and how and
when I was to be paid.  Then I included a clause that if the concert was
cancelled within one week of Jan 31st, I would still be paid.

She agreed.

The race was on.

Me:  Overnight me the music and I'll get to work.

The next day:

Toni:  We don't have the harmonica part, just what the orchestra will
play.  Buy the harmonica part and we'll reimburse you.

I google the song and discover plenty of websites carry the music and they
can all ship it to me in 4 short weeks.

I call on a friend.  Thanks, George Miklas.  He sends it over right away
but warns me the music is written in the key of C, but sometimes orchestras
play it in the key of Bb.  If so, he suggests I just buy a chromatic in the
key of Bb.

Sure, only $160 out of a $250 check.  That and gas and I'm making $50. (I
own a Prius hybrid, gas is not so bad.)

I send Toni an email.  Is it in C or Bb?  She sends me to the conductor.  I
leave a voicemail and an email and get to practicing the song.  3 days
later, the news arrives.  It's in Bb.

Now, I could easily transpose to Bb on the C chromatic, but it would mean
relearning the song and the note layout could be very difficult.

I call Rockin Rons Music For Less.  Can you do anything on the price?
Suffice to say,  they could only do so much, but I want to shout it from
the hills:  Rockin Rons Music For Less is the best online harp store ever!
And you can quote me.

I tell him I have to think about it.  I hang up and begin transposing the
song to Bb.  In less than a minute, my brain hurts.  I am 44 years old.  I
have proven to myself I know how to transpose.  I call Rons back.  "Ship
it!"

So I work on the song.  Especially over a certain speed, there are always
mistakes.  There are 3 types of mistakes:

1.  Easily covered up so that the audience would never know.
2.  Not so easily covered up but still small enough to be forgivable.
3.  Total derailment.

You know that line about pros practicing so much that they cannot make a
mistake?  I guess I am not a pro.  I return my card.

I order 5 CDs from Amazon to make the drive easier.  Two Muddy Waters, a
Don Byas collection and an Art Pepper collection plus the Art Pepper bio,
Straight Life.  The latter two don't make it in time for the trip.  I've
got them now though.  Byas and Pepper's music is new to me, although I've
seen the Pepper documentary.

On the drive down I discover Don Byas is a genius and I still love Muddy.
(Also a genius)

The drive is uneventful.  Then the storm appears.  Toni picks me up from
the hotel and is a high energy, constantly talking, sweetheart of a woman.
Also along for the ride is the other harmonica player, Larry Delawder, who
is a great guy and great harp player.  He grew up playing, singing and
touring in his family gospel group and has the quickest ability to create
harp harmonies I have ever seen.  We worked up Down By the Riverside for
our tune.  His wife and two little girls also were in Laredo.  Then there
was Emma Resmini and her Mom,  a 13 year old flute prodigy.  She was very
smart and polite but the feeling that I was in a car with one of the best
classical musicians the world will ever know could not escape me.

Upon arrival at the University where the concert hall was, it was clear the
was a nice venue.  But on the stage was an orchestra of high school
children.  Surprise.  I was playing with a high school orchestra and the
show was put on by the Philharmonic.  I did get to meet the conductor of
the Philharmonic and 3 other members who backed Emma in a quartet setting.

The kids were great and knew the tune.  I am very glad we practiced because
there was a note that I played that was VERY different from the note that
they played.  After my song I calmly said, there is a discrepancy with one
of our notes.  The conductor found it.  He pointed to it and said, "We're
playing this."  It was around 10 feet off the staff.  I can read music but
my brain couldn't handle it.  He saw my confusion and said it was a B.
That's when I put my transposing to work and said Bb is to B as C is to
C#.  I need to play a C# and my harp will make the B note.  Success!

The dinner was incredible at a Mexican restaurant Toni said was very
authentic.  Larry and I got to know each other.  He's a friend of Todd
Parrott's.

The next morning I did the show to an audience of 600 elementary school
kids.  They were a great audience and whatever mistakes I made fell under
category number 1.

Then we were ushered to a table for autographs.  Emma was basically The
Beatles.  Larry's two little girls also sat at the table giving autographs,
I think my popularity was just a bit under the seven year old's.  She
didn't have to rub it in, though.  600 autographs later (no kidding.  Every
kid went to every performer.) and I headed home.

There was traffic in San Antonio.  It took 90 minutes to go 5 miles to make
sure everyone got a good look at the crash.

Then the bank almost didn't cash my money order because it was made out to
Michael Rubin Performer.  But all is well.  Hopefully videos will come soon.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com