News From Britt Hill – October 2018

Unless you were there, you probably didn’t know about the Pub Crawl.

After the third rehearsal was smoked out, Teddy decided to hold meetings with musicians who wished to brainstorm alternative performance opportunities. It had become clear that we were unlikely to be able to rehearse anymore at the Hill, so Teddy asked what could we do in the meantime, saying, “In times of great challenge and uncertainty come our most successful, important, and creative ideas, so perhaps there are opportunities here to utilize the unfortunate circumstances and turn them into something interesting. Anything is on the table!”

About 30 musicians showed up to the meetings and all manner of ideas were indeed put on the table: breaking into several chamber ensembles and performing in various indoor spaces, putting on a special performance specifically for the firefighters at their camp in the Applegate Valley. Most of the ideas had too many dead ends, but one idea landed well with everyone: a Jacksonville pub-crawl. This would involve pulling out our parts for Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and performing individual movements at different bars in downtown Jacksonville. So it was decided, if all else failed, we would do the pub crawl, performing Beethoven 5 for whoever showed-up or was already at the pubs, without a single rehearsal of the music itself. Also, due to the size of the venues, we decided that these concerts would be “pop-up” shows, meaning that we would not advertise them. We wanted the element of surprise and intimacy.

Some musicians worked to confirm available spaces at bars in Jacksonville during the next day, Britt staff worked out logistics and gathered music stands and sheet music, and the plans for the pub-crawl were put into place, anticipating another cancelled rehearsal. Once the rehearsal was inevitably cancelled, the pub-crawl plan was executed. We started at the Schoolhaus Brewhaus, packing about 40 musicians into their dining room and bar to perform the first movement of Beethoven 5, with our timpanist playing congas and bongos instead of the traditional kettledrums. Musicians were shoulder to shoulder with each other and diners at the restaurant, and service essentially stopped as the first and all-too-familiar notes of the symphony were played. Duh-duh-duh-Dah!! Some of the musicians could not even see the conductor, and thus relied on their ears to stay with the rest of the ensemble. After the movement ended, musicians and a handful of avid Britt Orchestra fans quickly scrambled their way out of the restaurant and on to the next pub: Boomtown Saloon in downtown Jacksonville.

The orchestra grew to close to 60 musicians at Boomtown (including Beethoven’s favorite instrument: the electric bass), so Teddy decided to do the first movement again, what with it being the most recognizable part of the symphony. Boomtown is basically just a big open room, so musicians packed in where they could, occupying virtually any empty space with their instruments and themselves.

In order for everyone to be able to see Teddy, we decided to have him stand up on the bar. With Teddy now towering over the proceedings, we again launched into the music. When the first movement ended, the audience and musicians both wanted to keep going, so we played the second movement of the work, which has a big cello section featured throughout. This became a bit challenging for our cellists, since they normally sit to play and were unable to do so in the confines of the bar. They still played their solo wonderfully, much to the delight of the other musicians. At one point, a gentleman in the audience got up to use the restroom. The problem was that there were several musicians blocking the doorway, so he slowly made his way through a sea of instruments and bodies in the midst of a performance. At first, he appeared annoyed, but when he came out of the bathroom, he thanked the musicians, pulled out his phone, and began taking photos of the scene.

Next stop: the Bella Union, one of our musicians’ favorite places for post-rehearsal and concert gatherings. When we first arrived, a local band was already playing in the bar; we were a little early! Musicians milled about in the lobby and large group rooms they have at the Bella, awaiting their turn. Once the band finished, we tried to find a way to spread out throughout the restaurant, but there just wasn’t enough space. By this time, virtually the entire orchestra had joined us, if not to perform, then at least to support their colleagues. The manager at the Bella asked us to setup outside on the back patio, which after some hesitation, we did (smoke conditions were particularly bad on this evening, but the Bella’s patio is covered, so it wasn’t quite as bad there as out on the street). We hadn’t performed the third or fourth movements yet, so Teddy had everyone spread the word that we would play these. We again sought a place where we could put the conductor so that everyone could see him. The Bella’s back deck has some tables at its edge, so we had Teddy stand on the far bench of the last table, asking permission from the diners at the adjacent table.

“Would you mind if we put the conductor behind you?”

“Conductor?!”

“Yes, you’ll see in a moment.”

As the piece launched into the fourth movement, a real sense of triumph and joy overcame all who were present. The last movement of Beethoven’s 5th certainly has this feel on its own, but everyone, musicians, audience, and Bella employees alike, felt a catharsis come over the space. The smoke may have kept us from rehearsing in our home at the Hill, but the spirit of the music will always prevail if given the opportunity. On this night, we overcame a great challenge by providing the music the chance to lift all of our spirits, and all present had a once-in-a-lifetime musical experience…. We have a plan for our 2019 Britt Festival Orchestra (smoke or no smoke) and I will share it with you in next month’s column. Stay tuned!