Wild Concert Experiences

As a professional musician in the Cleveland Orchestra, I’m happy to say that I have had very few strange or unsettling concert experiences. I think the oddest thing to happen was the loss of a scherzo from a Bruckner symphony that fell under the risers at Severance Hall a few years ago. But yesterday in Carnegie Hall during the Ligeti Atmospheres, the tip of my bow broke off, barely hanging on by a sliver of wood. I registered my shock by saying a silent, “Oh my G-d!” and then continued to fake my way through the rest of the piece. At the very end, the complete tip heaved it’s last final breath and fell off completely.

Tomorrow I will go to the esteemed bow maker Yung Chin to see if it indeed reparable, and to hear the catastrophic loss of value of my Tubbs violin bow. Wish me luck!