On March 22, the LSO made a stop in Chicago during their tour of America. I happened to be free, so Marita, Clint, and I made the trip. We left BG at 6 AM, getting us to Chicago at approximately 9:30 AM their time (i.e. 30 minutes before anything opened). We decided to start the morning out right with a cup of coffee from a locally-owned shop on Michigan Ave. After that, we made our way down Michigan towards H&M and other various shopping wonderlands. The sidewalk kept randomly being closed, so we had to keep walking from one side to the other. About 10 seconds after one of these many crossings, two men walked past us on the sidewalk going the opposite direction. I recognized one of them as the 2nd bassoon player in the orchestra and exclaimed, "that was HIM!" At that, I turned around and bolted down to catch up with them.
I tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Hello! This is incredibly awkward, but you look familiar to me. Are you by any chance in the London Symphony Orchestra?" He was immediately taken aback. He looked at the other man then back at me and said, "Yes!" Conversation ensued. The other man introduced himself as Matthew Gibson, a bass player in the orchestra. I told them that I would be in London for the summer to see the orchestra and had emailed the administration about rehearsals. Matthew said, "Well, I happen to be the vice-chairman of the orchestra. I can get you into rehearsals!" and gave me his card.
I had been in contact with the CSO Symphony Center's stage manager, who was going to try to let me meet Gergiev. I mentioned that she was unsure if it would happen or not. Matthew told me he could introduce me. When we got to the Symphony Center later, I metioned this run-in to the stage manager. She told us to meet her in the lobby after the concert. When this moment came, she ran us downstairs, unlocked the backstage door, and let us go! The 3 of us stood near the stage door as the orchestra members exited the stage. A few moments later, I heard someone say, "Hello, Ashley!" It was Gareth Davies, the principal flutist/my facebook friend who knew I was going to be there. After he ran off (they had 45 minutes to get their things together and leave for the airport to fly to NYC), I saw Nikita, who was a piano student and friend of mine at BG last year! Eventually Matthew came down and took us into the conductor's green room to introduce us to Gergiev.
It is handy that this happened 2 days before my meeting to discuss my budget for the Givens Fellowship! I am still incapable of comprehending the fact that I ran into the one (of 96) player I most wanted to meet. Let alone, on the busiest street in one of the biggest cities in the country! And what were the chances that he would be with one of the people who could help finalize my plans for my trip?
Since I'm talking about things from so long ago, I'll take this time to mention that I saw the NY Phil play in Ann Arbor on my birthday. I was told what door the players would be using to leave the building. I eventually was able to meet maestro Lorin Maazel and principal trumpet, Phil Smith! I didn't realize until I got back that my birthday also happened to be Maazel's birthday.
Nearly 8 days until I leave! You can count on many exciting stories and pictures....just check in every few days! Please leave comments, as well- I'd love to hear from you (I believe you can post without an account...just sign your name so I know who it's from)!
P.S. For those of you who have followed this for my past travels, you may have noticed the change in title. I thought this one a bit more fitting. It is c/o Franz Liszt.
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