TRAIN WRECKS

posted by James Reel

    Prowling the nether reaches of the Leo Rich Theater, I came across a Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival musician doing some head-shaking, admitting to me that some colleagues didn’t know their music very well and worrying over some upcoming concerts.
    Well, if some of the musicians have been slacking off, they’re managing to pull everything together brilliantly by concert time. I’m not saying that as somebody determined to be a festival booster no matter what; as one of the people running the festival, I have an interest in its success, which means maintaining quality control. So far, aside from the inevitable odd squawk you’ll get at least once in any live performance, all the performances have been outstanding. If some of our musicians aren’t that committed to practicing before they get to town, at least they’re committed to the performances, and manage to whip themselves into shape by curtain time.
    Of course, we still have two concerts and a dinner performance to go. I suppose there could be a musical train wreck in our immediate future. And oh, people do love to gawk at train wrecks.
    (One of the worse actual train wrecks hereabouts happened in 1903. More than 20 passengers and crew members died when two trains slammed into each other at what is now the intersection of Houghton and Rita roads. A century ago, that was out in the middle of nowhere, but remote as it was, people quickly got out there to rubberneck, even before the victims had been carried off. Here’s a page that tells you all about it.)