Well you the public, are the true judges of how it went, but from our point of view it was a fantastic and unforgettable night, and certainly all our hard work payed off.
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Having arrived at the Grand Théatre (GTP) at lunchtime it was a full day, ensconced in the theatre until well after the concert when we enjoyed relaxing in the bar. However, on arrival we were led to our smart "loges" to get installed.
Then down to business, the piano was tuned while we had a big logistics meeting. Next up, sound testing and balance for percussion, drums, electric and bass guitars, followed immediately by a full rehearsal from 3pm-6pm starting with the second half first in order that the 43-strong childrens' choir could be released before returning for the concert. A few technical hitches with microphones made us start to fall behind schedule. During the entr'acte a team of volunteers and GTP staff re-organised the seating and stands for the other half of the programme, no mean feat given our numbers. The GTP was at full stretch accommodating us all on stage, a total of 220 in the second half.
Having finished on the late side, the fact that we had to eat, change and be ready to tune up at 7.30pm meant there wasn't too much time, despite the fact that a buffet had in the meantime arrived downstairs. The pressure mounted as well over 100 hungry musicians queued for a very long time for their buffet, however a certain number of the more assertive/hungry/impatient representatives spoke for all of us with a chorus of "allez, allez, on a faim!" and suddenly people started serving others which helped things move a bit faster.
Backstage it was very black, and in the wings - les coulisses - we were surprised to have no lighting whatsoever so it was a slightly perilous passage through to the stage, carrying in some cases quite large musical instruments and not seeing where to put our feet.
Quiely warming up
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Louis-Marie, who joined the Harmonie aged 14 and is still plays at 75!
| Listening to our Chef backstage |
Some final words of wisdom from our very wise chef Alain after his extraordinary 42 years with the Harmonie.
The space allocated to instrument storage and "accordage" was directly backstage, so once the theatre opened to the public at 8.00 o'clock, we had to have finished tuning up. Half-an-hour to wait, to be quiet and nowhere to direct the adrenalin led to an impromptu photo-shoot and a little bit of silliness...
| For me , the icing on the cake was to have two daughters there! |
Click on pictures to enlarge
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