March 2011

V.com weekend vote: What is your favorite pre-performance food?

March 25, 2011 11:18

You walk out on stage, and your stomach does a back flip.

It's not nerves -- it's the fried cheese sticks, garlic bread and fried chicken you ate for dinner!

When this kind of thing happens, we start thinking about what kind of food puts us in the right physical frame for performing. Singers are told not to drink dairy before singing; wind players must avoid things that stick in the teeth and might wind up in the instrument. But what are the guidelines for a violinist?

In college, my conductor, Victor Yampolsky, used to advise us to eat a nice big meal before a concert. While I'd rather have a full stomach than hunger pangs during a performance, I find it's important to think about what goes into that full stomach. For example, bananas, with their high potassium, can be a soothing choice that does not upset the stomach. I find that a simple sandwich works pretty well, too.

What is your favorite kind of food to eat before a performance? I'll start us out with some broad categories, but feel free to chime in with your favorite pre-performance food.

10 replies | Archive link

V.com weekend vote: Has your equipment ever broken down, right before going on stage?

March 11, 2011 11:50

This week one of our favorite fiddlers Mark O'Connor shared the story of his chin rest cracking up and needing super glue, right before he went on stage to play the premiere of his Improvised Violin Concerto last Sunday.

Yikes!

It made me think of other panicky equipment-fail moments -- I bet we have some interesting stories among us!

I can think of a few…A major equipment fail happened for me at a very young age at a youth symphony concert. It was between the dress rehearsal and concert, and all the orchestra members were walking, with instruments, up a set of steps to take our break. I tripped over my bow, and the stick snapped in two. Not even super glue could save me from that one!

I also remember other people's equipment fails; for example, a candidate at an audition for the Boulder Philharmonic broke a string while warming up. She ran from dressing room to dressing room in a panic, "Do you have an extra 'A'?" I seem to recall that she found one, she may have even won the job!

Have you had any equipment fails that happened right before a performance? Please share your stories below in the comments section.

9 replies | Archive link

More entries: February 2011

March 2011

V.com weekend vote: What is your favorite pre-performance food?

V.com weekend vote: Has your equipment ever broken down, right before going on stage?

Subscribe

Laurie's Books