Music Director of the YSO from 1977-1983
Though I had more memorable experiences with the YSO than I can possibly put in one page, one of the most distinctive happened on my first YSO tour– the legendary QE2 crossing. Having garnered an invitation from the then-U.S. ambassador to Great Britain, former Yale President, Kingman Brewster, to perform Copland’s Lincoln Portrait with us in London, Chris Rude, YSO percussionist then manager, had the “brilliant” idea of trying to arrange passage on the QE2. On paper a brilliant idea as it would not only save money–by agreeing to perform on board as the first symphony orchestra to perform on the ship we would get free passage–but it would be a novel experience for the orchestra as well as great publicity.
However what we neglected to realize was that at the time of year we would be crossing-the first crossing of the season–the Atlantic Ocean would be incredibly rough. And by all accounts, our crossing was one of the roughest in the QE2’s history. People were utterly nauseated for most of the trip, and since for some quirk of physics, being in the swimming pool was the only place you could relieve the nausea, the pool was continually jammed.
When it finally came time to perform the Barber piano concerto and Tchaikovsky Pathétique, most of the wind players were green and barely holding their food down. In addition the piano and the entire orchestra was sliding back and forth on “stage” with every new wave and crest. (We also discovered that due to the engine vibrations, the piano would go out of tune every hour.) Adding to the bizarreness of the experience, we were performing at 10AM in the “Double Down lounge” with audience members sitting on spiral staircases and hanging from balconies. It was one of the most unpleasant and worst performances I have ever been part of, but somehow, like so many memories, it gets better with each retelling.
And finally, the other truly memorable experience from that crossing was the discovery that if it were someone’s birthday, the restaurant would provide an entire cake for the table. Suddenly 50% of the orchestra developed birthdays during the crossing! As in so many other areas of life, Yalies rarely pass up an opportunity.
The YSO on the QE2. One of many memorable experiences.