Paul Katz’s Airline Nightmare Awakens Public and Media Attention: CBC News
Reprinted from CBC News, Aug 23, 2012 Musicians call for clarity when flying with instruments Students pay for four extra seats only to be told two cellos not allowed on flight The director of Mount Royal University's Conservatory is calling on airlines to set a firm policy when it comes to transporting musical instruments. Paul Dornian said a group of students from Poland returning home from Calgary earlier this month were told their four cellos could not all take their paid seats on the plane. Air Canada told the students it had a policy of no more than two cellos per plane. Dornian said he’s never heard that rule before and says the students had no problem flying with four cellos to Calgary. He said musicians always tell the [...]
Airline Nightmare
Reprinted from the Boston Globe of August 20, 2012 In a state of panic and fearing catastrophe, I am writing this midflight as I travel from Calgary, Alberta, to Los Angeles on American Airlines. I thought I did everything right: bought two seats, a ticket for myself and one for my Andrea Guarneri cello made in 1669. I checked in, got two boarding passes, and went to the boarding gate without problem. It all went smoothly—the cello and I were even pre-boarded—one of the easier of the literally thousands of flights we have taken together. Until . . . As the cabin begins to fill, the flight crew informs me that this is a “code-share” flight, and that although I have an AA ticket, the plane is operated by WestJet, and my [...]
Taking it on the Road — by Brant Taylor
One of the most interesting and rewarding aspects of life in a major orchestra is the touring. After "What difference does the conductor really make?" and "How did the orchestra like _____?" (conductor or soloist), the questions I'm asked most frequently by members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's devoted audience are almost always about touring. Organizing an extended trip for a large orchestra, especially abroad, is an immense undertaking. The initial planning begins years before the event itself, and all of the logistics that must be in place for things to run smoothly take the full-time attention of dedicated members of the orchestra's administration. There are a couple of travel companies in the U. S. who specialize in taking orchestras on tour, and the CSO uses one of these companies [...]
Tour Musings — by Alisa Weilerstein
I'm now a few days removed from one of the most exhilarating—and definitely the longest—tours of my life. I've grown accustomed to playing a different concerto every week, sometimes with a recital thrown in here and there. But I can't remember the last time I actually played only one piece for three weeks straight. However, that's exactly what I did in the last week of March and first two weeks of April; I played Shostakovich 1st Concerto fifteen times across the US with the St Petersburg Philharmonic and Yuri Temirkanov. I've had so many thoughts about this tour and am struggling to consolidate them into a coherent blog entry. I have to start by saying what an incredible musical and educational experience it was for me. There are players in [...]
Doing More with Less — by Brant Taylor
I recently had the opportunity to travel to Havana, Cuba, accompanying a jazz band that was invited to perform at the Havana International Jazz Festival. Considered a “cultural exchange,” the trip was approved by the U. S. Department of the Treasury and we made the short flight to Havana from Miami. (Because our embargo is a financial one, the U.S. Treasury oversees all travel between the U.S. and Cuba. A full report on my impressions of Havana or on the 50 years of economic strangulation the Cuban people have experienced is far outside the scope and purpose of this space!) Among many other activities, we visited Havana’s Amadeo Roldan Conservatory, which teaches music to high school students. While I am aware that Cuba has a vibrant, colorful musical tradition and [...]
Fantastic Getaways and their Cello-related Aftermath — by Lev Mamuya
The house is just like you left it. As soon as you plop your heavy suitcase in the door, you run over to the corner. Ah, how nice to see your cello after such a long absence! You open up the case, and start to play. What are these odd, strange squeaking noises emanating from your cello? Why can’t you play properly? Having just come back from a wonderful vacation in Costa Rica, I am faced with this question: how do I regain the level of technicality that I had before a long absence from the cello? The short answer: with time and lots of varied, and sometimes evil exercises. Now I’m sorry to be sort of a practicing nag two blogs in a row, but it’s necessary for all [...]
Cello Is My Co-Pilot (Part 1) — by Jeffrey Zeigler
Several years back I was flying out of the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. My cello was strapped into the seat next to me and I was ready to go. Lost in my own thoughts, a flight attendant leaned over and asked me very nicely if I was flying with an oboe. Now, I have flown a great deal with my cello over the years and have conditioned myself to be ready for whatever excuses the flight attendant brings in order to hassle me. But I had never ever heard of a cello being confused with an oboe! In complete shock, my only reaction was a nervous laugh. It was right then that I realized that she was actually quite serious and I immediately apologized. But honestly, where had she thought up [...]
Airplane Diaries — by Alisa Weilerstein
I think it's appropriate that I'm writing my first blog (ever—not only on this site) while flying between Madrid and Copenhagen. I've taken to telling people I live on airplanes lately, which is sort of true since I catch up on sleep most often while I'm in the air, and I've only been in my actual apartment for four days so far this year. I've been in Europe for a few days and for the first time in awhile am experiencing some serious transatlantic jetlag. I can't sleep before 4:30 a.m. and waking up in the morning (in other words, when the sun is up...) has been difficult, to put it mildly. I just finished three concerts in Madrid, playing Osvaldo Golijov's incredible Azul. Given my perpetually bleary-eyed state each [...]