Manny Laureano

Well, it's 6 AM... I guess I'm finding my body rhythm again, such as it is.

The trip to London was far too short as we literally flew in and flew out the next morning. I had just enough time to grab a short nap and a coffee afterwards. Then it was time to walk over to Royal Albert Hall and prepare for a live telecast for the BBC (RAH is where they filmed the finale of 'Brassed Off'). This was to be one of many "Proms" concerts. The Proms go back to the early part of last century if not maybe a tiny bit of the end of the 19th century and they were started by Sir Henry Woods, musician, conductor, arranger... you name it, he did it. The BBC took over the Proms concerts later on and they have become an institution of summer music in London.

What they do is remove all the seats on the main floor and corral everyone that wishes to stand for the performance into a circular area and those same folks become the Prommers for that concert. there's also another group way up on top doing the same. Oh, forgot to say... the hall can hold 6,000 people!!!

These folks are as dedicated to music as it gets. They stand for the whole show without complaint and love it. One of the other things you can expect is a unison chant about something or other (it depends on the chanting group) every so often. They have their little routines they do. When our stage manager came out after the Barber Essay to lift the piano lid for the soloist, he was greeted with "Heave , ho!" as he lifted the lid up. It was very funny.

Welsh pianist Llyr Williams was that evening's substitute for Ms. Upshaw and played the 3rd concerto of Beethoven. Before he started playing someone yelled "Good luck!". What a lovely bunch o' coconuts...

This our first live telecast since the orchestra played Casals in Puerto Rico literally 20 years ago when we played "Also Sprach Zarathustra". So, we were a bit out of practice in that kind of environment. I hope we do that sort of thing more, it's like vitamins for your nerves to get used to that sort of thing. Mahler went just fine althugh I preferred my playing the night before a little more. That's touring, though, isn't it? Even though it's not healthy to do so, you tend to keep a mental scorecard. But, the more you do it, the less you compare yourself. Let the critics take care of that, they're always happy to.

Anyway, it was a great pleasure to get together with Mike, David, and Clarino after the show. Mike also brought a couple of eager students with him as well and we found an Indian place across the street from the hotel. Chuck Lazarus joined us a bit later and it was a nice hang and the food was really top drawer. The highlight was a little "gift" from the chef who sent our table a bit of pumpkin soup (you can't imagine how good that was) and a bite of chicken that came on top of the tiny soup cup.

We parted late and the revelers had a long way to go home but I believe they got home in one piece before morning light. Great time, guys. Thanks for making the evening more special with your visit.

Haggis, anyone? Time to go to Scotland.

ML

davidquinlan

Haggis, neeps and tatties... washed down with a wee dram I hope!! :)

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David Quinlan
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Alex Yates

Welcome back and congratulations on a victory tour! Thank you for sharing your stories. They're a fun read.

samdaman

We're all glad to have you back Manny!!! I love to read your writings. You are a very talented writer and musician. 'Hope to hear more about your escapade across the pond!

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-Sam Tate

-Bach 43LR Reverse Lead
-Benge 90C Trumpet
-Gold Schilke E3L Eb/D
-Yahmaha 6310Z Bobby Shew Flugel
-Warburton 3 series and a GR67FL

When in doubt, go with the FLOW... it's all about the flow... musical line and tone production :)

www.music.psu.edu

Veldkamp

Hi Manny, I thought you would like the Concertgebouw. I hope we can meet on your next European tour.

Btw, I've done many concerts with the Holland Big Band under the Hilton hotel you were staying. It's a club called Toomler.

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http://trumpetkings.blogspot.com

Joe DiMonte

[I will say this: this is a big world, folks, and if you ever have the good fortune and opportunity to get out and meet people from other countries in their environs you will be ever the richer for it.

Agreed !
As the old folks use to say: "Travel increases one's scope."

It's unfortunate that the Leader of the Free World only foreign trip prior to assuming the leadership was across the Rio Grande to a Mexican border town.

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"Clark Terry - C.T.,as his friends call him,is not only a master of the trumpet and flugelhorn,but a master musician and a leader to the manor born." - Dan Morgenstern.

Bennem

Great messages.

A bit picky I know but as a Scotsman it does grate a little. It's Edinburgh (pronounced Edinburrra (a as in apple at the end)) not Edinborough as in Edinburoh

Borough is the English spelling for region. The same Scottish region is a burgh.

trumpetmike

Bennem - ssshh, don't tell 'em that - just remember how superior one can feel when they get it wrong

JackD

"Borough" being pronounced "burra" too.

Tootsall

But you do have to be careful about how you use "burra" in North America since there is a well-known animal that's called a "donkey" in most parts of the world but colloquially as a "burro" in areas of the American West and South-West. Often heard in the phrase "You don't know jack about a burro".