lonelyangel

I told this story about my recent experience to a very close friend last week. He said he found it truly inspiring, not only the content but the excitement that I exuded whilst recounting it. He went on to tell his wife, who is a West End diva - star of very many famous shows, and his 10 year old son Ben, who is a very enthusiastic and fast developing trumpet player. He thought I should share it here despite my misgivings that it might be seen as 'blowing my own trumpet' - so here it is. My blogg of 'another day at the office' for a freelance trumpet player (part one). I hope it is of some interest to somebody out there.



The Saturday before last at about 10 am I got a call from Tom Rees-Roberts - one of the most respected and talented young trumpet players in London, and coincidentally a former student of mine. Tom is currently playing the sole trumpet chair in the hit West End show, Billy Elliot.

He sounded a little flustered and not quite himself and he told me that he was very ill, could not play and would be unable to go to work that day. He had been trying to book a dep (deputy or sub) to cover the show that evening but all the regular covering players were unavailable. My diary service had informed him that, although I was playing the matinee performance of the Sound of Music that afternoon, I was free in the evening - so he was calling to see if I would be prepared to go and play his show blind.

It is common practice when depping in the West End to ‘sit in’ at two performances, usually about a week apart with the second sit in being immediately prior to playing the book for the first time. Usually you would be given a photocopy of the pad and a recording, either from the sound desk or else from a minidisk made in the pit to help you to practice. There is a little leeway given for first timers but the standard expected on the first show you dep on is extremely high - think around 99% perfect. The pressure to perform on these occasions is very great and the experience of depping on a show for the first time can be very stressful but can be very rewarding too, on a musical and a financial level.

I was quite surprised at my reaction and I think Tom was too. Of course I said yes straight away - the show must go on and we trumpet players have to look out for each other - but I was interested to note that my prime reaction was one of great, almost uncontrollable excitement. I think I said, "Oh yes please! That will be so much fun!".
I was almost beside myself at the prospect of having to go into the show cold, unprepared, without ever having seen or heard the show, much less having studied and practised the part until I felt comfortable. I knew that this was a very rare chance to use a skill which I know that I have developed over many years - in fact in 20 years working in the West End, during which time I have played almost 50 different musicals, this was only the second time I had been asked to help out in this way.

The skill I am talking about is not really sight reading, more sight performing. The only other times that I come close to this are on some big band gigs or functions - where you may turn over to a chart you have not seen before. The expected level of performance is generally much higher in a West End pit than on those more casual engagements. The modern musicals can be more like a cinematic experience for the audience - they are not supposed to be aware that the music is live - it should form a seamless part of a whole sensory experience - basically the music needs to be perfect and consistent, night after night - that is what the singers and dancers on stage require too. If the pit orchestras don’t live up to these standards then the production companies will simply use recorded music instead.

What this means is that it would not really be acceptable just to play the right notes - but the part would need to be played in a musical way, in the spirit of the piece, with confidence, accuracy and a little panache where called for. To perform the music at sight - not just read the notes. Its like the difference between reading the lines of a play sitting around a table, or acting the part out on stage.

Fortunately I have a reasonably good relationship with the contractor for Toms show and he felt that I would not let the show down - or Tom for that matter - and he agreed to waive the rules on this occasion.

I arrived at the theatre about an hour before curtain up and got myself settled in to Toms chair. I needed to play tpt and flugel and also Toms piccolo, which he had left in the pit along with his mutes. I adjusted the music stand and microphone positions and set out my instruments and played a few notes to test the sound of the pit. It is a closed pit at Billy Elliot and you need to wear cans - both for click track and for monitoring the other instruments. I decided not to mess with the mini mixer settings - figuring that Tom would have sorted that out pretty well and that I could manage with the levels he had set. Also the MD was only really visible on a six inch TV monitor attached to my stand - so in a way it was quite like playing a session in a sound booth - a situation which made me feel quite comfortable.

Next I leafed through the pad - trying to get an overview of the density of the writing - how big a blow it would be and looking out for any solo passages. Tom had sent me a guide through the show in a couple of texts composed on his sick bed, pointing out a couple of corners and how he looked to pace himself. Also Tom - and his other deps had between them ensured that the music was meticulously marked. Every single note had a long or short articulation mark, all the MD's beats were marked, verbal cues from the stage, instrumental cues etc. etc. This is so important to do, even on recording sessions as a courtesy to other musicians who may play the music after you and I would have been lost without this help.
It is actually a very demanding show physically from a stamina point of view. There are a few high notes which are not really supported - except by keyboards - and a lot of switching hats, from brass band soloist to funky horn section, classical ballet and quite a lot of ‘second horn’ on flugel. And the show is long, usually about 3 hours and 15 minutes. On the plus side there are decent gaps between the numbers so I knew I would be able to look ahead to the next number in most cases.
After about 10 minutes the MD came in and talked me through a couple of tempo changes and I played the two solo flugel parts with him conducting - the whole show starts just with the Flugel all on its own playing a hymn-like lament!

Then I went out for a sandwich, a coffee and one last cigarette (yes I know...but it is my last vice) before we started.

During the show I felt so alert and present it was amazing - I was SO excited, really buzzing with adrenaline. They say that excitement and fear are one and the same thing but I found the whole experience exhilarating and joyous. I must thank Bradley and Richard - the sax and French horn players who were on either side of me for all their help and encouragement - but I was really in a world of my own - almost in a trance - just playing each note as it came up, without worrying about what was coming next or what had just passed: staying in the now. Playing lead trumpet is all about commitment and making instant decisions - being prepared to accept the possibility of an error without being thrown off your stride. I think it certainly helped that I had nothing to lose - if I did screw up I would be forgiven - there was a great deal of goodwill in the pit that night. I wont say that I got up to 99% perfect - because of course I have never heard Tom play the show and part of the job is to imitate the style of the chair holder. However I only recall 2 or 3 split notes and one 8 bar section where I misread a swing rhythm that was written out in 12/8 instead of the eight note standard.

Afterwards I felt exhausted but on a real high - I understand that the reports back to Tom were very favourable. He had been meaning to ask me to sit in his show ever since the Producers closed in January - now I wont need to sit in although I really do want to go and see the show from the audience - it sounds like a cracking night out judging by the audience reaction.

I am going to dep for Tom next monday and actually I am little nervous that I won’t be able to do such a good job this time. I can’t actually remember a note of what I played two weeks ago and I may not be able to recreate the edge I had then due to the extraordinary circumstances. I think I might try to pick up a copy of the pad on Saturday and do a little homework this time around.

All the best. Noel.

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Noel Langley - Eclipse Artist noel@eclipsetrumpets.com

Eclipse Medium Yellow, scratch gold
Eclipse Medium Heavy Red, custom 'Diamond Back' in 24ct gold
Eclipse Red Brass Flugel
Custom Scherzer piccolo with copper Wedgewood bell, finished in scratch gold
Giardinelli 6S, 6M, 6FL Bach 3CW

Richard Oliver

Noel,

Thanks for that peek behind the scenes! "Sight playing." What a thrill, as it obviously was, to be able to do that.

Thanks,

Richard Oliver

Solar Bell

Great story Noel, Good show!

-cw-

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Chuck Willard
The Willard of Oz

"Don't be afraid to see what you see."
Ronald Reagan

kadleck

Hi Noel -

Great story! The "one trumpet" show is all too common now. (3 of my last 4 shows were just one trumpet.) I can attest to the fact that there is virtually zero support, and NOWHERE to hide!

It sounds like you helped out a friend, helped out the show, and helped out your reputation by playing great! They were lucky to have you - congrats!

Tony

harboroughfox

Hi there, i'm a new user on this site and found that story fascinating you must have got a real buzz that night.
A friend of mine has done some west end stuff, Ben Godfrey do you know him, he and i played in the GUS brass band some years ago, a very fine player.

lonelyangel

Hi new friend - welcome to TM - do you live in Market Harborough by any chance? :)

Yes I do know Ben - last time I saw him he was depping in Guys and Dolls, sitting next to Derek Watkins no less - a sure sign that he is doing something right! That was a matinee show and Ben was then scooting across town to play some Mozart with the Orchestra of St Martins in the Fields, and the time I met him prior to that, he was playing second trumpet to me in a sunday big band gig. Safe to say that he is building a good reputation as a reliable and versatile player.

Hi Tony - thanks for your appreciation - hope to come and hear you in action someday soon!

What's worse than a one trumpet show is a non trumpet show - there are a few too many of those around for my tastes these days. Still its quite a healthy scene in theatre land at the moment - I think there are about 25 trumpet chairs at the moment.

I should have mentioned that the other time I had to go in cold was maybe 15 years ago in City of Angels - but that was a lot easier as I was asked to play the 3rd trumpet book. In that situation the maxim 'if in doubt - leave it out' was the order of the day. Last week the whole thrill was summed up by the chance to 'do it right and do it right now'.

All the best. Noel.

__________________
Noel Langley - Eclipse Artist noel@eclipsetrumpets.com

Eclipse Medium Yellow, scratch gold
Eclipse Medium Heavy Red, custom 'Diamond Back' in 24ct gold
Eclipse Red Brass Flugel
Custom Scherzer piccolo with copper Wedgewood bell, finished in scratch gold
Giardinelli 6S, 6M, 6FL Bach 3CW

harboroughfox

Hi Noel, yes i do live in market harborough, do you know it? and nice that you've bumped into Ben.
The last time i seen him he was guest soloist for my local brass band, and done a couple of trumpet things and "April in Paris" on the flugel, lovely style and sound.
I've done that solo on flugel and needless to say felt like packing up after his rendition, anyway i'll keep trying!
All the best,
John Pacey.

Jimi Michiel

Noel-

What a great experience! I've been in music school for about 6 years now and one thing that has always frustrated me is the incredible amount of rehearsal that goes on. I did my undergrad at the New England Conservatory and we'd often have three weeks of rehearsals for an orchestra concert, or over a month for a band/wind ensemble concert. The idea of coming in cold and reading a show was completely outside the realm of possibility there (and at most music schools in the US).

I moved to Minneapolis last year and have been fortunate enough to do some freelancing (a little theatre, some big band and church stuff). I think what I enjoy most about it is the rush you described; only having a couple rehearsals, or sometimes none, before a performance. I've always been comfortable site reading, but in the past year or so I've gotten a better sense of the difference between what you talked about: reading and performing at sight. What a great way to earn a living...

-jimi

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