No blizzard's going to stop our candlelight Christmas
The Washington Chorus was missing an organist for its annual candlelight Christmas performance at the Kennedy Center yesterday afternoon. They tried to fly one in from Canada, but he reportedly was held up at customs. An even more last-minute replacement from the D.C. area was snowed in.
“So I will be trying to play the organ,” announced conductor Julian Wachner. And that he did, alternately gripping the baton in his teeth to free both hands for the keyboard, while simultaneoulsy leading the giant chorus in front of him and cueing the audience behind him for the sing-along portions.
The adult chorus was supposed to share the stage with singers from Montgomery County’s Walt Whitman Highs School. The students were not permitted to travel in the blizzard. But the entire Washington Chorus was on hand, standing tall in their black robes and tuxedos and singing not to the usual packed house, but to about 200 intrepid audience members who had braved the storm.
Wachner, who spends part of his time with an orchestra in Montreal, said he is frequently amused when Washington grinds to a standstill over a few inches of snow. “But this I understand.” he said.
The sense of shared adversity lent an informal and poignant air to the concert. “It’s like an open dress rehearsal,” Wachner told the audience. “Except you still have to pay.”
You could have gotten positively misty-eyed as the house lights went down, the darkness pierced by hundreds of tiny lights adorning Christmas trees on both sides of the stage, each member of the chorus holding an individual, battery-operated candle. Wachner rearranged the schedule a little, eliminating the intermission to speed things along, as well as one of the songs. “‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ cannot be done without a conductor,” he declared. “So we won’t be doing that one.”
But we still had a chance to sing the old standbys: ”The First Nowell,” “Joy to the World,” and a rousing chorus of Handel’s “Messiah.” And at one point when the percussion section had to bring in more drums, Wachner exhorted to the audience to stand up, stretch and greet their neighbors. “It’s a bit churchy,” he said.
And perhaps the best part: Because of the sparse turout, open seating was declared, so I converted my seat from the nosebleed section into something right in the middle on the main floor.
The Kennedy Center must have been one of the few venues in the area still open. I searched all morning for information about whether the 1 pm show would procede. Shortly after noon, I got through to a recording on the phone that said “all performances are still on.” I bundled myself up, pulled on my wife’s mad bomber hat and slid down 13th Street to the U Street Metro. There was even a Kennedy Center shuttle waiting for me when I got off the train at Foggy Bottom.
On the train, I heard the announcement that all above-ground Metro stations were closing. That came as a bit of a shock to some of the concert-goers as they road the shuttle back to the Metro when the singing was over. How would they get from Ft. Totten to Silver Spring, or points even farther out? they wondered.
Oh well: th is concert was turning into an adventure.
I was impressed by how everyone at the Kennedy Center pulled together, from the performers to the ushers to the bus drivers. With the Redskins fumbling all over themselves–management-wise–it’s good to see that at least one Washington franchise has its act together.
Thank you, Kennedy Center. And thank you, Washington Chorus. That was a show for the ages.
Post-script, January 25, 2010. I just learned that one of the other parents at my daughter’s elementary school, Libbie Buchele, is a member of the Washington Chorus and was singing at this event. She saw our blog post and shared these additional details:
“Well, actually only about half (the chorus) made it – usually the “loft” above the risers is also full of singers. But, STILL! 1/2 isn’t bad in such a big storm. Equally impressive were the numbers of choir members who stayed over night in DC the night before in hotel rooms just so they could sing in that concert.
“It was one of the best experiences of my life. We had a little party planned after that concert (since most of us were scheduled to sing the Messiah in the evening), so even though the Kennedy Center closed down, we still had our little party at the hotel next to the metro. we sang christmas carols all the way there, and I felt like I’d had like 10 cups of coffee by the time we got there becuase I was just so energized.
“Later, the buses closed down & there was a 2 hour metro delay, so I hiked back to Columbia Heights wearing my ski pants & ski mask, singing “Let it Snow” at the top of my lungs.”
Thanks for sharing this with us, Libbie!
We are engaging the concerns of a hungry planet--slowly--right here in our kitchen garden in the District of Columbia, one mile from the White House.
What a wonderful, story, Ed, about the positive energy that happens under adversity and the ability of the human spirit to soar, no matter what. And how beautiful the snow must look!
Truly a night to remember. We’ve got snow here, too, not so much as you, but we don’t generally get it in December, and certainly not 9 inches.
Happy hols, if I don’t find time to revisit this week
Joanna
It was so great to read your take on the Washington Chorus’s mid-blizzard concert. You recreated it beautifully for those of us who couldn’t make it.
Merry Christmas Ed, all the best for 2010
Cheers
David
How fun to get the audience perspective – and how wonderful to discover a fun blog about my other passion – Excellent Food and responsible, sustainable local food!! I’ll be back…
Pattie, it was a great experience. I think I got a little choked up at a couple of points. It was totally worth the effot.
Joanna, I’m seeing pictures of snow in jolly ol’ England via Celia and it looks very lovely. Festive, even!
Dodderer, sorry you couldn’t make it. Obviously, lots of others were in the same boat. There must have been a story for every one of those chorus members who were undeterred.
Julian, I’m one of those longtime Washingtonians who rarely makes it to the local attractions. I wanted this year to be different, especially for my daughter. But wouldn’t you know it–she preferred playing in the snow with friends than trekking down to the Kennedy Center. That’s why I was there along. Wwhat you did was inspiring and memorable. I have a suspicion that wasn’t the first time you’ve played the organ–who would possibly know what to do with all those foot pedals, or the “buttons” as you called them. It was a great lesson in rising to the moment. And by all means, do come back. We’re all about local food around here, although the garden is under about 16 inches of snow at the moment.