Ex-ballet musicians stay busy
For the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/02/06
Cue the sleazy rats and the prancing pig, the adorable munchkin tumblers and the exquisite snowflakes: The Atlanta Ballet's "Nutcracker" opens today at the Fox Theatre, marking the launch of a time-honored holiday tradition on Peachtree Street.
This year will be different, though. The ballet, in a cost-cutting move, decided this season to do without its orchestra, so the nearly monthlong schedule of "Nutcracker" performances will be danced to a recording of Tchaikovsky's much-loved score instead of to live accompaniment.
 JOEY IVANSCO/Staff | ||
| Harpist Nella Rigell (above) gives a lesson to Sara Hancock, 8. Teaching is one way Rigell has remained busy instead of playing for the Atlanta Ballet. Sharon Story (below) conducts "Nutcracker" auditions in September. | ||
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And so the 48 musicians who make up the erstwhile Atlanta Ballet Orchestra have had to find another way to occupy their December.
"To me, playing 'The Nutcracker' always signaled the beginning of the Christmas season," says principal tuba player Don Strand, a 23-year veteran of the orchestra. "I love the piece. It's a great score, and with the various casts [the company rotates among six this year], it's always fun to watch how the different dancers dance the same roles."
"We'll really miss the kids," says principal harpist Nella Rigell, in the orchestra since 1979. "We have such a great interaction with them. When they peer into the orchestra pit at intermission and ask questions — 'Wow! That's a harp?' They are so excited. It's contagious."
Playing elsewhere
But if musicians like Strand and Rigell will miss "The Nutcracker" — and, probably, be missed by many ballet-goers — they don't seem to be having trouble filling the void in their schedules. In this very different December, some are playing in churches, others at holiday parties. Still others are teaching or playing with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, while one, harpist Rigell, is helping to soothe nerves in hospitals.
"Right now, I'm having a hard time catching my breath, because I'm actually busier than ever," says Rigell, who is balancing a full teaching schedule with chamber concerts, church services and, in particular, Music for Healing and Transition, a program that has taken her and her small Celtic harp into both Piedmont and Northside hospitals, where she plays at bedsides and in recovery rooms.
"This is something I've wanted to do for years," she says, "and not having to play 'The Nutcracker' has enabled me to finally do it. Music can make a difference to patients and their families in so many ways."
Principal oboist Russ De Luna, who is moving to play English horn with the San Francisco Symphony at the end of the season, has replaced his "Nutcracker" time slots with work at the ASO. The oboe section there has been depleted since principal Jonathan Dlouhy departed last summer. "The work couldn't have come along at a better time," he says.
Cellist Charae Krueger can also be found substituting at the ASO, as well as in a number of churches.
Strand, meanwhile, is busy organizing Atlanta's Tuba Christmas, a daylong confab of up to 350 local tuba players of all age and skill levels. This year's event, the 20th annual, is scheduled for Friday at Underground Atlanta.
"It's the most intense day of my life," Strand says. His day will continue into the evening, when he'll be in the orchestra for a concert by the Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus.
Taking other jobs
The loss of "The Nutcracker" job has not proved to be a huge financial hardship for most of the musicians.
"In fact," says harpist Rigell, "many of us will probably make more money this season, because we usually have to turn down a lot of better paying work during the holidays." (Base pay for ballet orchestra musicians is below union scale.)
Like Rigell, Strand says he'll come out ahead financially by not playing "The Nutcracker" this year. But on balance, he finds himself with a hectic schedule.
His average 24-hour non-"Nutcracker" day, he says, might include three in-school shows with the Peachtree Brass in Alpharetta, a trip to North Carolina for an afternoon rehearsal and evening performance with the Greenville Symphony, a return trip to Atlanta for sleep, getting up early the next morning for another three school shows, then heading back up to Greenville that evening.
For another longtime orchestra member, principal timpani Scott Douglas, running from gig to gig with his arsenal of bulky instruments is especially problematic.
"I'd far prefer to just be set up in the Fox for a month and remain stationary," he says.
He says he'll miss "The Nutcracker" for its social aspects, too, "both with the dancers backstage and with the audience." A frequent band member for the touring Broadway shows that play the Fox, Douglas has spent a good deal of his professional life in the theater's orchestra pit.
"I feel like I've been evicted from my part-time home," he jokes.
Cellist Krueger agrees.
"It definitely feels strange not playing with the ballet this year," she says. "I love the dancers, and I hope to see the company thrive. It's sad to see them struggling as they are, especially when there's so much money in this city."
When the Atlanta Ballet cranks up the music for Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" this afternoon, audience members might not have a clue who's playing.
Since the ballet, in a cost-cutting move, didn't renew its contract with its orchestral musicians last summer — triggering an unfair labor charge filed with the National Labor Relations Board — the Atlanta Ballet is using recorded music to accompany the dancers. But which recording?
This week, the ballet's director of marketing and public relations, Tricia Ekholm, said artistic director John McFall and the production staff would use several different recordings to cover the entire "Nutcracker" score — in part for artistic reasons of tempo and interpretation, in part to avoid paying performance royalties to any one record label.
After further inquiries into just which recordings might be sampled, however, public relations associate Jeff Al-Mashat wrote in an e-mail: "Due to the ongoing NLRB investigation, we are unable to comment regarding any music-related issues at this time."
Atlanta Ballet's season opened at the Fox in October with "Giselle," danced to recorded music, and will continue for the 28 performances of "The Nutcracker."
Orchestra members have received severance checks from the ballet, but they say they will not cash them. Beyond that, neither side reports any new developments.
— Pierre Ruhe and Susan Elliott
