In Monday’s (10/24) New York Times, David Waldstein writes, “They stood anxiously in tuxedo tails and black evening gowns—violinists, oboists and cellists packed three deep, craning to catch a glimpse of the wall-mounted television in the musicians lounge as St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle Lohse looked in for the sign. But Lohse, preparing to throw a critical pitch to Mike Napoli of the Texas Rangers in the second inning of Game 3 of the World Series on Saturday night, stepped off the rubber and wiped his brow before leaning in again for a new sign. ‘Hurry up and throw the ball,’ yelled the principal French horn player, Gregory Hustis. ‘Don’t they know we have a concert to play?’ But before Lohse could throw the pitch, Scott Walzel, a bassoon player and the personnel manager of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, corralled his fellow musicians and ushered them to the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center stage. Minutes later, Nathan Olson, the 24-year-old co-concertmaster and first violinist, walked on stage with a blue Rangers cap on his head.” As he turned to supervise the tuning, Olson “reached up to his head and flipped the hat around like a catcher so the bold white T again faced the audience. Again, the audience erupted in applause and laughter at Olson’s salute to the local maestros performing on dirt and grass 20 miles to the west.”
Posted October 24, 2011
