Musicians Play To Save Live "Nutcracker"

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

Local musicians put their unique spin on demonstrating yesterday when a brass sextet performed on a picketline set up outside the Washington Ballet’s Wisconsin Avenue headquarters by AFM Local 161-710. Instruments glinting merrily in the bright fall sunshine, the musicians performed selections from “The Nutcracker” as city traffic streamed home, some honking their horns in rhythmic support. The musicians were protesting the Ballet’s decision to cut the live orchestra from this year’s performances of “The Nutcracker,” a holiday staple for more than thirty years. “It’s not just the loss of jobs,” said violinist Patty Hurd, a 15-year orchestra veteran, carrying a sign asking “Did you pay to hear a recording?” “It’s the loss to the dancers, who respond to the live performance, and the loss to the children who love to come and talk to us before and after performances, telling us about what instrument they play.” Hurd said that substituting taped music “not only diminishes The Nutcracker, but chips away at decades of tradition and an irreplaceable cultural treasure that generations of Washingtonians have come to depend on. When you’re there while the music is being played, you become a part of it.” Washington Post dance critic Sarah Kaufman agreed, telling Channel 4’s Tom Sherwood last night that “canned music diminishes the performance.” The Musicians union yesterday launched an email campaign to urge the Washington Ballet to restore the live orchestra; at presstime late Thursday afternoon, nearly 200 people had already sent over 1,000 letters to the Ballet and political leaders. - report/photo by Chris Garlock