My Inauguration 2009 Experience…
Published by Megan on Tagged Book Reviews, Ho'oponopono, Just For Fun, Zeitgeist The Movie
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/01/the_inauguration_of_president.html
It’s been five days since the historical inauguration of the 44th president of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama. I knew the day would come when a president with noticeably African ancestry would grace the oval office in Washington. I have to admit, I’m not one with huge political viewpoints or opinions, but I exhaled enormously when he was largely elected by the American people.
I was relieved once the year-long election was over. I even documented on video when I was voting.
Fastforward to Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at about 11:00 am. I was on my way home from the gym when I received a voicemail message from a friend of mine saying that he had a gig for my string ensemble to play at one of the Inaugural Balls in Washington, DC on January 2o, 2009. The People’s Inaugural ball to be exact.
This was ONE WEEK before the ball was to take place, but of course I had to say YES! Who would pass up this once-in-a lifetime opportunity to be an active participant FOR HIRE in one of the MOST HISTORICAL and memorable events in American history and the African American community? I was thrilled and thought for sure that when the message was broadcasted to the network of musicians that I work with, everyone would be ready with instruments in hand to take on the task.
Well, it didn’t go quite as planned because this was definitely a last minute gig. Here were some factors we had to face that made this gig not as palatable to some taste-buds:
- Transportation: We had to provide our own transportation to and from the event. The security that day was very thick and no cars were allowed within a 5 block radius of the hotel. Not even hotel vans or taxis were allowed. At this stage in the game, we could not expect a “designated driver” to cart the string players to and from their various destinations. It just wasn’t going to happen this time around. We had to take the metro (the subway) *smile*
- Lodging: Since our name was added to the vendors list one week before the event, we were not able to get any rooms in the hotel, let alone rooms in or near Washington, DC. When my friend spoke to the contact who hired us for the gig, he spoke on our behalf and said that we already had lodging. He took that liberty because I’m from the DC area, so he assumed that I had “people” that we could stay with. *smile*
- Pay: They were willing to pay our rate for an out of town gig for an hour; however, since lodging and transportation weren’t covered, it seemed a little on the lower side for our rates.
- Lack of rehearsal time: Since the core ensemble would not all be able to attend, I had to use other musicians in the network, with whom we all haven’t played together with as a whole. Some of us were familiar with the repertoire we’d be using, and others had never seen it. We wouldn’t have a chance to all get together to play until it was time to perform.
Considering the caliber and the grandeur of the event, to the outside looking in, it seemed as if all of these things should have been taken care of without any problem whatsoever. I don’t think that this is a normal scenario, but at the same time, it was very, very, very last minute AND in was for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was hoping that everyone would be flexible and take it all in stride in order to participate.
I was unable to use all of the “first choice” musicians for various reasons, but as destiny would see fit, the most qualified and energetically resonant musicans were those who played (thank goodness!!!!)
Another issue we faced was the issue of our security around the instruments. Since we had to travel on public transportation to get to and from the gig, we were advised that we had to have our instruments secured in the hotel the day before (Monday, January 19th, 2009) by 3 pm.
This posed a problem seeing as though I lived 3 hours away from the gig, needed my instrument over the weekend to teach and play with, and was NOT going to send my instrument to DC days before I would get there.
There had to be a solution.
The Stafford Foundation, the organization that hired us, was also holding a Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast the day before. I asked if we could play for both events. After some negotiating, it worked out so that we could do both events, which would allow us to get there the day before as needed, earn additional income for time spent, as well as securing our instruments for the ball the next evening.
The breakfast went very well! We got wonderful feedback from many of the attendees. We made a couple of media contacts and even got a chance to take a picture with the Grammy Award Winning Gospel Artist, Yolanda Adams.
Playing together at this event first gave us all a good feel for each other and our playing styles. This would serve as our rehearsal somewhat. I was playing viola, (my second instrument. Violin is my first instrument) and I was presented with some challenges of sightreading in alto clef. I love the challenge though and it was a lot of fun to play with the other musicians who were EXTREMELY competent and masterful on their instruments. I was thoroughly impressed with their sightreading ability (which professional musicians are supposed to be able to do anyway–lol) and their attitudes! They had the most delightful spirits and outlooks on the situation. Their energy was impeccable, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of musicians to work with considering the circumstances.
The day of the actual ball posed a few more challenges that would serve to test our demeanor a tad bit more. Again, we were dealing with last minute issues that could begin to make your blood boil if you didn’t remain calm.
When we arrived at the hotel, after having to deal with very congested metro traffic and tired spectators of the actual inauguration (Since I had to play, I stayed home with my best friend and her daughter, my god-baby, as we watched it on TV), the security hadn’t been properly informed of our needs. Unlike the day before, we didn’t have a place right away to secure our items and to change our clothes. We also had a hard time getting into the hotel. Overall, it took almost two hours to finally get situated in the hotel.
Ironically, before we were getting ready to get set up and started, we had to make another adjustment: the start and end time of our playing. After going over it with the other musicians and with the people in charge of the event, we worked something out right up until it was time for us to begin playing. We had just enough time to quickly snap the above shot before we were to sit down and provide the ambiance for the many people who would be coming to the ball.
I was exhausted before we even began playing, but I knew that the synergy we created and the music we would be playing would take care of the anxiety and stress I was feeling. It took me a while to remember to do this, but I continued “cleaning” on the situation until I was calm.
I didn’t have any idea at this point when the Obama’s would be arriving. I was informed by my friend that this was one of the balls that they were to attend. We played until around 8:30 pm when the ball was just getting started. We were offered the opportunity to stay and attend the ball where we would be able to mingle, network, sit down and eat.
I was torn with what I wanted to do. Everyone else who participated lived in the DC area and were home once they got off the metro. However, I still had a 3 hour drive that I had to make back to Virginia that evening as to beat the rush of spectators leaving DC the next morning.
After we were finished playing, the fatigue of the two days actually finally hit us, and we decided to call it an evening. All of us wanted to go home and beat the rush when it was time to leave. We may have missed the Obama’s dance, but the experience that we had was worth what we went through. Participating in this event has opened up many doors and has caused a great multitude of advantages and opportunities to head our way.
I’m believing along with the rest of us that because we sowed a seed of goodwill, generosity, and service with quality and a high standard of professionalism, we will be remembered and called upon again many times over. I am truly grateful for the opportunity and wouldn’t change a thing about how the events unfolded. Sure, I would’ve loved to get better quality photos of the corset and floor-length tu-tu ensemble I was wearing, but that’s neither here nor there!!!–lol *smile*
The sights, sounds and emotions are implanted in my psyche forever, and it was worth everything that I had to experience to get here.
Best Related Posts:
Get Back Into Your Groove... by Megan on December 9th, 2008
Law of Attraction: The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don’t. by Megan on August 20th, 2007
Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting by Megan on December 19th, 2007
January 27th, 2009 at 6:50 am
What a wonderful story Megan, like a fairy tale with real life mixed in! sort of Cinderella gets her glass slipper and puts them on only to find the heel falls off, but she dances the night away anyway with the help of some super glue!
The pictures are perfect - who took them? Such a wonderful memory and experience to have even if the logistics were a bit energizing to say the least!
Love the beautiful energy that came together for you all. AND your corset and tutu look lovely! It looks like a REAL old fashioned corset, suck it in, shrink you inches type of Dita Von Teese fame, Is it? It’s lovely!
Congratulations on attracting a wonderful experience for all of you!
Hugs and Joy!
Amy
February 1st, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Thanks Amy! I was so glad when the super glue showed up!–lol
Thanks for the kind words about the pictures. Some of them were taken on my disposable Kodak camera (the grainy ones), and the others were taken by a photographer that captured all of the events for The Stafford Foundation.
Thanks for the compliment on the outfit! It was a true suck and shrink corset–lol, but from Victoria Secret!–lol
Thanks for leaving your comment!
Hugs & joy too!!!
February 4th, 2009 at 3:02 am
You looked great Megan and I am sure you played great and the occasion was once in a lifetime. I hope you soaked every minute of it in your memories forever.
It was as if the earth shifted it’s spirit and truly a spectacular historic event. Wish I would have seen it myself. cheers, Teriss
February 4th, 2009 at 3:07 am
Yes, Teri! It was wonderful! I’m very pleased and fortunate to have been able to participate. The Universe never ceases to amaze me!–lol
February 4th, 2009 at 4:17 am
Sounds like a wonderful trip filled with memories. To play for such an event would be an honor. I was down for the event too and the energy was astounding! Denise