—by Joni Martin

There are many gigs that remind you that playing the harp is only a small part of the job. One such time for me was playing for the National Western Stock Show. When I got the call to play live music with a symphony for the “Dancing Horses” show, I was intrigued. “How fun!” I thought. Light ballet, waltzes, and movie music would accompany beautiful horses dancing. I worked up the music, but kept a wary eye on the January weather forecast. Bitterly cold temperatures and snow were predicted.

The day of the rehearsal, it was indeed snowing. The temperatures plummeted. I came home from my day job and packed everything. My car was warm for the harp. I put my gig shoes into the bag and put on my snow boots. I carefully made the drive to the Stock Show complex about an hour and a half away. Upon arriving and finding the correct arena and entrance, I pulled the car alongside the building and opened my car door. 

It was the kind of cold where your nose sticks together, and the sound of boots on the snow is like Styrofoam. The air was still and freezer-like. I off-loaded everything into the hallway and went to park my car. I walked back to the venue and settled. As I looked around to find the performance area, all I saw were a few offices and a set of extremely steep concrete stairs going down. Oh yes, down to the arena. 

I found someone to ask about an elevator and was informed that the only elevator was on the opposite side of the arena. I could drive around and take the elevator down, but then I’d have to drag my harp through the several inches of fine dirt on the arena floor and back over to the stage. My heart sank. How was either one a viable choice? There was no way I could bump the harp down the stairs (45 with no landings!) on its dolly, and I worried about the harp falling to its doom if it came off the cart. The dirt-dragging option was not even in the running.

So, off I went to find a couple of ranch hands or low brass players. I honestly don’t remember which. I showed them how to carry the harp, watched them descend the first several stairs, and then turned my back and prayed.

I schlepped my bench and harp bag down and tried to settle my nerves while I tuned and warmed up. Did I mention it was cold? No heater is big enough to keep an arena warm in January. We got through the rehearsal. I’m sorry to say that I really didn’t see too much of the dancing horses due to all the dust that they kicked up. 

After rehearsal, I had to decide whether to leave the harp on the stage with more dust and cold temps or to repeat the entire process the next day for the performance. I opted to leave it, and of course spent the next evening trying to coax my harp to be in tune.

The following year when I got the call for the same gig, I happily said, “I’m sorry, I am unavailable.” •