Holiday, with honors

The story went like this, yesterday, during our practice for the Iowa City Community Band holiday concert:

Our director, Rob Medd, said that he got a call last week from Himie Voxman, the first chair clarinetist generally known as THE GOD OF MUSIC at the University of Iowa. Himie asked, in only the most polite and humble way, if he could still play in the concert if he missed practice.

Medd laughed. Of course he did. First, Himie has been playing clarinet for something like 147 years. Second, Himie had a fairly good reason for missing practice. At the moment we were butchering the bars of "Here We Come a Wassailing," the University was presenting Mr. Voxman with an honorary doctorate!

So yeah, we forgave him. And we gave him some thunderous applause during our show this afternoon at the Englert in downtown Iowa City.

However, another clarinetist played the solo for "In the Bleak Midwinter." Even a legend takes his lumps for breaking the rules.

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