A few years ago, on a New Years Eve concert, we did a whole show
of Viennese waltzes. Waltzes have a fairly complicated system of
repeats and Da Capos, and it is pretty easy to get lost if you're not
on your toes. At the end of this particular concert, after we played
the final chords, we were supposed to shout "Happy New Year" in unison.
(I know, so cheesy.) Something went HORRIBLY wrong in the final number
though. The brass took a repeat that the strings did not take, and we
ended up more or less crashing to a halt instead of properly ending the show. I mean, we played three big loud chord-like
crashes, but everyone was in the wrong place and freaking out. It was
without QUESTION the single most disastrous moment I've been a part of
as a professional. We ended the entire concert in a stunned silence.
I've always wanted to go back in time and be the one person in the
entire orchestra who remembers to gleefully scream "Happy New Year!"
after such a disaster. Now, at work, whenever something is going very
very very badly, Janz and I wish each other a Happy New
Year. The phrase "Happy New Year" has become synonymous with "this is
a stupid plan and it's not going to work."