Dana's Section

I didn't get my usual seat at the symphony (Davies Hall) yesterday. Instead, I was sitting in the 2nd row Orchestra, right down front. Better, I thought, to see pianist Leon Fleisher's fingers pour over the keys. I was right: I could see everything clearly.

I had to interrupt the gentleman on the aisle, who was reading his program very intently, leaning over almost into his lap. He let me in to the next seat, and immediately turned his attention to me, asking me my name, where I live, things like that. He told me his name was Dana. He was obviously a regular. He was a small man, and had stuffed his cane under our two seats.

I actually recognized him. When I'm in my regular seat up above the orchestra in the side terrace, I will often see a little man yell and clap and approach the orchestra members after the piece. That was him, I was sure.

Dana then reached over me to pull on the sweater of the woman on my right. He interrupted the conversation of those two women to introduce me. And then, suddenly, he went back to reading his program.

While I sat there for 15 minutes, hoping to use the time to read about the selections of Beethoven we were about to hear, when he repeatedly reached across to snag Mary again, telling her about someone he'd met, or something he wanted her to do for him.

He knew almost everyone in the section, saying hello to them even when they were having conversations with other people. This was His Section.

During the concert, which was wonderful, he often kept tempo against his leg, or hummed, moving his head to the music. I must admit it wasn't that often or distracting, so I'm not complaining. At the end of a movement, he seemed to know exactly how it was going to end.

At the end of one movement, some people started clapping, so he raised his fingers, showing two, and indicated that there were still two movements to go.

And at the end of the piece -- actually, every piece -- he yelled "Bravo!" He and the guy in front of him. Apparently there was some competition as to who could yell it first, yell it the loudest, yell it again. And then he'd go to the stage and try to shake someone's hand.

Dana is a real enthusiast, a real music lover. A bit too intense for my company. But he became a real side show today.