Interview with Jeen Fedelich: Avoiding Problems on Orchestra Tours

Yvonne Caruthers: How long have you been smoothing the way for orchestra tours? And what is the name of your job?

Jeen Fedelich: I started twenty-seven years ago, in 1981. My title is “Tour Manager.”

YC: How did you get into doing this?

JF: A travel agency based in Chicago was looking for a tour manager. I applied and my first tour was with Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra and the travel agency were pleased with my job and my second tour was with Philadelphia.

YC: What sort of jobs had you had prior to this? Any musical training?

JF: I learned piano from the time I was 4 until my parents left Algeria when I was 12. We had to go back to France, but we didn’t have a piano, as finances were difficult.

[As an adult] I first worked in Canada as a production assistant for documentary movies. Then I moved to Puerto Rico because I hated the cold, but I couldn’t get the same job. At first I had a restaurant in San Juan but that wasn’t for me. One day the cruise director from a cruise ship asked if I could join for2 weeks to translate for their French passengers, so I did that, and they asked if I could stay on as hostess first and then I became social director. I stayed on the ship for one year. Through those contacts I met the people in Chicago. That was Fred Gepfert’s company, TravTours. They needed a tour manager for orchestras. I was with them for 20 years.

YC: Can you describe what happens before an orchestra arrives in a new city? How far in advance do you get there?

JF: Usually, I try to get there the night before so I can evaluate the situation (hotel full, renovations that the hotel didn’t tell us about, work on the street, anything that could be a problem for the orchestra). Then the next morning, I meet with the management of the hotel and go over the rooming list and of course the goal is to get all the keys and rooms ready for the arrival of the orchestra, not always easy.

YC: What’s the hardest problem you’ve ever had to solve?

JF: There are quite a few, but generally it’s when you have a day when the orchestra is both traveling and performing and the flight is delayed or worse–canceled!

YC: Can you give us examples?

JF: The orchestra arrived in Berlin, the hotel said, “we can’t give you 120 single rooms, you can have 60 doubles.” I told them “no, this can’t happen,” but they couldn’t budge. Something had happened, the previous guests hadn’t checked out and there were no other rooms in the city. I mean we could have stayed at something like a Motel 6 out on the highway, but that was not acceptable. We did have to double up for one night. They gave us free breakfast, etc, but I think the orchestra didn’t pay and there was some kind of lawsuit about it. I don’t know those details.

[another time] There was a train strike in France, and we were stuck. We explained to the conductor of the train that this was the Cleveland Orchestra, they have a concert that night, so we could not wait forever. We argued for a while and then somehow our car went backwards, ending upon a new track, and we arrived early enough for the orchestra to play the concert.

[different trip] We were going from Paris to London on the high speed train TGV, and one of the violinists had work-out weights in his suitcase. The security people made a big deal out of it, saying he couldn’t bring the weights in his luggage, but I knew it was also because he’s African American and I was angry [with security]. Finally I said, “You don’t want him to get on the train?” They said, “That’s right,” and I said ,“Then I’m getting off.” The train was supposed to leave soon and the authorities knew that if I got off the train they’d have to find my suitcase and remove it from the luggage car, so at the last minute they accepted the violinist and his suitcase–with his weights. We ran fast to catch the train. Of course the whole argument was in French.

YC: What’s the funniest story you can remember?

JF: [one time] The suitcase of the Maestro was lost and his concert clothes were in it. We had to ask the musicians with the same size, or almost, to lend him their clothes. The pants were fine but the jacket was not the right size. He tried on one that was too big, but that looked ridiculous, so he decided on a shorter one and had to be careful while he was conducting. It was really funny.

YC: Do you have any special training for what you do? Do you have any advice for a young person who might like to get into this line of work?

JF: After all these years, I’m still learning. It doesn’t matter how much training you have, if you don’t love this job, you cannot do it well, it involves too many things.

People ask me “where should I go to school” but I can tell just by talking to people who would be good and who would never make it in this business. First, you have to care about people, then you have to think fast, to find a solution, and you can never, ever show panic, no matter what is happening. (of course inside you are not so cool…)

It’s very demanding, long hours, people complaining sometimes, problems to solve and no time for yourself. Don’t think that you’ll have time for sightseeing while you are traveling, it happens sometimes but not often, it’s not for everybody! But it’s so rewarding to be with talented people and to listen to the music.

YC: How important is it that you speak several languages?

JF: It helps a lot, especially with bus drivers, maids, etc. Hotel management and airport staff speak English but I found it very important to be able to understand what they said among themselves, in case of a crisis.

YC: Does it help if you use the same hotels and airlines year after year?

JF: Sometimes–I have a few friends here and there and that helps.

YC: Have you ever had a medical emergency on a trip?

JF: The major orchestras usually have a doctor along on trips, so I don’t worry too much. The most I’ll be asked to do is to book a flight to send someone home. When I travel with a youth orchestra, we don’t always have a doctor and I sometimes get a call at 3 AM to take someone to the hospital. Once, I was traveling with a youth orchestra, we were in Rio, and I was called in the middle of night. A boy had pain in his belly. The orchestra manager called me and offered to take him to the hospital; we expected appendicitis. I had a hard time getting back to sleep, thinking about how I would get the boy home, where his parents should meet him, should he have surgery in Rio or back in the States… When I saw them the next morning the manager said, “I didn’t want to wake you. They examined him, and the doctor said, “It’s a massive attack.” I asked, “What do you mean?” The doctor said, “It’s a gas attack” …and that’s all it was.

YC: Your frequent flyer miles must be in the tens of thousands….

JF: No, the airline often gives me a free ticket because of the large group, so I don’t accumulate very many free miles.

YC: Do you feel appreciated by the orchestras, or do you think your work is mostly behind the scenes and noticed only when something goes wrong?

JF: People who have traveled for many years know what’s happening, and they are very appreciative.