When the Dalai Lama came to San Francisco in 2014, he was booked into Davies Hall for his appearance and they asked the Symphony to have some artists perform as part of the presentation and that’s how Robin and Carey Bell ended up onstage playing the slow movement of the Mozart clarinet concerto.
The crowd was really there for His Holiness and so even though they were playing divinely, people were chitchatting and not paying attention to the music. But the DL could hear what was happening, and he strolled over to stage left where Carey and Robin were playing. This focused everyone’s attention on the music for sure!
He stood behind Robin for a while, and then gently put his hand on Robin’s shoulder. I don’t know if I was the only one who held my breath, like, what’s going to happen!?! But as only Robin could do, he simply turned and smiled and never dropped a beat. And the adagio ended as beautifully as you can imagine, with everyone now listening intently.