Seeing the Steve Reich Ensemble in the late 80's, possibly at the Whitney Museum. In the middle of Drumming part IV one of the marimbists lost their place in the complex structure of the work and fell out of the piece. Reich, playing the tuned drums, was simultaneously trying to give the lost musician the count by nodding his head on the "and . . . one". All the other musicians by sheer will were sort of generating an energy field trying to carry their colleague back into the piece. We the audience were collectively holding our breaths and then, after what seemed like a minute, the musician reaquired the count and launched back into the magnificent weave. It was a tremendous moment! We all knew we had just witnessed something very special—to be shown the inner workings of this complex, Swiss watch-like piece and what it takes for an ensemble of percussionists and singers to keep it aloft. We gave a huge and heartfelt ovation. It was an infinitely better concert experience than had every piece of the evening come off flawlessly.
Richard Shaw