The guide dog that hates brass
Yorrick the guide dog knows what he likes — and it’s not brass solos.
So when his blind owner Clive Lansink took him to the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, he caused a bit of a ruckus.
Now, Lansink has made the tough call to ban Yorrick from orchestra concerts at the Auckland Town Hall.
“In the beginning he was quite tolerant of concerts and we thought this is fine,” said Lansink, Blind Citizens New Zealand’s national president.
“But . . . instruments began to make him whine.
“We would normally be able to [settle him down] but there was a particular performance that really got him going: the Haydn Trumpet Concerto.
“We’re only about four rows from the stage, and if there’s a soloist, Yorrick is getting a pretty direct hit.”
Now, when Lansink and his wife, Mary Schnackenberg — who is also blind — go to concerts, they leave Yorrick outside with the ushers.
“He can be a bit anxious, but hopefully he’s getting used to that,” said Lansink. “He’s not often separated from me.”
Yorrick’s particular tastes in music have even travelled home, when Lansink plays music on the stereo.
“As he’s got older he’s become less tolerant. Trumpets, saxophones and flutes, they all get him going.”
The orchestra knows Yorrick well — he’s been a regular for years, spokeswoman Tiana Lyes told Te Waha Nui.
“He’s been such a familiar face. He’s a wonderful patron of the arts,” said Lyes.
“He’s only recently become a little more curmudgeonly.”
Despite his anti-social behaviour at concerts, Yorrick’s antics have earned him a starring role in another capacity.
He recently featured in a Heart of the City advertising campaign encouraging people to get out and hear the orchestra play. — James Pasley