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Meet the Guy Whose Phone Stopped the Philharmonic

'Patron X' is very, very sorry

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 13, 2012 12:59 PM CST | Updated Jan 15, 2012 11:56 AM CST

(Newser) – He is identified somewhat ominously as "Patron X" by the New York Philharmonic, the unlucky soul whose phone kept ringing during a performance this week and caused the conductor to stop the show. The New York Times has an interview with the 60-something businessman, who says he had no idea his phone was the one jangling. It seems his company switched him from a BlackBerry to an iPhone the day before. He made a point to turn it off before the performance, but was unaware the alarm had been set.

"I didn’t even know phones came with alarms,” he says. "You can imagine how devastating it is to know you had a hand in that." When the conductor stopped the show and glared toward the offending sound, the gentleman fiddled with his phone, as did others nearby, and the sound stopped. It was only on the ride home that his wife figured out the alarm had been set. “I hope the people at that performance and members of the orchestra can certainly forgive me for this whole event."

New York Philharmonic new music director Alan Gilbert, right, conducts the philharmonic in this file photo.
New York Philharmonic new music director Alan Gilbert, right, conducts the philharmonic in this file photo.   (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 40 comments
DaiichiKuronama
Jan 15, 2012 12:44 PM CST
I blame Apple < /fanboy >
ProbolyKnot
Jan 14, 2012 6:36 AM CST
A lot of angry people post to online news articles.
HMMMMMMMMMM
Jan 14, 2012 1:27 AM CST
This is for PatronX. You made a mistake that could have happened to most folks. Now don't go and do something stupid like kill yourself because of this.Nothing, I repeat nothing, is a suicidable offense. Stuff can happen to any of us at any given time.  The way the world is now with cell phones,this will happen again to someone else and again. It happens. Go on with your life and yes in a few days, weeks, something new will be in the news. Another way to look at it is: You now have your 15 minutes of fame,like Andy Warhol said. www.deism.com
 

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