Carthage voice teacher and WGTD Morning Show host Greg Berg’s default position is composing, teaching and performing music. So it didn’t seem unthinkable to him to want to finish Schubert’s marathon “Winterreise” from a stretcher rather than not do it at all.
To the amazement of the audience at Siebert Chapel Saturday evening, Berg performed the final minutes of the 24-part, 75-minute-long piece sitting on a gurney after having collapsed minutes earlier.
Telling the story while resting comfortably at home on Sunday, Greg said he started feeling faint during the 23rd song.
Audience members said he excused himself, took a seat on stage, then suddenly fell to the floor, hitting his head.
Several concert-goers with medical backgrounds rushed over. Greg came to and was verbalizing before firefighters arrived, according to audience member Joseph Vignieri.
Feeling stronger after a few minutes of rest and having drunk some water, Greg initially wanted to get back up and perform the final song of the set by standing in front of the audience. “It’s the song that ties it all together. It would have felt so incomplete by not having done it,” Greg explained, adding “I love that last song so much.”
The KFD paramedics initially refused, but a deal was struck: Greg could have a few minutes before the trip to the ER if he would perform from the gurney, which is exactly what he did, and in a strong voice, as the red strobe lights of the waiting rescue squad outside flashed through the windows of the chapel.
“It was surreal,” Vignieri said. “There wasn’t anybody who wasn’t moved.”
Especially after having no idea if Greg was alive or dead in the seconds after he flopped to the floor. “Everybody thought he had a heart attack,” Vignieri said.
Greg spent several hours in the ER before being released at 1 a.m.
There were easy explanations for what happened, according to Greg. His hectic day included dealing with a flat tire and having no time for lunch or dinner. To make matters worse, Greg said he tried to avoid drinking water to enable him to get through the concert without having to take an intermission.
Tests performed in ER revealed no problems other than a low potassium level. And he survived the bump on the head without a concussion.
The episode is a testament to Greg’s high level of dedication and caring, said Vignieri, a longtime colleague and friend. “He always shows up and gives and never wants any accolades,” he said. “He quietly works and makes a difference on many levels.”
Saturday's concert was part of the college's annual Lakeside Piano Festival. Accompanying Greg was his good friend and colleague Wael Farouk, who later visited him in the ER.
Video of Greg performing is below.
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