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Who knew an Owl could play with a broken neck?

Stick your neck out. She won by a neck. Up to my neck. We all know how important the neck is to people, and the same holds true for stringed instruments. So imagine what a pain in the neck it was when Rice University senior Kevin Jablonski arrived in Germany for the Sperger International Competition to find that the rare, centuries-old double bass he was planning to play had been broken at the neck during the journey. After 18 months of preparation, he thought the competition was over for him before it started. Still, he didn’t give up. Jablonski found a loaner instrument, grabbed a few hours of practice and played his heart out for the judges. It was neck and neck, but in the end he claimed second prize and the award for the best interpretation of the required work by Frank Proto. And, better yet, the broken bass has a neck that’s as good as new.