Rehearsal, Rehearsal and More Rehearsal…..oh and some stargazing

Well, its been a pretty eventful couple of days. We had our first rehearsal with Benjamin Zander and if there is one word to describe him it is energetic. Really he just exudes enthusiasm and never seems to tire. He is a great musician but what impressed me most was his exceptional gift as an educator. He spent much of the first rehearsal having various sections play in isolation, allowing us to hear how each part fit into the greater fabric of the work and at the same time to allow us to really marvel at the excellence of Brahms’ skills as a composer and orchestrator. The Fourth Symphony, like much of Brahms’ music, is extraordinarily emotionally complex and the group, in particular the winds, are really responding well. That is another thing that bears mentioning. It has been quite a phenomenon to observe the progression of the group over the last few days. Every day we get a little better, a little more comfortable and more used to our surroundings. We arrived here as strangers in a strange land, well most of us anyway. The best way to describe the first rehearsal is tentative. Since then we have had more time to get to know each other, more time to play with each other, time to practice and have gotten comfortable in our lodgings. Overall, everyone is really starting to embrace this whole experience which leads to excellent music making.Yesterday was the first of a couple “cultural days” that we will take part in during our time in Chile. We had an early morning rehearsal and then were whisked away to nearby Vicuna, the birthplace of the poet and national Gabriela Mistral. The drive took us through the mountains , revealing some extraordinary scenery along the way. We arrived at the museum that stands at the place of her birth and were well received by local members of the community as well as some student musicians who played some Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky for us (unconducted!). A few members of the orchestra played some short chamber works which were much appreciated by everyone in the museum. Afterward we headed to a nearby vineyard where Pisco is produced. Pisco is a clear, and very strong, liquor that is made from grapes. Pisco is to the Chileans what Vodka is to the Russians. We took a brief tour and were able to do a bit of tasting. After yet another dinner of chicken and rice we headed to the real treat of the evening, an observatory called Malluca. Under the guidance of a local astronomer we were able to look through a very expensive telescope and see the planets Saturn and Mars as well as various star clusters. Apparently the conditions for stargazing is are excellent in Chile and it is the site of many foreign owned telescopes and observatories, the most expensive of which cost one billion (yes one billion) Euro to make. In exchange for allowing the Europeans to build telescopes on their soil, Chilean astronomers are allowed a certain amount of time to use the telescope, free of charge. As our astronomer quipped ” they have the telescopes, we have the sky.” The whole experience was very memorable and something I never expected I would ever get to experience.On a personal note, I gave my first phone interview today. Haha. I got a call from a reporter in Valparaiso who works for the paper there. Somehow, I’m guessing through one of my family members there, she learned of my involvement in YOA my ties to the area. It was short, and comprised mainly of me answering questions about my family there, my experiences in the country, my memories of the city and my personal road to this point. Hopefully I’ll get a copy of the paper somehow. Still, it was a real surprise for me. Now my name will be in print! The rest of our time in our residency in La Serena, which end of the 13th, will consist mostly of rehearsals and sectionals. We give two concerts here before we leave, both free to the public. One of them will be in a local gymnasium which holds about four thousand people. Multiple people have told me that I should expect it to be packed. I am really looking forward to that. The people here have been very kind to us and seem enthusiastic to hear us play. There are banners advertising our presence hanging all over town. It’s pretty exciting. That’s all for now. Oh and here is a link to the article: http://edicionimpresa.soychile.cl/valparaiso/2012/07/07/full/5/