Salvador, March 2013

So here is my long-awaited update on what I did during my time in Salvador, Brazil, over spring break.  I arrived there after an epic long journey on Friday morning, and stayed for about two weeks, until the second Thursday after that.

Salvador, Brazil

All the previous times that I visited the program, I just stayed with my then-boyfriend, but this time, since we're not dating anymore, I stayed with two female friends from the orchestra, L and G.  One is the principal cellist, and the other is the principal violist.  I had a really great time living with them! They are really sweet girls, and made me feel so welcome and at home.  They invited me to do a lot of things and helped me to have a great time.  I really hope next time I go back I can stay with them again, since I enjoyed it so much!

Whenever I go to help out with NEOJIBA, I do similar things, but my days never follow an exact set schedule.  The mornings are the most variable part of my day.  Sometimes I go to another nucleo (branch of the program), outside the center of the city, to help out and teach there.  Other times, I teach private lessons to the horn players in the TCA nucleo, as space permits.  And finally, sometimes I just stay home and practice, or do other chores that are necessary.  After lunch, I usually either teach a sectional for the horn players of the second-level orchestra, give some private lessons, or attend the full rehearsal of the second orchestra, where I often play with the horn section and give advice from within the group.  In the evenings, I work with the horn section of the top orchestra.  Usually, I perform with the top orchestra while I am there, but this time, because of the concert schedule, I couldn't.  Instead, I played with them in some of the rehearsals to offer advice, gave private lessons by pulling students out of the full rehearsal, or observed the rehearsals and offered comments.  My workday ends at 8pm, so usually afterwards I would go out to dinner with friends, or do other kinds of social activities.

Teatro Castro Alves

Because of the aforementioned breakup, some things were obviously quite different this time.  However, things were not weird as I had expected.  Between Y and I, everything was exactly the same, except minus the dating part, which was just as I had hoped.  It was really great to see him again and hang out after so much time without really talking.  Also, being single this time made many orchestra members seem more comfortable inviting me to do things with them, which I really appreciated.  Also, since I was living with people with whom I really couldn't speak English, it made me practice my Portuguese even more than normal.  Though when I arrived I had forgotten a lot since my previous trip, I soon remembered all that I had forgotten and learned even more vocabulary.  I also finally got to the point where I was able to start self-correcting some of my more difficult grammatical errors in Portuguese.

In my limited free time, I did some fun things.  On my first full day there, I went to a concert of the Orquestra Sinfonica da Bahia, which was quite interesting as it contrasted poems of Carlos Drummond de Andrade with music written on themes from his poetry.  I wasn't very familiar with his poetry before, but I really enjoyed the readings they presented at the concert, so I think I will do my final project for my Portuguese poetry class about him.

Açaí na tigela

I also ate a lot of açaí.  Açaí, pronounced uh-sai-EE, is a very trendy fruit in the US right now, but we don't eat it the way they do in Brazil.  There, açaí is usually served na tigela, or in a bowl, as opposed to the fusion drinks that are all the rage here. The fruit is frozen and then blended to make a kind of thick milkshake texture, and is usually served with bananas and granola.  You can also go to specialty shops where you can order it infused with other fruit flavors.  I tried a lot of different flavors but I think my favorite was com abacaxí, with pineapple.

Praia Porto da Barra

And of course, any trip to Salvador would be incomplete without visiting one of their world-famous beaches! I only had really two free days, and one of them was rainy, so we just went to a city beach, called Porto da Barra.  This beach lies right on the boundary between the Atlantic Ocean and the Baía de Todos os Santos (Bay of all the Saints), and you can swim on either side.  We chose to swim on the bay side, since there were fewer rocks there and the waves were calmer.  The water was super refreshing in the 100-degree heat, but when I was on land I stayed in the shade of the umbrella.  With my gringo skin, I can easily get burned in under ten minutes in the harsh Brazilian sun.

Additionally, I learned how to cook some new Brazilian foods, so look for the recipes up here sometime soon!


Until next time!

Lauren

My life since Jan 26

I have been quite busy in the past few weeks, but now that I have been holed up in my dorm room thanks to Snowstorm Nemo, I am ready to update you on what I have been doing.

"criptocardiograma" by August de Campos,
just in time for Valentine's Day!

As usual, my Portuguese class has been kicking my butt.  I know I'm only taking two real classes but my the homework for this course really takes forever.  However, one fascinating poet I have discovered through this course is Augusto de Campos.  It may seem a bit gimicky but I find it so fun, especially after reading so much dry boring poetry!  My favorite of his works is the "criptocardiograma".  You can appreciate the poem even if you don't speak Portuguese - the end result is kind of trans-lingual.  To read the poem, first you have to decode the symbols using the letters in the word bank on the left of the flash player.  Once you solve the puzzle, you will understand what I mean about not needing to speak Portuguese in order to understand.  Once you finish that, you can explore all the other interesting works of this contemporary Brazilian poet.

Of course, I also have been working on my auditions.  I had on audition since I last wrote about my daily life in Washington, DC.  It was nice to get home once again this semester and see friends and family living in that area.  It started to feel for a while like I was in NoVA more than I was here in Connecticut!  Because of the huge snowstorm, though, I had to cancel my trip home this weekend.  I was supposed to audition for the Marine Band in DC, but I had to cancel my audition since I couldn't find a way to get there.  The trains and buses were shut down, and my friend who could have driven us couldn't dig his car out.  So that means I'm just looking ahead to three more auditions in the next week, and then I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, with only two more auditions after that!

I made it to the top of a 15-foot pile of snow
in the aftermath of the storm!

Despite the snow, I have spent a lot of time outside in the past few days.  On the day after the record snowfall of 34 inches (more than half my height!!!) I went outside with my friend S to go exploring.  We walked all over the city of New Haven, got coffee at the only venue open (Dunkin' Donuts, of course), and then walked to an amazing sledding hill another friend let me know about.  There we met up with a whole group of people from the School of Music and a fantastic time was had by all.  School has now been cancelled since Friday afternoon, though my Friday morning classes were cancelled by the teacher as well, and they've already cancelled through Tuesday! I'm getting pretty stir-crazy here at home, which brings me to my next topic...

I signed up for a 5K! Running a 5K is one of my 25 goals to accomplish before my 25th birthday in November.  The one I signed up for is on March 3, and takes place on the Yale campus, so I don't have to worry about how to get there without a car.  So I am beginning my training.  I already run somewhat regularly (outdoors when the weather permits, and inside the rest of the time), so I'm not doing the ever-popular Couch-to-5K plan.  I instead made my own training plan for myself, which basically involves running a few miles 3-4 days per week (I get to choose whether I want to run again on the fourth day or do some other kind of physical activity).  I guess the training plan is more about being consistent rather than an actual distance to run.  Anyways, I made it into a sticker chart that is currently hanging on the side of my fridge, and I've been following it so far (all four days since it started snowing and I got bored...).

Just a few final tidbits before I go:

-I started reading Moby Dick (another one of my 25 things to do before my 25th birthday).  It's really good so far, though I was really shocked by how racist the narrator is! I'm about 40% done now, so I'll probably have a summary for you in a few weeks.

-I found out that I was awarded a Presidential Fellowship from the University of Georgia!  That means I will receive a generous stipend to do my doctorate there.  I'm still not 100% sure I'll go - I want to wait to hear from everywhere before I make up my mind - but things are looking good for me to end up there.

-As most of you know, I often travel to Brazil to work for a youth orchestra program there.  I'm happy to announce I'll be returning there for a week and a half during my spring break this March!  With the orchestra, I will also be traveling to Oman to play some concerts with the orchestra there during the last four days of the break. I couldn't be more excited!

Until next time!

Lauren

A Look Back at 2012

Ok, I know I already posted my New Year's Eve post yesterday, but I thought it might be interesting to write a little snippet about what happened each month this year.  (AKA, I know I'll forget promptly what I did, so it would be good to write down at least some of it for posterity.)

Visiting NYC with Yuri in January

January -  Yuri was still visiting me for most of this month.  We were living in my dorm room in New Haven, where it was super cold, and doing tourist things in NYC, and eating out a lot.  I was very happy to have him there, but very sad because I knew he would be leaving very soon.

Eating Louis' Lunch in February

February -  This was a tough month.  Yuri had just left and I was in the throes of a lot of difficult schoolwork for my music history and Portuguese classes.  The weather outside really was frightful and I felt very gloomy and alone in New Haven. :(  I did, however, discover a wonderful New Haven establishment known as Louis' Lunch.  Louis' Lunch is the home of the first ever hamburger.  They cook it on vertical griddles and have strict restrictions about what toppings you are allowed to use.  They won't even let you put ketchup on! But rightly so, because they are the most delicious hamburgers I have ever had the privilege of eating.

Visiting NEOJIBA in March

March -  March was much better than February for me.  I took off a few days from school on either end of our two-week spring break and went to Brazil for three weeks.  Whenever I go, I work for an El-Sistema program there called NEOJIBA, teaching, performing with the orchestra, and doing other various musical tasks.  I really like working with my students, but of course the best thing was to visit Yuri.  Pictured here are the permanent horn teacher and the horn players from the younger of the two orchestras in NEOJIBA.

My older sister getting married in April

April - This was a super exciting month because it is the month when my older sister got married!  She and her husband had been dating for about three years before they got engaged, much of it long distance.  After the engagement, he moved to Germany, where she has a job, and the planned the whole wedding from Frankfurt! The wedding took place in Virginia.  We were all really happy that they got married, though I didn't like my bridesmaid dress at all.  They seem really happy with married life, so that's really sweet, but I haven't seen them since the wedding, because my brother-in-law is trying to sort out his visa status, and thus can't come to the US until it's all figured out, and my sister is so busy with her job that she couldn't even get time off to come visit us for Christmas!

Visiting Brazil, Yuri, and NEOJIBA in May

May - I left Yale on the first day after I finished my exams and went to my parents' house for less than 24 hours, and then flew back to Brazil for six more weeks.  There, I did pretty much the same thing as I did when I visited in March, except they also had me go visit a new "nucleo" very far from where I lived, to help with the beginning horn students there.  I had a great time as usual, though I worked my butt off!  In this picture, Yuri and I were enjoying our daily relaxed coffee.

The horn section of Music Academy of the West 2012
with one of our teachers in June

June - After my time with NEOJIBA was up, I flew to my parents' house, again for under 24 hours.  Then I was off to Santa Barbara, California, to participate in the Music Academy of the West.  During this eight-week program, I learned a lot through orchestral playing, chamber music, and private lessons.  I would highly recommend this program for anyone serious about making a career in classical music! I'm just sad I can't go back this summer - it conflicts with the summer chamber music workshop I'm starting in my hometown.

On the bus with MAW friends in July

July - In July, I was still at Music Academy of the West.  I got to be really good friends with two trumpet players, and we hung out a lot.  This picture was taken on the bus after we watched the fireworks on Independence Day from the pier in downtown Santa Barbara.  I think in July is when Music Academy got so busy.  By the end, I felt like it was another semester of school because it was so many weeks long, and so much work! I was usually playing from 9 am until 6 or 7 pm with very few breaks.

Harbison Quintet performance at MAW in August

August - In August, Music Academy came to a close, but not before I had two important performances within two days!  First, I had a solo performance of the Hindemith Sonata in E-flat, and the next day, my wind quintet performed the Harbison Quintet.  Both performances were very successful, which made a great conclusion to my time at MAW.  Afterwards, I went home for the last week of August, for the first week of true relaxation since before Yuri arrived the previous December.  In late August, Yuri and I decided to break up.  It was a mutual decision because the long distance was becoming way too hard for us to keep up.  Also, both of us were getting some great career opportunities and felt like we needed to be able to pursue them without outside influences.

Tubing with friends in September

September - On the first weekend of September, I chaperoned a trip of the youth group I used to belong to when I was in high school.  We went to a river house owned by one of the other chaperones. It was a pretty fun trip; one of my best friends from high school was also chaperoning  so we hung out a lot.  There was a lot of playing of board games and tubing on the river!  The next week, I went back to school, where I had to get down to business preparing for an audition for a professional orchestra that I was going to take in October.

Dressed as Tetris pieces in October

October - In October, my wind octet at school grew very close, and we ended up deciding to make a group costume for Halloween!  We made life-size Tetris costumes, and wore them to a couple parties.  They were super popular.  Also, at the end of the month, I did my first audition for a professional orchestra, in New Orleans.  I advanced to the second round, which was my goal, but didn't get any further because I was so stressed out about all the airports being shut down for Hurricane Sandy!  I ended up getting stuck in Louisiana for a week, during which some friends of an acquaintance of my sister took me in.  Coincidentally, the husband of this couple that I stayed with, is best friends with one of my good friends from both years I did YOA, and he had his recital while I was there!  It was great to reunite with an old friend, make so many new friends, and get to know a city I'd never previously visited during my week there!

Soup cooked by Sarah and me in November

November - In November, I did a lot of school work and preparation for my recital, which was in December.  I had a lot of makeup work from missing a whole week of school while stranded in New Orleans.  I was also very busy preparing for my degree recital, which took place in December.  Sarah was living with me for five weeks because of major issues with her apartment, and we started cooking together regularly, resulting in some delicious French Onion Soup and many nights of all-yellow dinners (macaroni and cheese, scrambled eggs, bananas, and orange juice).  At the end of the month, it was my birthday, so Sarah and I had a joint party - me for my birthday, and Sarah for finally resolving her living situation and getting a room in the same dorm where I live.

My recital in December

December - I started off December with my degree recital, in which I performed a huge variety of repertoire.  I think it went pretty well, but I have yet to receive my recording, so I'm not really sure yet.  A few days before this I restarted this blog, which I had pretty much neglected since 2010.  After one more week of classes, I returned to my parent's house once more, where I celebrated Christmas and New Year's, as you read about in previous posts.





So that was my year in an extremely large nutshell! Thanks for bearing with me.  Your reward for getting through this super long post is this photo of a guinea pig wearing a sombrero!

Until next time!

Lauren

Endings in Brazil and Beginnings in Colombia

Saturday was supposed to be the day when I would finally see the beach here. Unfortunately, I woke up to a sky full of clouds and a periodic sprinkling of rain. In the morning, while most of my friends were sleeping in after a late night out on Friday, I got some practicing done and also wrote my whole previous blog entry. For lunch we were going to go to a restaurant where they sell traditional Bahian food, but it was closed for some reason, so instead we ate at the food court at the mall. The food court here is much different than in any American mall I’ve visited before. Instead of just things like McDonald’s and some fake Chinese restaurants, this mall had sit-down restaurants. Even the take-out was classier than in the United States – we ordered our meals and then when we picked them up they were on real plates, with real metal utensils and everything. Also, instead of just the chicken dish that I ordered, it came with three sides. It was like something you would have in a real restaurant, rather than fast food.

In the afternoon, since it wasn’t beach weather, we went to see the sights of Salvador. First we went to this big hill with a huge statue of Jesus on the top, which also overlooked the old part of the city and the ocean. It was super windy – other than when I was on the Great Wall, it’s the most wind I’ve ever experienced! It was difficult to even stand up straight. Then we went to Salvador’s lighthouse. We didn’t go up, but we walked around the base. Then we went to the Pelourinho, which is the old town of Salvador, which is full of cobblestone alleys. Salvador actually was the first capitol of Brazil and we saw a lot of buildings and churches from the 15^th and 16^th centuries. The Pelourinho was full of souvenir shops, but of course they were all designed for tourists and so I passed on that. It was such a tourist trap that there were Brazilians
on the street handing out ribbons for free to people. You can’t take them though – they use these ribbons to mark the tourists for pick pocketing. Most of the time during this sight-seeing we had to leave all of our stuff in the car except for a few reals (Brazilian currency) and our cameras, just in case. Also in the old town, there were a lot of street performances, which are designed for tourists too but were interesting anyways. There are a few types of music that are specifically from the city of Salvador, which mostly involve African-style drumming. That’s because Salvador is kind of the center of African culture in Brazil. It’s really interesting. There were also a lot of people in traditional dress, but funnily enough only the women were – the men wore Brazil football (soccer) jerseys! I guess that’s a different kind of traditional dress for them.

On Sunday, I finally got to go to the beach! We went to a beach called Ipitanga or something like that. Even though the place it was located was still actually part of the city of Salvador, it was beautiful and just as I imagined Brazilian beaches to be. The waves were pretty rough but I like swimming in the ocean when there are lots of waves. The sand was great, and it was very picturesque. Right before we left there was even a full rainbow that lasted for about five minutes! The tide there is so strong that it covers the entire beach when it comes in, but by that time it had started to rain a little so we decided to just call it a day. I escaped sunburn-free, except for part of my back. But it isn’t too bad and I had a fantastic time!

Monday and Tuesday I gave sectionals in the morning, and then observing full orchestra rehearsal in the afternoons. Monday was an exciting day for me – in the sectional I was finally able to really make them sound like a great horn section! Unfortunately, some members of the section forgot what we worked on in the morning once we got to the afternoon full rehearsal, and two of the six horn players couldn’t make it to the morning rehearsal. If I were here longer, I’m sure I’d be able to make them sound like that in everyday rehearsals. I guess that just means I’ll just need to come for longer next time! If they invite me back, I’m definitely going to learn some Portuguese (and maybe I’ll learn some regardless – it’s a very beautiful language and so similar to Spanish that it won’t be that difficult.

While I was upset to leave Brazil after such a short time there, it was amazing to realize what close friendships I had made in just a few short days. It was incredibly crushing to say my last goodbyes to everyone in the orchestra.

My last night in Brazil was unforgettable. I went out with my usual friends to dinner, and this time we went to this perfect restaurant on the marina. The view was spectacular, the food was amazing, and the company was unbeatable. We got back so late – at about 1:30 in the morning, and I hadn’t even started to pack yet. I’m sure once I get settled in here in Colombia I’m going to realize I forgot some really important things. So far the only thing I know I forgot was this beautiful seashell my friend found for me on the beach. I’m hoping I can get it back somehow.

I’m really hoping I’ll be able to return next year. Numerous members of the orchestra already told me that the horn section was sounding tons better, so hopefully that means they’ll invite me back. Next time, I’m going to go there speaking some Portuguese and stay for a much longer time.

After going to bed probably around 2:45 or so (because I had to pack all my stuff), the driver was coming to get me at 4:45 so I didn’t sleep much at all. The drive to the airport was a mirror of that on my first day in Brazil – a driver with whom I couldn’t communicate at all and kind of a sketchy pick-up situation, but everything worked out fine! To get to Bogotá I had to fly through São Paulo. My first flight took about 2 ½ hours. I then had a lengthy stopover during which I happened to run into a YOA friend from last year. We couldn’t arrange to sit together on the next flight, which was unfortunate because instead I was sitting next to this fat man who was really sketchy, so I couldn’t really sleep at all. That flight was about 5 ½ hours long.

Upon arrival in Colombia, YOA staff members met us. We then had a little free time before getting on the bus. During this free time I was lucky enough to get a yellow fever vaccine. Yippee. Anyways, apparently the trip from the airport to our hotel takes about 5 hours, including our stop for dinner. I know one of my roommates from last tour, but the other one I have yet to meet. Apparently we have auditions first thing tomorrow morning, which should be interesting since I couldn’t practice today at all, and yesterday I didn’t have time to practice much what with everything that was going on, and my whole time at NEOJIBÁ I wasn’t exactly concentrating on the excerpts. But we’ll see. The coach, Javier, knows my playing pretty well so I’m sure things will be fine. I’m excited to meet the other horn players and see all my friends from last summer, but I’m still feeling an intense sadness regarding leaving Salvador.

The view from my apartment in Salvador.

Kathy and me with part of the city of Salvador in the background.

Old town Salvador!

Saudações de Salvador!

I just finished my first week working here with NEOJIBÁ. I arrived on Tuesday at 6:15 am after only sleeping for one hour on the plane, but I was so excited to be here that I was wide-awake. The ride from the airport was pretty interesting. I was waiting at the airport with my suitcase and my horn and stuff and there were random people around waiting for their family members or whatever. I didn’t see anyone with a sign so I figured I should just hang out and wait for the person to show up. After waiting for about 20 minutes (and starting to freak out because I had no way of contacting anyone!) this guy standing next to me started to make a phone call. Then I saw the piece of paper he had in his hand said my name on it! So I greeted him and he took me to the car. It turned out that I could understand less Portuguese than I expected that I would be able to, and he didn’t understand me when I spoke Spanish. We got to the apartment after an awkwardly silent car ride through the sketchy parts of the city and then I had to wait in the lobby for one of my roommates, Sarah, to come down and get me. After what felt like an eternity, I finally got to see where I’m living during this week-and-a-half.

The apartment is located in one of the old towns of Salvador. It’s a short walk to the rehearsal hall and apparently also to the beach, though I haven’t been there yet myself. There are three bedrooms for us three coaches, two bathrooms, a kitchen (but no refrigerator!), and the most wonderful view I have ever experienced. Directly outside our windows is the bay that Salvador is on. Imagine clear warm water and waves breaking on a rocky beach. We have no air conditioning, but that’s no problem because with the windows open we get the wonderful breeze from the ocean, which is just a few minutes away by car.

So far I haven’t been able to go to the beach yet, because I’ve been too busy working during the day, and it’s not safe to go there at night. My job is basically to make the horn section of the orchestra sound better in any way possible. So far I have only had one sectional with them alone; most of the time I watch the full orchestra rehearse and correct small things that I can discuss with individual members of the section quietly between parts of the rehearsal (like intonation and balance). Things I can’t correct quickly (like how to play unison passages in tune, and how to support other members of your section) are much bigger jobs, and thus I haven’t really worked on those with them yet. On Monday and Tuesday I will have a lot more time with them to go over these things.

I was actually surprised by the orchestra when I came. I expected there to be a lot of technical problems, but almost all of them can play their parts well. My main job falls into the second category (things that are impossible to teach within a rehearsal setting) because none of them have experience playing in a great youth orchestra, where you can hear if you’re out of tune, and really feel if the section isn’t together. A few of them mentioned to me that they want to study in the United States and I think just being around other students who have had that orchestra experience would make them automatically adjust their own playing within the section. My job is here, though, and it is certainly a challenge. I tell the principals to lead more and the people playing other parts to make sure to watch and feel the music with the principal, but some of them seem to feel that this kind of work is too abstract to matter much. I hope in our sectionals that we can change this feeling and really start to create a section mentality. This is actually the same problem that is present in the rest of the orchestra as well. There is so much musical talent here, but there aren’t good teachers in this area for a number of instruments so the students are self-taught and often develop bad habits. Also, because they are used to practicing on their own and they don’t have regular coaches for sectionals, many of them have the attitude that if they play their part with the conductor it will be correct. While this would be right in theory, the truth is that in orchestral playing, you follow the principal of your section (and thus the conductor, but indirectly) in order to create a homogenous group sound. I’ve discussed this with members of different sections and I hope that I can make a difference in this way. Because the students within the orchestra generally coach their own sectionals, I think a lot of times the students don’t pay attention to what is being said by their peers. But because I’m a teacher from outside Salvador, some people are more apt to believe what I’m telling them to do rather than what their friends are telling them to do. I was really careful when I first arrived to create a type of relationship with the horn players that is like we’re friends, but at the same time I’m the teacher. I wanted to be on a friend level with them before doing any teaching at all because I want them to realize that I’m actually a student of the horn just like they are. I want them to realize from this the difference in levels between here in Salvador and other places in the world. This city is a bit isolated from the music world and many of the students don’t have good musical role models.

My actual teaching (and communication with my new friends) takes place in a mixture of Spanish and English. The people who speak only Portuguese can understand me when I speak Spanish, and if they speak Portuguese slowly I can usually figure out what they mean. Sometimes I have to speak English and have someone translate for me, though, because the more complex thoughts that I want to describe are beyond my Spanish vocabulary. However, more than one of the Brazilians told me that my level of Spanish pleasantly surprised them. One said, “North Americans always come here and say they can speak Spanish, but they can’t communicate at all!” I’m really glad that I did work on my Spanish before coming, because a definite majority of the orchestra speaks no English at all, but we can communicate in what we call Portañol, a combination of Portuguese and Spanish. I’ve also learned some phrases in Portuguese. For example, Não falo português means I don’t speak Portuguese and Estou com fome means I’m hungry.

Even though I work all day every day and haven’t been to the beach yet doesn’t mean that I’m not having fun too. Everyone here is so friendly and inviting, even more than I had expected! Because there is not refrigerator in the apartment where I’m staying, I eat out for every meal. When we have rehearsal in both the morning and the afternoon, the orchestra provides us with lunch. Most evenings I practice a bit, and then I go out with the other coach from the United States and some friends from the orchestra. Sometimes I watch movies with other people on my computer and just hang out at my apartment. Last night was the birthday of one of my roommates so we went out onto the town to celebrate.

Salvador is such a nice place. I swear that it’s heaven on earth. The people are so friendly and the weather is perfect (about 25º C - and it’s winter right now!). I could seriously live here forever. When I was scheduling my trip here it looked like I would be here for a while on the calendar, but now I’m here and time is moving far too quickly. It isn’t possible to believe that I have so few days remaining in my time here! I’m hoping they will invite me back next summer to help again, and maybe next time I can stay for longer. By staying for a longer amount of time, I would get to see more of the city and area and meet more people, but also I would have more time to really help the orchestra.

While I’m here I’m also preparing for YOA since I have an audition on the first day I arrive there. As you can read, I’m really busy here but having a great time. I got a Brazilian cell phone and it’s free for me to receive international calls. If you want to call me, let me know and I’ll email you my phone number. I’m sorry it has taken me so long to put up my first blog post but I’ve been so busy and we don’t have internet in the apartment so I have to find a time when I can use the wi-fi in the concert hall. Anyways, I’ll write again as soon as I have a chance.

Next tour announced!

I'm really excited for my summer plans! First, I'll be going to Salvador Bahia, Brazil to work for NEOJIBÁ, which is Brazil's El Sistema-style program. I'll be there from June 22 until I leave for Bogotá on June 30. My week will be mostly spent teaching and playing with their orchestra, as well as enjoying their gorgeous beaches.
When I arrive in Bogotá, I'll begin the tour of Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, and Brazil with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas. I'm really excited because I did a tour with them last summer (to the US and Canada), which, while not extremely exciting for me because of the location, was nevertheless very fun. We will be visiting four countries this summer over a period of just over six weeks.
First, the tour starts with a residency in Villavicencio, Colombia. There, we'll be working with the Filharmónica Joven de Colombia in its inaugural concerts. Here is our schedule.
July 9 - Restrepo, Colombia - Villa Valeria
July 10 - Villavicencio, Colombia - Plaza de los Libertadores
July 12 - Ibagué, Colombia - Concha Acústica
July 13 - Armenia, Colombia - Centro de Convenciones
July 14 - Manizales, Colombia - Teatro Fundadores
July 17 - Medellín, Colombia - Teatro Metropolitano
July 19 - Cartagena, Colombia - Plaza de la Aduana - This concert marks Colombia's bicentennial
July 21 - Barranquilla, Colombia - Sala Amira de la Rosa
July 23 - Calí, Colombia - Sala Beethoven
July 25 - Bogotá, Colombia - Teatro Colsubsidios
July 26 - Quito, Ecuador - Casa de la Música
July 30 - Quito, Ecuador - Casa de la Música
July 31 - Quito, Ecuador - Casa de la Música - Recording session with Philip Glass
August 3 - Lima, Perú - Conservatorio Nacional de Música - Presented by Radio Filarmonía
August 3 - Lima, Perú - Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería
August 4 - Lima, Perú - Auditorio Santa Úrsula de San Isidro
August 7 - Paulínia, Brazil - Teatro Municipal
August 8 - Paulínia, Brazil - Community Concert
August 10 - São Paulo, Brazil - Teatro Bradesco
August 11 - Poços de Caldas, Brazil - Teatro Municipal
August 12 - Ribeirao Preto, Brazil - Teatro Pedro II
August 13 - Araraquara, Brazil - Teatro Municipal
August 15 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Teatro Municipal
It should be a fun tour, not just because of the places we're going, the people in the orchestra, or the great music we're playing (including Mahler 4, Shostakovich 9, Brahms 1, and a bunch of world premieres by Philip Glass), but also because many of my friends from the World Orchestra live in these cities, so I'll get to see all of them without having to wait for the next World Orchestra tour!