Hello All,

So the trip is progressing well.  Not without challenges but that keeps things interesting and gives me things to write about.  So where was I?  From Sofia Jo (travel assistant) and I traveled to Ljubijana the capital of Slovenia.  We were faced with multiple cancellations at the airport trying to get to Ljubijana but that is where she truly earned her money.  We were supposed to get into the town around 5 PM and didn’t end up getting to our rooms until about 11 PM. But we had the next day off, my last one for a couple weeks so I was going to enjoy it.   A very cute upscale tiny town.  The orchestra that I worked with was the Slovenian Philharmonic whom I heard perform a really difficult concert the evening of my day off.  A really high level group that rarely plays any type of popular music.

This offered an interesting set of challenges.  They play really well but working on stylistic issues was the big thing.  Orchestras like this want to intensely play every note.  They take the notes on the page very seriously.  Once we got them to loosen up they were amazing.  I heard that the concert came off well although I wasn’t there.

Following Ljubijana I headed to Serbia to work with Camerata Serbica in Belgrade.  They were really excited to be part of the concert and this was going to be an indoor coliseum performance.  Serbia has a long history conflict but I casino internet found double down casino the people there very warm and open.  And they love to have a good time.  The challenge with this program is the amount of music to prepare so with this group I really had to work hard and fast to get the music together.

After the final rehearsal we all went out to a lovely jazz club and had a wonderful dinner by the river.  The temperature was perfect and was a fitting end to the hard work we all put in.

The next location was  Budapest, Hungary to work with the Dohnanyi Orchestra of Buddfok.  Again we had plane delays and traffic issues to contend with.  So rehearsal begins at 1 PM and the taxi is getting me there about 12:55 so I am scrambling to get my music in order, plus I am tired from an early morning flight, plus I’m hungry, plus I’m a little dehydrated, plus I have a headache

and finally I have 6 hours of rehearsals ahead of me.  Not a good formula for fun.  But actually the time passed by quickly and it is a really good group.  The unique aspect about this group is that it started as a youth orchestra about 15 years ago and became a professional orchestra.  So the players have been together for a long time and they just enjoy playing and making music.  There probably wasn’t anyone in the group over 40 years old.  They are a group that play a lot of concerts together so really know each others playing well. I left there headed to Russia.  Oh Russia, check back later and I will tell you about my Russian experience.

Peace,

Chelsea