Last night, hostel friend Will and I went to a concert at St. Martins-in-the-field. I had looked at the wrong day, so I thought we were going to hear the Haydn trumpet concerto and other things. Instead, it was the Creation. It was alright- nothing to rave about, but not a loss of £6. There was a guy playing alto trombone, though, which was pretty cool.
Today was my hostel friend Brian's last day in London. We met for breakfast downstairs, but the line was insanely long. Instead of waiting around for cereal and tea, we wandered down the street and found a full English breakfast for £5. Much tastier. After a little walking around, we both headed to the tube station. He went to Heathrow, and I went to the Barbican. At 2:30, there was an LSO Discovery Family Concert entitled "Global Express." I felt relatively awkward, as I was not with children ages 7-12 or, well, with anyone, for that matter. I just sat and read my Berlioz book until concert time. I ended up sitting next to a woman, her son, daughter-in-law from America, and 4 grandchildren. She told me I wasn't alone- "Look at all the people here with you!"
As the orchestra began to come onto the stage, I saw Matt, the bassist I ran into in Chicago. I caught him afterwards. He had me go backstage, where he found a schedule and told me when the next few rehearsals are. Starting Wednesday, I have 9 straight days of LSO-related events. I am not complaining.
On my way out of the backstage area, I introduced myself to two of the trumpet. I asked if I could possibly get a lesson sometime this summer (they asked which...I'm not picky). "Well, since you're giving us such a long time frame, I think it would be cruel of us to say no." We'll talk sometime later in the week to discuss further details. I told them where I was from. One of them actually had been to Bowling Green to teach some workshops several years ago! He is the only person I have yet spoken to who knows of BG.
The concert itself was quite fun. The orchestra played several pieces written by famous composers about/from different parts of the world. One piece included was the Ode to Joy...with words written specially for the occasion by the presenter. The audience was invited to sing along.
I realize that it is sickeningly lame to say, but hearing the LSO play music from Harry Potter is quite a magical experience.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Cambridge
My friend, Adam, graduated from Robinson College, Cambridge, a few years ago. Since he lived in and loves the town, he offered to take me around. At the last minute, we decided to leave 2 hours earlier than originally planned. This was a very good idea, as many things were closed by 3:30.
We walked nonstop for 3.5 hours. We hit King's College chapel, walked through Clare's beautiful gardens (Nick Rutter goes to Clare), the gardens of his college, Trinity's Wren Library (where we saw a handwritten Winnie the Pooh, Newton's notebook, and other old books that had to do with Trinity) walked past the university library, and wandered through town. In the afternoon, we met up with his friend, Paul (who went to Trinity), and sat by the river for a bit. After the brief rest, we all went punting. We ended up on one of the bigger punts with a bunch of random people. The guys ended up exchanging stories with the punter or telling the versions of his stories they had heard. Let me tell you a couple of the fun ones:
- Trinity College was founded by Henry VIII. A statue of him appears above the main gate. In his left hand, he holds the royal orb. In his right, he holds....a wooden chair leg. Students stole the scepter and replaced it with what is still there today.
<-- Henry
- Some students somehow managed to climb to the top of King's College chapel and placed an orange traffic cone on one of the corner spires. The school brought in a scaffold company. Once the scaffolding had been set up, the students climbed up, again, and moved the cone to the other side of the building.
<-- King's College chapel R, Clare L
- There is a wooden mallard up high in the dining hall of Trinity College. Students attempt to sneak into the room after it's locked up, steal the mallard, take a picture of it with them as far away from Cambridge as possible, and return it without being seen. If successful, they take the picture to the dean and are admitted to the exclusive Mallard Club. They're invited to the Dean's summer garden parties. The mallard was never there when Paul went hunting for it.
- Porters are the first level of discipline. They stand around and wear bowlers. They can only enforce things if they are wearing their hats. Adam once had a porter walk up to him before realizing he wasn't wearing his hat. He walked all the way back to the porter place, fetched his hat, then returned to tell him off.
-Adam heard that this took place at Trinity. I think Paul said he heard that it happened at St. John's: Two students dressed up- one as a porter, one as an American tourist. The only people allowed to walk on the grass at the colleges are Fellows (i.e. profs/researchers, etc). The "American" began walking on the grass. The "porter" ran up to him, pulled a gun out of his belt, and shot a blank at the "American," who then dropped "dead." The "porter turned around, stuck the gun back in his belt, and said, "Damned tourists."
<- nonporter & American tourist
I am quite proud to announce the fact that I managed to stay out of the river when I volunteered to attempt to punt. I almost ran us head on into a bridge and another punt, but we all survived and kept dry.
After our wandering was complete, the 3 of us resumed our places underneath the beautiful weeping willow outside of Trinity and talked for a while. It was a picturesque way to end a perfect day (I don't know how I'm not sunburned) in an beautiful town.
For those of you on Facebook, my computer isn't letting me upload any of the 350 pictures I took during the day. Hopefully it will let me do so soon.
We walked nonstop for 3.5 hours. We hit King's College chapel, walked through Clare's beautiful gardens (Nick Rutter goes to Clare), the gardens of his college, Trinity's Wren Library (where we saw a handwritten Winnie the Pooh, Newton's notebook, and other old books that had to do with Trinity) walked past the university library, and wandered through town. In the afternoon, we met up with his friend, Paul (who went to Trinity), and sat by the river for a bit. After the brief rest, we all went punting. We ended up on one of the bigger punts with a bunch of random people. The guys ended up exchanging stories with the punter or telling the versions of his stories they had heard. Let me tell you a couple of the fun ones:
- Trinity College was founded by Henry VIII. A statue of him appears above the main gate. In his left hand, he holds the royal orb. In his right, he holds....a wooden chair leg. Students stole the scepter and replaced it with what is still there today.
<-- Henry- Some students somehow managed to climb to the top of King's College chapel and placed an orange traffic cone on one of the corner spires. The school brought in a scaffold company. Once the scaffolding had been set up, the students climbed up, again, and moved the cone to the other side of the building.
<-- King's College chapel R, Clare L- There is a wooden mallard up high in the dining hall of Trinity College. Students attempt to sneak into the room after it's locked up, steal the mallard, take a picture of it with them as far away from Cambridge as possible, and return it without being seen. If successful, they take the picture to the dean and are admitted to the exclusive Mallard Club. They're invited to the Dean's summer garden parties. The mallard was never there when Paul went hunting for it.
- Porters are the first level of discipline. They stand around and wear bowlers. They can only enforce things if they are wearing their hats. Adam once had a porter walk up to him before realizing he wasn't wearing his hat. He walked all the way back to the porter place, fetched his hat, then returned to tell him off.
-Adam heard that this took place at Trinity. I think Paul said he heard that it happened at St. John's: Two students dressed up- one as a porter, one as an American tourist. The only people allowed to walk on the grass at the colleges are Fellows (i.e. profs/researchers, etc). The "American" began walking on the grass. The "porter" ran up to him, pulled a gun out of his belt, and shot a blank at the "American," who then dropped "dead." The "porter turned around, stuck the gun back in his belt, and said, "Damned tourists."
<- nonporter & American touristI am quite proud to announce the fact that I managed to stay out of the river when I volunteered to attempt to punt. I almost ran us head on into a bridge and another punt, but we all survived and kept dry.
After our wandering was complete, the 3 of us resumed our places underneath the beautiful weeping willow outside of Trinity and talked for a while. It was a picturesque way to end a perfect day (I don't know how I'm not sunburned) in an beautiful town.
For those of you on Facebook, my computer isn't letting me upload any of the 350 pictures I took during the day. Hopefully it will let me do so soon.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Epic.
That word doesn't begin to describe the concert I attended tonight. I wouldn't say that I was completely floored by the orchestra itself, but several factors strongly came into play with my intense reaction. Please allow me to explain myself.
Tonight, the Philharmonia Orchestra played the Berg Violin Concerto and Mahler 6 at the Royal Festival Hall with Esa-Pekka Solonen. Before hand, there was a pre-concert talk with Julian Johnson, a Mahler scholar. I sat in the front row for said talk. He discussed the 6th Symphony, how it's often incorrectly mistaken as being autobiographical and classical, compared it to R. Strauss and Beethoven, and how the 3rd hammer blow was eventually done away with. At the end, there was time for questions. I didn't get the chance to raise mine before he had to end it. He remained onstage, though, so I asked him. I wondered if, because Mahler's conversion to Christianity, the hammer blows had any sort of religous overtones. The 2 existing blows, for instance, might represent Jesus falling twice while carrying the cross. He emphasized how the 3rd could be felt even when it wasn't played. This, perhaps, could represent the crucifixion, no? He said he had never seen my idea talked about, but that it could surely be drawn.
Note: I despise creating nonexisting stories behind artists' work. I only asked this question to see if it actually was an idea of Mahler's, not to make up some sort of second reason for them.
As for the concert itself... The concerto was the first half. I absolutely hated it. I do believe it is the ugliest piece of music I have ever heard professionally performed. Sorry if you're a Berg fan. 6 was the second half. I don't know why, but they played the movements out of order (I could read the 8th horn part)- 1, 3, 2, 4. I jotted down some things that happened during the performance (jotting occurred after the conclusion, of course). If you're interested, feel free to ask to see my notebook when I you next see me, or something. Oh, and another thing that was going through my head was that Solonen looks and kind of acts exactly like Gary Oldman.
When the 4th movement began, I was immediately overcome with intense feelings of fear. The fact that the cybals (eventually FOUR sets of them) were about 6 feet from my right ear, as was the hammer. The bass drum was directly below me. The EIGHT horns were aimed DIRECTLY at my head. As all of the instruments I just mentioned are incredibly important to the piece (i.e. loud), I was in the best possible seat, I do believe.
By the conclusion of the work, I was shaking ever-s0-slightly and my cheek was slightly dampened with a single trail of tearage. I'm not going to lie- it was quite moving.
The man next to me immediately asked me if I enjoyed it. Apparently the tear trail didn't announce my answer to him. He wondered where I was from and why I was in London. I can hardly imagine what my reaction would be if I could hear the LSO play Mahler 6 live...Until that day comes, I look forward to the other upcoming concerts: a children's concert at 2:30 and chamber concert at 7:30 on Sunday. Another LSO on Thursday, the King's Singers Friday.
Bring it.
Tonight, the Philharmonia Orchestra played the Berg Violin Concerto and Mahler 6 at the Royal Festival Hall with Esa-Pekka Solonen. Before hand, there was a pre-concert talk with Julian Johnson, a Mahler scholar. I sat in the front row for said talk. He discussed the 6th Symphony, how it's often incorrectly mistaken as being autobiographical and classical, compared it to R. Strauss and Beethoven, and how the 3rd hammer blow was eventually done away with. At the end, there was time for questions. I didn't get the chance to raise mine before he had to end it. He remained onstage, though, so I asked him. I wondered if, because Mahler's conversion to Christianity, the hammer blows had any sort of religous overtones. The 2 existing blows, for instance, might represent Jesus falling twice while carrying the cross. He emphasized how the 3rd could be felt even when it wasn't played. This, perhaps, could represent the crucifixion, no? He said he had never seen my idea talked about, but that it could surely be drawn.
Note: I despise creating nonexisting stories behind artists' work. I only asked this question to see if it actually was an idea of Mahler's, not to make up some sort of second reason for them.
As for the concert itself... The concerto was the first half. I absolutely hated it. I do believe it is the ugliest piece of music I have ever heard professionally performed. Sorry if you're a Berg fan. 6 was the second half. I don't know why, but they played the movements out of order (I could read the 8th horn part)- 1, 3, 2, 4. I jotted down some things that happened during the performance (jotting occurred after the conclusion, of course). If you're interested, feel free to ask to see my notebook when I you next see me, or something. Oh, and another thing that was going through my head was that Solonen looks and kind of acts exactly like Gary Oldman.
When the 4th movement began, I was immediately overcome with intense feelings of fear. The fact that the cybals (eventually FOUR sets of them) were about 6 feet from my right ear, as was the hammer. The bass drum was directly below me. The EIGHT horns were aimed DIRECTLY at my head. As all of the instruments I just mentioned are incredibly important to the piece (i.e. loud), I was in the best possible seat, I do believe.
By the conclusion of the work, I was shaking ever-s0-slightly and my cheek was slightly dampened with a single trail of tearage. I'm not going to lie- it was quite moving.
The man next to me immediately asked me if I enjoyed it. Apparently the tear trail didn't announce my answer to him. He wondered where I was from and why I was in London. I can hardly imagine what my reaction would be if I could hear the LSO play Mahler 6 live...Until that day comes, I look forward to the other upcoming concerts: a children's concert at 2:30 and chamber concert at 7:30 on Sunday. Another LSO on Thursday, the King's Singers Friday.
Bring it.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Oxford
Yesterday, my new friend, Brian, and I decided to head to Oxford (I say "new" in the normal definition. We met a week ago. In the hostel world, we're old friends).
We awoke to a dreary London day- the first rainy day of my trip. Once in Oxford, things cleared up. Brian and I went our separate ways for a while. I shopped, he got some information on the colleges. We met up at 2, then visited a couple of the colleges together- Christ's Church and New (ironically, New is the oldest of the 35 Oxford colleges). The Great Hall in Harry Potter was filmed at Christ's Church's dining hall.
As it was a beautiful day, I ended up taking 130 pictures. We'll see how that compares to Friday after I spend another beautiful day in Cambridge.
On Tuesday, I went to Regent's Park with Brian and Chris, another hostel friend. We took a stroll through the Queen Mary's Garden where there were many beautiful flowers. We did a bit of shopping, as well. It was a nice leisurely day.
Tomorrow will be spent doing laundry and lounging until the evening. I'm going to see the Philharmonia do Mahler 6 with Icky Picky Salami....I mean Esa Pekka Solonen.
Bed
We awoke to a dreary London day- the first rainy day of my trip. Once in Oxford, things cleared up. Brian and I went our separate ways for a while. I shopped, he got some information on the colleges. We met up at 2, then visited a couple of the colleges together- Christ's Church and New (ironically, New is the oldest of the 35 Oxford colleges). The Great Hall in Harry Potter was filmed at Christ's Church's dining hall.
As it was a beautiful day, I ended up taking 130 pictures. We'll see how that compares to Friday after I spend another beautiful day in Cambridge.
On Tuesday, I went to Regent's Park with Brian and Chris, another hostel friend. We took a stroll through the Queen Mary's Garden where there were many beautiful flowers. We did a bit of shopping, as well. It was a nice leisurely day.
Tomorrow will be spent doing laundry and lounging until the evening. I'm going to see the Philharmonia do Mahler 6 with Icky Picky Salami....I mean Esa Pekka Solonen.
Bed
Sunday, May 24, 2009
The Reason I'm Here.
Today was Day 1 with the LSO. It consisted of "Brahms Discovery Day" and a concert at 7:30. I woke up at 8, got to the Barbican at 9:45ish AM. The concert finished around 9:45 PM.
The Discovery Day schedule began at 10 AM with an LSO open rehearsal. I'm quite glad it worked out this way, as I am yet to hear from my contact about getting into rehearsals. I arrived a few minutes early, so Gareth Davies, the principal flute, and I talked for a bit. It was nice to see him again after a quick meeting in Chicago. The rehearsal was supposed to be finished at 1:30, but got out an hour early. Right after it finished up, I went up to David Alberman, the principal 2nd violin. I never thanked him for escorting me backstage to meet Sir Colin in '07 when the Keeper of the Curtain wouldn't listen to me. We talked for a few minutes. He asked me some questions, etc. etc.
With nothing else to do until the next event at 2:30, I walked the 8 minutes to the LSO St. Luke's, a church that has been transformed into a concert hall. I sat on a bench in the park for a couple of minutes before I realized that I was absolutely starving. To fix this, I walked out the gate and to the nearest cafe. As I sat there chowing down on my panini and sipping away at my Earl Grey, I saw someone walk in with two instrument cases on his back. It was Chi, one of the LSO clarinets. He was going to be playing at the Discovery event. I introduced myself and we chatted as he waited for his take-away (that's take out for you all back home).
The Discovery event began at 2:30 with a talk about Brahms the Progressive. I don't have the program beside me, so I can't give the official title. The professor who gave the lecture said he was suffering from the "piglet flu," but he gave a good talk. At 3:40, there was a little break. Things continued at 4 with a BBC Radio 3 personality discussing Brahms' Clarinet Trio (+piano and cello). After they played, there was another question and answer. When everything was finished, I asked the cellist (the only of the 3 playing in the evening's concert) if she could possibly get Joost, the 2nd bassoonist I met in Chicago, to wait at a stage door for me. He ran off quickly after the rehearsal. She said she would.
When I returned to the Barbican Centre, I had another hour and a half to kill. For half an hour, I sat at a Costa in the Centre and ate some fruit and drank another cup of tea. After the rehearsal, Gareth warned me not to fall asleep during the concert. This second cup of tea helped me to not do that. Tea finished, a little over another hour to go. I decided to go upstairs and switch my seat from the balcony to the lower level. That didn't take long. Still had an hour. I then went up to a walkie-talkie-wearer and asked what I had to do to speak to a player (Joost) after the concert. He told me to ask to be put on the backstage list at the advace tickets counter.
About 5 steps after turning to walk to the counter, who should be walking towards me, but Joost! I waved, and he smiled, stopped to talk, and shook my hand. He said, "Hello, Ashley!" and introduced me to his mother, who happened to be with him. He told her that we met in Chicago. His mother asked me how long I am going to be here. He admitted that he had been running around quite a bit. He asked, "So will you be playing trumpet, or only conducting?" I was very surprised that he remembered what instrument I play- I had only mentioned it in passing in March. "You are so talented...you play trumpet, conduct, and do art..." At that, I pulled out a small gift I had thrown together the night before I left for the UK- a tiny painting of part of a bassoon (Gareth got part of a flute, as well!). We then departed and I sat until the concert began.
I didn't realize that the seat for which I exchanged my old ticket happened to be in the FIRST row on the end nearest one of the stage doors. I'll tell you that my neck was not happy with me for watching Sir Colin most of the time. Almost 90 degrees to the right for an hour and a half. While waiting for the concert to begin, I was shocked to hear someone shout my name from the next level up. It was Brian, my hostel friend! I was happy to see someone actually came after I told them about it. While we were standing around during the interval (that's intermission for those of you back home), Sharon, the piccolo player went running past- but not without saying, "hello! Sorry, I'm in a hurry...we'll catch up later!"
I am pleased to say that the energy of the evening's performance, several chance meetings, and the added help of the tea kept me on the edge of my seat (not literally...that would have hurt my neck even more). The Brahms Violin Concerto soloist and the orchestra definitely deserved the applause they received.
Tomorrow is a bank holiday. This means either everything will be closed or everything will be packed. Perhaps I will go to the concert at St. Martin's....
I believe this post is long enough. Questions? Ask!
The Discovery Day schedule began at 10 AM with an LSO open rehearsal. I'm quite glad it worked out this way, as I am yet to hear from my contact about getting into rehearsals. I arrived a few minutes early, so Gareth Davies, the principal flute, and I talked for a bit. It was nice to see him again after a quick meeting in Chicago. The rehearsal was supposed to be finished at 1:30, but got out an hour early. Right after it finished up, I went up to David Alberman, the principal 2nd violin. I never thanked him for escorting me backstage to meet Sir Colin in '07 when the Keeper of the Curtain wouldn't listen to me. We talked for a few minutes. He asked me some questions, etc. etc.
With nothing else to do until the next event at 2:30, I walked the 8 minutes to the LSO St. Luke's, a church that has been transformed into a concert hall. I sat on a bench in the park for a couple of minutes before I realized that I was absolutely starving. To fix this, I walked out the gate and to the nearest cafe. As I sat there chowing down on my panini and sipping away at my Earl Grey, I saw someone walk in with two instrument cases on his back. It was Chi, one of the LSO clarinets. He was going to be playing at the Discovery event. I introduced myself and we chatted as he waited for his take-away (that's take out for you all back home).
The Discovery event began at 2:30 with a talk about Brahms the Progressive. I don't have the program beside me, so I can't give the official title. The professor who gave the lecture said he was suffering from the "piglet flu," but he gave a good talk. At 3:40, there was a little break. Things continued at 4 with a BBC Radio 3 personality discussing Brahms' Clarinet Trio (+piano and cello). After they played, there was another question and answer. When everything was finished, I asked the cellist (the only of the 3 playing in the evening's concert) if she could possibly get Joost, the 2nd bassoonist I met in Chicago, to wait at a stage door for me. He ran off quickly after the rehearsal. She said she would.
When I returned to the Barbican Centre, I had another hour and a half to kill. For half an hour, I sat at a Costa in the Centre and ate some fruit and drank another cup of tea. After the rehearsal, Gareth warned me not to fall asleep during the concert. This second cup of tea helped me to not do that. Tea finished, a little over another hour to go. I decided to go upstairs and switch my seat from the balcony to the lower level. That didn't take long. Still had an hour. I then went up to a walkie-talkie-wearer and asked what I had to do to speak to a player (Joost) after the concert. He told me to ask to be put on the backstage list at the advace tickets counter.
About 5 steps after turning to walk to the counter, who should be walking towards me, but Joost! I waved, and he smiled, stopped to talk, and shook my hand. He said, "Hello, Ashley!" and introduced me to his mother, who happened to be with him. He told her that we met in Chicago. His mother asked me how long I am going to be here. He admitted that he had been running around quite a bit. He asked, "So will you be playing trumpet, or only conducting?" I was very surprised that he remembered what instrument I play- I had only mentioned it in passing in March. "You are so talented...you play trumpet, conduct, and do art..." At that, I pulled out a small gift I had thrown together the night before I left for the UK- a tiny painting of part of a bassoon (Gareth got part of a flute, as well!). We then departed and I sat until the concert began.
I didn't realize that the seat for which I exchanged my old ticket happened to be in the FIRST row on the end nearest one of the stage doors. I'll tell you that my neck was not happy with me for watching Sir Colin most of the time. Almost 90 degrees to the right for an hour and a half. While waiting for the concert to begin, I was shocked to hear someone shout my name from the next level up. It was Brian, my hostel friend! I was happy to see someone actually came after I told them about it. While we were standing around during the interval (that's intermission for those of you back home), Sharon, the piccolo player went running past- but not without saying, "hello! Sorry, I'm in a hurry...we'll catch up later!"
I am pleased to say that the energy of the evening's performance, several chance meetings, and the added help of the tea kept me on the edge of my seat (not literally...that would have hurt my neck even more). The Brahms Violin Concerto soloist and the orchestra definitely deserved the applause they received.
Tomorrow is a bank holiday. This means either everything will be closed or everything will be packed. Perhaps I will go to the concert at St. Martin's....
I believe this post is long enough. Questions? Ask!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
The Weekend, Already?
I think my new hostel-friend, Brian, and I deserve medals for how far we walked last night. We started out walking from the hostel to St. Paul's with Rusty, from Australia. We walked up the steps to the 2nd highest level (highest is closed, still), back down, and back to the hostel. We rested up for a bit, then took the tube to Picadilly (where I bought some comfy £10 trainers), tube to Trafalgar Square (well, Charing Cross), ate dinner, walked to Buckingham Palace, through St. James' Park to Parliament, then took the tube back to the hostel.
I was going to go to the Tate Britain with Jochim, a German staying in the hostel. We met up for breakfast, said we'd leave in an hour, but he didn't show up. I eventually headed off on a trek to Oxford Street to do some shopping. My intention was to walk there and take the tube back. I ended up taking one wrong turn, so I gave up and just took the tube to Oxford Street. I don't know why the heck I decided to go there on a weekend. I mean, yes, it's always busy, but today seemed slightly more so. I'll eventually get around to uploading pictures in a day or two. I guess the drowning in people was worth it- I bought a nifty dress at H&M. When I got back to the hostel, I had a much-needed and quite wonderful hour-long nap.
Tomorrow is the first LSO concert. There is a rehearsal from 10-1:30, a chamber music event 2:30-5:30, and the concert at 7:30. I'll be going to bed early (for real) tonight to rest up.
On Monday, I'm going to meet up with Adam, the 'tour guide' from the Wednesday night adventure. It's a bank holiday, so we're not sure what will or will not be open or completely packed.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Sleep? What's that?
I did not get to bed at a decent hour as I had planned last night. I was checking my email in the basement lounge area before going to bed. A group of people seemed to be having a good time, so I asked to join them. Not long after, we had joined 2 tables together and had a group of about 15 people playing games. The hostel lounge closed, so we decided to go out and look for a place to hang. Everything seemed closed. We eventually ran into a British guy. Someone in our group decided to ask him if he knew of any open places. He was going to give us directions to an area that might have some open clubs, but we convinced him to come with us.
After walking for an eternity, we ended up in Angel, where we found what seemed to be the only open business remaining. It was packed. No matter, we took the giant group inside and had a blast!
When we finally got back to the hostel, I'd imagine it was about 2:30. I felt energetic due to the cold, noise, and walking allover, so I was not ready to sleep. Adam invited me to go up on his roof, which has a breathtaking view of the city. It might be better than St. Paul's view in that you can see St. Paul's.
Today I woke up at 9, had breakfast, and then wandered to Trafalgar Square with Brian, a new friend from Illinois/Pennsylvania. We started out at Trafalgar Square/National Gallery. After a quick lunch at Pret, I returned to the hostel for a nap. We met up later to go to Evensong at Westminster Abbey with the Archbishop of Canterbury presiding. The choir was beyond words.... I shook the Archbishop's hand after the service! If you are unfamiliar, he's kind of like the pope of England...except without the whole Catholic thing.
I'm FOR REAL going to sleep, now, with no intentions of waking before 9 AM.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
No tourists here!
Day 1 and I have already been asked for directions. I was able to successfully help her, as well! I also made it the whole day without taking a nap, which impresses myself.
When I walked into my hostel room (after dragging my suitcase up a couple small and one very large flight of stairs), my neighbor immediately introduced herself. Her name is Amelia, and she is from Portugal. We ended up walking down to Fleet St. where I bought myself a pay-as-you-go T-Mobile phone. We finished up there just in time to get to St. Paul's for choral evensong. They just so happened to be installing the new Bishop of Kensington.
While leaving the cathedral, Amelia said that she would cook dinner for us both. She made a very tasty, yet simple, vegetarian spaghetti with tomatoes, portobello mushrooms, and some sort of healthier-than-white-flour pasta. Tasty. I will buy her a meal some day in exchange. She'll be here longer than I will, as she (and everyone else in my hostel room- an Italian, a German, and a girl from New Jersey) is job hunting. She introduced me to traditional Portuguese music, as well, which was quite spiffy.
When I get enough pictures to make it worth the effort to put them on my computer, you will see some of them here.
Tomorrow, I think Amelia wants to go to some galleries in Camden in the afternoon. Before that, I might hop to the other side of the city and get some trumpet-practicing in. I need to buy a pair of comfy walking shoes, too...(you were right, dad...)
Correction: The Archbishop of Canterbury is presiding at the Ascension service at Westminster Abbey tomorrow. New plans.
When I walked into my hostel room (after dragging my suitcase up a couple small and one very large flight of stairs), my neighbor immediately introduced herself. Her name is Amelia, and she is from Portugal. We ended up walking down to Fleet St. where I bought myself a pay-as-you-go T-Mobile phone. We finished up there just in time to get to St. Paul's for choral evensong. They just so happened to be installing the new Bishop of Kensington.
While leaving the cathedral, Amelia said that she would cook dinner for us both. She made a very tasty, yet simple, vegetarian spaghetti with tomatoes, portobello mushrooms, and some sort of healthier-than-white-flour pasta. Tasty. I will buy her a meal some day in exchange. She'll be here longer than I will, as she (and everyone else in my hostel room- an Italian, a German, and a girl from New Jersey) is job hunting. She introduced me to traditional Portuguese music, as well, which was quite spiffy.
When I get enough pictures to make it worth the effort to put them on my computer, you will see some of them here.
Tomorrow, I think Amelia wants to go to some galleries in Camden in the afternoon. Before that, I might hop to the other side of the city and get some trumpet-practicing in. I need to buy a pair of comfy walking shoes, too...(you were right, dad...)
Correction: The Archbishop of Canterbury is presiding at the Ascension service at Westminster Abbey tomorrow. New plans.
Horton Hört ein Hu!
14 hours after my initial departure, I have finally arrived at the hostel that will be my "home" for the first 2 weeks of my trip. Check-in isn't for another hour. And they don't have a lift. Despite this minor flaw, this was, by far, the most positive trip across the pond I have yet taken! Please allow me to recount some of the highlights.
There was no one in line at check-in or security at Toledo (perhaps because it's, well, Toledo). Of course, I just had to set the alarms off at security. I don't really mind, as I know it's the gold bracelet that cannot comfortably be removed from my right wrist. In other words, I'm eternally going to set off metal detectors, because it's not coming off. Anyhow. I spent however long Brahms 2nd Symphony is listening to Brahms 2nd Symphony while making some marks in my score of the same. As I took my headphones off, who should walk through the gate through which I would soon be departing, but Mr. Reece. We chatted for a bit, then he went on his way.
The puddle jumper to Chicago was an unexpectedly smooth flight with very few passengers.
During the 45 minute flight, I ready a fair amount of the first volume of Cairn's Berlioz autobiography. I spent most of my THREE hour layover at O'Hare doing the same. I sat at my departure gate the entire time, despite another flight preparing to leave as I arrived. Nonetheless, I arrived at the right time: some of the American Airlines people were passing out free (tasty) cake for customer appreciation!
On one of the walls in Gate K12 is a large collection of payphones. One of them rang while waiting for my plane. One passenger wondered if it was James Bond. Alas, he did not answer, so we do not know. He eventually struck up a conversation with me when he saw that I had a trumpet. He does not "play" an instrument, but he "practices" violin. Interesting concept.
My neighbors on the plane were a friendly couple from Omaha. The husband is in the US military and is currently stationed in the middle of nowhere slightly west of Cambridge. She played horn for 14 years (she said through high school, but that would mean she started when she was 3...). My neighbors across the aisle were speaking German. Hearing them talk inspired me to switch my TV to German. One of the movie options was the title of this blog post. I thought it was amusing.
I have saved the most surprising for last: The UK border agent was NICE! I still don't understand. Perhaps it was because I was visibly excited to be here. For a millisecond, I was vaguely disappointed that she didn't ask me for any of the paperwork I had brought to prove myself to her. Instead, she just said, "So what do you study, then?" Musicians are apparently not suspicious at all.
I will most likely spend the rest of the day lounging around. My feet hurt from the trek down King's Cross Road, etc. etc. During the ride from Heathrow to the City, I decided that I'm going to take a few random daytrips; perhaps a couple before the first LSO concert on Sunday. I really want to go to Salisbury Cathedral, as I love all of Constables paintings...We shall see.
I have no idea what world my computer is in. It is 1:41 here. My computer says that it is 7:55.
There was no one in line at check-in or security at Toledo (perhaps because it's, well, Toledo). Of course, I just had to set the alarms off at security. I don't really mind, as I know it's the gold bracelet that cannot comfortably be removed from my right wrist. In other words, I'm eternally going to set off metal detectors, because it's not coming off. Anyhow. I spent however long Brahms 2nd Symphony is listening to Brahms 2nd Symphony while making some marks in my score of the same. As I took my headphones off, who should walk through the gate through which I would soon be departing, but Mr. Reece. We chatted for a bit, then he went on his way.
The puddle jumper to Chicago was an unexpectedly smooth flight with very few passengers.
During the 45 minute flight, I ready a fair amount of the first volume of Cairn's Berlioz autobiography. I spent most of my THREE hour layover at O'Hare doing the same. I sat at my departure gate the entire time, despite another flight preparing to leave as I arrived. Nonetheless, I arrived at the right time: some of the American Airlines people were passing out free (tasty) cake for customer appreciation!
On one of the walls in Gate K12 is a large collection of payphones. One of them rang while waiting for my plane. One passenger wondered if it was James Bond. Alas, he did not answer, so we do not know. He eventually struck up a conversation with me when he saw that I had a trumpet. He does not "play" an instrument, but he "practices" violin. Interesting concept.
My neighbors on the plane were a friendly couple from Omaha. The husband is in the US military and is currently stationed in the middle of nowhere slightly west of Cambridge. She played horn for 14 years (she said through high school, but that would mean she started when she was 3...). My neighbors across the aisle were speaking German. Hearing them talk inspired me to switch my TV to German. One of the movie options was the title of this blog post. I thought it was amusing.
I have saved the most surprising for last: The UK border agent was NICE! I still don't understand. Perhaps it was because I was visibly excited to be here. For a millisecond, I was vaguely disappointed that she didn't ask me for any of the paperwork I had brought to prove myself to her. Instead, she just said, "So what do you study, then?" Musicians are apparently not suspicious at all.
I will most likely spend the rest of the day lounging around. My feet hurt from the trek down King's Cross Road, etc. etc. During the ride from Heathrow to the City, I decided that I'm going to take a few random daytrips; perhaps a couple before the first LSO concert on Sunday. I really want to go to Salisbury Cathedral, as I love all of Constables paintings...We shall see.
I have no idea what world my computer is in. It is 1:41 here. My computer says that it is 7:55.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
My Kind of Town!
I realize it has been nearly 2 months since this trip, but the story must be told!
On March 22, the LSO made a stop in Chicago during their tour of America. I happened to be free, so Marita, Clint, and I made the trip. We left BG at 6 AM, getting us to Chicago at approximately 9:30 AM their time (i.e. 30 minutes before anything opened). We decided to start the morning out right with a cup of coffee from a locally-owned shop on Michigan Ave. After that, we made our way down Michigan towards H&M and other various shopping wonderlands. The sidewalk kept randomly being closed, so we had to keep walking from one side to the other. About 10 seconds after one of these many crossings, two men walked past us on the sidewalk going the opposite direction. I recognized one of them as the 2nd bassoon player in the orchestra and exclaimed, "that was HIM!" At that, I turned around and bolted down to catch up with them.
I tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Hello! This is incredibly awkward, but you look familiar to me. Are you by any chance in the London Symphony Orchestra?" He was immediately taken aback. He looked at the other man then back at me and said, "Yes!" Conversation ensued. The other man introduced himself as Matthew Gibson, a bass player in the orchestra. I told them that I would be in London for the summer to see the orchestra and had emailed the administration about rehearsals. Matthew said, "Well, I happen to be the vice-chairman of the orchestra. I can get you into rehearsals!" and gave me his card.
I had been in contact with the CSO Symphony Center's stage manager, who was going to try to let me meet Gergiev. I mentioned that she was unsure if it would happen or not. Matthew told me he could introduce me. When we got to the Symphony Center later, I metioned this run-in to the stage manager. She told us to meet her in the lobby after the concert. When this moment came, she ran us downstairs, unlocked the backstage door, and let us go! The 3 of us stood near the stage door as the orchestra members exited the stage. A few moments later, I heard someone say, "Hello, Ashley!" It was Gareth Davies, the principal flutist/my facebook friend who knew I was going to be there. After he ran off (they had 45 minutes to get their things together and leave for the airport to fly to NYC), I saw Nikita, who was a piano student and friend of mine at BG last year! Eventually Matthew came down and took us into the conductor's green room to introduce us to Gergiev.
It is handy that this happened 2 days before my meeting to discuss my budget for the Givens Fellowship! I am still incapable of comprehending the fact that I ran into the one (of 96) player I most wanted to meet. Let alone, on the busiest street in one of the biggest cities in the country! And what were the chances that he would be with one of the people who could help finalize my plans for my trip?
Since I'm talking about things from so long ago, I'll take this time to mention that I saw the NY Phil play in Ann Arbor on my birthday. I was told what door the players would be using to leave the building. I eventually was able to meet maestro Lorin Maazel and principal trumpet, Phil Smith! I didn't realize until I got back that my birthday also happened to be Maazel's birthday.
Nearly 8 days until I leave! You can count on many exciting stories and pictures....just check in every few days! Please leave comments, as well- I'd love to hear from you (I believe you can post without an account...just sign your name so I know who it's from)!
P.S. For those of you who have followed this for my past travels, you may have noticed the change in title. I thought this one a bit more fitting. It is c/o Franz Liszt.
On March 22, the LSO made a stop in Chicago during their tour of America. I happened to be free, so Marita, Clint, and I made the trip. We left BG at 6 AM, getting us to Chicago at approximately 9:30 AM their time (i.e. 30 minutes before anything opened). We decided to start the morning out right with a cup of coffee from a locally-owned shop on Michigan Ave. After that, we made our way down Michigan towards H&M and other various shopping wonderlands. The sidewalk kept randomly being closed, so we had to keep walking from one side to the other. About 10 seconds after one of these many crossings, two men walked past us on the sidewalk going the opposite direction. I recognized one of them as the 2nd bassoon player in the orchestra and exclaimed, "that was HIM!" At that, I turned around and bolted down to catch up with them.
I tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Hello! This is incredibly awkward, but you look familiar to me. Are you by any chance in the London Symphony Orchestra?" He was immediately taken aback. He looked at the other man then back at me and said, "Yes!" Conversation ensued. The other man introduced himself as Matthew Gibson, a bass player in the orchestra. I told them that I would be in London for the summer to see the orchestra and had emailed the administration about rehearsals. Matthew said, "Well, I happen to be the vice-chairman of the orchestra. I can get you into rehearsals!" and gave me his card.
I had been in contact with the CSO Symphony Center's stage manager, who was going to try to let me meet Gergiev. I mentioned that she was unsure if it would happen or not. Matthew told me he could introduce me. When we got to the Symphony Center later, I metioned this run-in to the stage manager. She told us to meet her in the lobby after the concert. When this moment came, she ran us downstairs, unlocked the backstage door, and let us go! The 3 of us stood near the stage door as the orchestra members exited the stage. A few moments later, I heard someone say, "Hello, Ashley!" It was Gareth Davies, the principal flutist/my facebook friend who knew I was going to be there. After he ran off (they had 45 minutes to get their things together and leave for the airport to fly to NYC), I saw Nikita, who was a piano student and friend of mine at BG last year! Eventually Matthew came down and took us into the conductor's green room to introduce us to Gergiev.
It is handy that this happened 2 days before my meeting to discuss my budget for the Givens Fellowship! I am still incapable of comprehending the fact that I ran into the one (of 96) player I most wanted to meet. Let alone, on the busiest street in one of the biggest cities in the country! And what were the chances that he would be with one of the people who could help finalize my plans for my trip?
Since I'm talking about things from so long ago, I'll take this time to mention that I saw the NY Phil play in Ann Arbor on my birthday. I was told what door the players would be using to leave the building. I eventually was able to meet maestro Lorin Maazel and principal trumpet, Phil Smith! I didn't realize until I got back that my birthday also happened to be Maazel's birthday.
Nearly 8 days until I leave! You can count on many exciting stories and pictures....just check in every few days! Please leave comments, as well- I'd love to hear from you (I believe you can post without an account...just sign your name so I know who it's from)!
P.S. For those of you who have followed this for my past travels, you may have noticed the change in title. I thought this one a bit more fitting. It is c/o Franz Liszt.
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