What I did this summer

Did you ever have to write a report or do a presentation about "what you did over the summer?" Elementary school, right? Maybe middle school? These days with twitter and facebook, social media pretty much answers those questions! Recently Betty White quipped on Saturday Night Live that "in her day, looking at someone's vacation slides was considered punishment!"
Nonetheless, I was amused when coworkers asked me about what I did this summer...and thought, what a fun post this could be on the blog.
In June, I wrapped up Classical Spotlight and went on the road with YOSA for their "Great Tour of China." It was truly amazing and fun to see young musicians perform and interact across China. The food, shopping and sights were spectacular too! On the left hand side is a picture of me on the Great Wall of China.


Here is a video montage of the trip with an appropriate soundtrack by John Adams - The Chairman Dances!

When I arrived back to San Antonio, it was time to take in some summer festivals, Round Top International Music Festival and Institute continued their 40th year - it was a real blast to see and hear old friends in Round Top. Also the Cactus Pear Music Festival got underway in July and it was great seeing Stephanie Sant'Ambrogio. I spent a morning with the Young Artist Program and heard a world premiere by Colin Sorgi.
Later in July I took a leave of absence and documented the West Branch International Music Festival & Academy near Hancock, NY. It was a dreamy two weeks of solo, chamber and orchestral music. I made new friends and enjoyed catching up with old friends too - in a cooler climate surrounded by the Catskills. Pictured on the right is a photo of me with the concertmaster of the Royal Danish Opera Orchestra, Sir Lars Bjørnkjær on the deck of the West Branch Angler Resort.
Here is a great example of the orchestra at WBIMF, conducted by Christian Hørbov-Meier, performing Jean Sibelius' Romance, Opus 42.

Now the dog days of August are here and I am busy preparing videos of this summer, plus practicing violin, and setting up the new season of Classical Spotlight (Thursday afternoons at 2pm, returning September 2nd!) I'll also return to Round Top on August 28th for their preview concert of the August to April series at Festival Hill.
I would love to know what you have been doing over the summer. CEO Jack Fishman has shared what he has been up to, as well as some of the musicians of the San Antonio Symphony on his blog. Post a comment here, or send an email and photo to john@tpr.org.
John Clare, afternoon announcer & Classical Spotlight host

GTOC: Journey's End

Here are some never seen before photos and video coverage of YOSA'a Great Tour of China:

GTOC: Radio Special

Enjoy the hour long special of YOSA's #greattourofchina now as an mp3 download:
Part 1 MP3 file (40 minutes)
Part 2 MP3 file (15 minutes)
Part 3 MP3 file (5 minutes)
Recorded on location in Tokyo, Beijing, Shangai, Hangzhou and Hong Kong!

GTOC: Student video

The latest YOSA Great Tour of China video is from Robert Ortiz who not only edited his own video, but wrote the music for it too!

Be sure to tune in this Sunday at 2pm for the Great Tour of China radio hour on KPAC & KTXI.

GTOC: More from Hangzhou

The orchestra had a great time in Hangzhou, where they were greeted by the local music school (left) and performed that night.

YOSA also went on a lake cruise of the area (right).

Here are two excerpts from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.

You can hear a special on the #greattourofchina this Sunday at 2pm on KPAC & KTXI!

GTOC: By George

After spending 12 days abroad I imagine the Fourth of July might have felt differently to some of the YOSA Great Tour of China travellers.
For the Fourth, here is an excerpt of George Gershwin's Porgy & Bess Symphonic Suite:

Catch an hour of YOSA's travels with host John Clare this Sunday at two pm on KPAC & KTXI.

GTOC: Meet the students

One of the things I like to mention about the YOSA Great Tour of China is all of the experiences the students had...perhaps the most priceless was interacting with other music students.

The kids had three chances to meet other musicians.

First in Beijing...

Then in Hangzhou...

and finally in Hong Kong...

We'll share more about the trip and YOSA this next Sunday, July 11th with an hour long special on KPAC & KTXI, and also update you on YOSA's string camp coming up later this week!

GTOC: Fab Finale

From their final concert in Hong Kong, here is YOSA and Troy Peters collaborating with the Hong Kong Youth Symphony in Smetana's Moldau:

GTOC: Hong Kong Concert

Enjoy two selections from YOSA on tour in China, from Hong Kong here is the Spring Festival Overture: mp3 file
and the combined orchestras of YOSA with the Hong Kong Youth Symphony in The Moldau: mp3 file
Both are conducted by Troy Peters.

GTOC: 8 days a week

We managed to keep Monday going and going with a 5am wake up call in Hong Kong and most of arriving at 9:30pm in San Antonio Monday night! I pointed out to some students that our boarding pass for Japan was at 5:20pm Monday and that our boarding pass for Dallas was at 5:10pm Monday!!! No one thought Professor Dumbledore was involved with a time travel watch, but the weather once again, played a role for our trip...
In Hong Kong, groups B & C (the ones stranded in Tokyo on the trip starting off) got delayed an hour & a half. When we arrived, some got the rest of their boarding passes to San Antonio. (Unfortunately, not everyone did and would play a BIG role later!)
When we arrived in Dallas, lightning prevented our luggage from being unloaded and we waiting two hours...then we were told we could go on, and then that we couldn't. In the confusion between airline and customs some left without their luggage, and some were able to check through with the luggage arriving. Those without boarding passes however were stuck in Dallas.
The majority of YOSA students made it back Monday night and of this morning, just two students and Executive Director Steven Payne will come back this morning. Pictured are students on the fairly empty flight from Dallas to San Antonio.

Keep an eye out for more pictures and video of the #greattourofchina of YOSA and the adventures of host John Clare here on the KPAC blog and on facebook!

GTOC: Hong Kong Concert

Here is YOSA with the Hong Kong Youth Symphony after Smetana's Moldau.

GTOC: Hong Kong

Saturday was a great day for slowly getting back to a western style of living...shopping and food! A morning with rain didn't allow us to go to Splendid China but instead one of the great malls for Shenzhen. (I wound up getting a suit tailor made!)

Next it was getting to Hong Kong via bus across a great bridge - but first Chinese Customs - while Hong Kong belongs to China now (since 1997) they do not enjoy free travel. We arrived and checked into our last hotel, the Empire Kowloon Hotel. The real catch was that between customs and traffic we did not eat lunch until very late and had scheduled more "western" food - PIZZA! for dinner. Seen left is "Erhu" bus.

Hong Kong definitely has a different feel than any other place we have visited - and certainly provides another urban look at China...the overall impression from this reporter is that commerce is above everything, all talk among locals seems to focus on money.

GTOC: Travel

Friday was full of transportation for YOSA in China. More rain greeted us but it was mostly viewed from boats, planes and buses!

We started in the romatic Hangzhou, and took a cruise around Westlake. Everyone seemed to enjoy the folklore and cool weather. Here is one of the chaperones, Julie, taking a Titanic moment on our ship.

We had a delightful lunch and made our way to the airport for a Chinese flight to Shenzhen. I can't say it was very different from a normal flight, and yet it was...not alot of communication and I heard a rumor that there was smoking on the flight from passengers (not in our group!) but all in all, the Boeing 737 on Xiamen Air was good.

(Pictured is Jacob on the flight line as we were boarding.)

After a lengthy bus ride, we made it to dinner and our at our hotel. Coming up are Hong Kong and our final concert on the tour - things we are really looking forward to experiencing!

GTOC: Hangzhou

We're making our way across China with the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio & Music Director Troy Peters. Thursday we went from Shanghai to Hangzhou with a brief stop at the "Venice of China," Wuzhen. Here is Executive Director Steven Payne with Adam Paarmann before our tour in Wuzhen (everybody has been wondering where Adam is on facebook!)

We then had a nice visit from the students at Hangzhou Shangmao Vacation School (HSVS) who played several wind band selections. They made special preparations for YOSA's visit during their final testing period. Thank you so much!

Next was a rehearsal and concert, which all of the students from the HSVS came to...and loved it! Here is bassist Alejandro Juul getting mobbed for pictures and autographs!

Friday is another travel day, on to Shenzhen..

GTOC: Expo

YOSA performed two mini concerts (30 minutes each) Wednesday in Shanghai at EXPO 2010. Over 402,000 people were at the world fairgrounds and quite a few enjoyed hearing Prokofiev, Bizet and Gershwin by the San Antonio orchestra!
The day started very early and security was high. After the stage was set and a rehearsal, YOSA got VIP treatment at the USA pavilion. There they were greeted by President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (on the video screens - gotcha!) and were delighted to find woodwind players on staff at the pavilion there!
Concerts took place at 11 and 12, and from there the group broke up into 3 groups - exploring Australia, Indonesia and Thailand. Then we were on our own for the day. I spent some time in Cuba enjoying the music and mood! Read about the student views online at the YOSA website and on facebook!

GTOC: Food

One of the great things about visiting abroad is dining. It has been different to say the least, and ranged from incredible to very good. We've also had a chance to check out different flavors in Tokyo, Beijing and now, Shanghai.

Today's lunch menu wasn't too different from what we've enjoyed (usually a rice, noodle, soup, bok choy, watermelon and varying degrees of meat, pork, fish and chicken) but the presentation was a real delight. Here's the chicken (below left):

And our fish (seen right):

Today I also got to sample some soup dumplings with director Troy Peters and know that we will be eating them as often as possible!
Tomorrow (Wednesday) we'll be at the EXPO 2010 and looking forward to see what food will be around as we'll be there for lunch and dinner.

GTOC: Shanghai

A night on the train led us to Shanghai on Monday morning. Once off we were on the go to a musical instrument museum and a famous shopping area, Nanjing Road!

Here is a video of a big gong from the museum:

We then checked into the hotel and rested/washed up before dinner and the acrobats! Here is a great example of some of their feats:

GTOC: Great Wall

Sunday was a "great" day. Bags were packed and most of the morning was spent in anticipation of climbing/walking the Great Wall of China. We had to prepare for our overnight train trip - by removing liquids from our checked luggage and preparing an overnight bag carry on bag. (Yes, it is opposite for the train as it is a plane - liquids are allowed for train carry on.) After a ninety minute drive we arrived at the location where the eastern wall meets the western wall and one of the steepest sections open to the public. Several folks made the hike easily, and quickly to the top - others were satisfied with some shopping or taking a few small steps around grounds. I did a little bit of both, getting exercise and pictures, and then socialized with others. (Pictured left, look for the red tshirts in the crowd walking up - and a group photo on the YOSA blog)
After lunch we spent some time in an older neighborhood of Beijing and ended with an amzing dinner - everyone is still talking about it. The kids bought snacks at a grocery store and we headed off to the central train station for an overnight ride to Shanghai!

GTOC: On the international stage

YOSA is currently in China, performing concerts and learning more about the culture. Over 12 days, the musicians will see 5 cities and perform music in different locales.

John Clare is with the group and has this update:

Saturday began with more exploring, including the Forbidden City. Throughout the day, kids were asked to pose for pictures, and also took pictures of themselves, family, sites and other interesting visitors (including soldiers on duty!)

Afterwards they rehearsed their program and then presented it at 2pm in the new national concert hall which holds about 5,000 people. (My guess is that it was 2/3rds full, although I heard it had sold out!)

Following the concert, there was a small reception and then an exchange with students of the National Conservatory. Folk melodies, as well as Paganini's Moses variations were played perfectly and quite touching by the young Chinese women. During one of the pieces, one of the YOSA members exclaimed "Awesome!" - and indeed it was an awesome performance!

GTOC: We're all in China

Well, it wasn't a slow boat, but our trip to China was delayed after weather in Beijing - and 2/3s of the group spent a night in Tokyo. Luckily we caught a morning flight and arrived this afternoon in China!

[odd side note - the Argentine National Basketball team was on our original flight on Thursday and would up on our flight today - they were very noticable in their VISA (c) sponsored sweats and quite friendly. We almost tried to get them to say something cool about the Spurs, and would holler Viva Argentina when we saw them in various places in the airport.]Arriving in China, we went to the Summer Palace. We was a real delight and quite historic. Everyone appreciated having some fresh air after riding on so many airplanes.

Here is a character we saw there, and took some photos with him. Note the camera he has. After we asked for photos with him, he asked to take photos of us!

We finally joined up with the first group who came on Tuesday, and had an amazing dinner with a grand finale of Peking Duck. We're at the hotel now and have a full day tomorrow that includes the Forbidden City and a concert at the new hall here in Beijing!