Eureka Springs

My sister is great because now that I have moved overseas, she acts as my US travel organizer. The last few trips I have made home, I have mentioned an idea to see something or go somewhere, and voila, big sis makes it happen J

So this past trip (yes I’m digressing a bit since I posted about Bach between this and LA but oh well), we explored a new part of Arkansas. We spent two lovely nights in Eureka Springs. For those of you who have never been, I do recommend it as a nice weekend getaway that has something to offer anyone. I would just be sure to plan the trip in good weather seasons as there are lots of hills and windy bits and places to walk/drive that would be less pleasant in snow or ice.

Funny things we saw on the way to, or driving through, Eureka Springs:

          - Domestic Tranquility Cabins, with a pink limo parked in front

          - Free Will Baptist Church (not sure why the name amused me so, had not seen this particular                branch of Baptist before)

          - Wagner Inn (the music nerd in me loved this one)

          - Hoedown Music Theater

          - A medical center attached to a thrift store that was selling gourmet coffee....unclear whether               the coffee was new or used  :)

Cool things we did in Eureka Springs:

1.       Ride the trolleys: This was great because when we did not feel like walking (or getting rained on) we could hop on a trolley and see the cool Victorian houses as we went through town.

2.       A ghost tour of the Crescent Hotel: I’m not necessarily a huge believer of ghosts, but you learn the history of the hotel and surrounding area, and explanations of the ghosts in residence do make for some good speculation and discussion.

3. Shopping! Because it is always fun to explore new shops. The problem of course was being selective in what would fit in my suitcase to go home.... A definite favorite shop was the clock store that had Phantom of the Opera clocks, and tiny shelf clocks that fit every hobby imaginable. I particularly liked the one where you had to open the lid on the grand piano to see the clock-face.

4. Visited the outdoor chapel on the edge of town, Thorncrown Chapel. Gorgeous spot. And we met a couple from NYC road-tripping across the country. 

5. Strolled through the woods to see pivot rock. 

6. Quigley Castle, a living piece of art that is still inhabited by the creator's family.

Merry Christmas to all!

Bach Bach Bach

Around this time last year I was contacted by the Taranaki Symphony Orchestra and asked if I would be interested in performing with them as a soloist. I was thrilled with the offer as it is a big step up in my performance experience to be offered such an opportunity.

The piece they had in mind was Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5. Now those of you who know me well will be aware that Bach is not my first choice of music to play. The man was brilliant and his music offers a widely varied choice of repertoire, but Baroque music has not ever been my favorite. However, after listening to the piece and reviewing the score I decided it was something I was willing to tackle. Despite some struggles and frustrations along the way, I am definitely glad I made that choice.

The concert was Thanksgiving weekend, although it was not a holiday weekend here. It was the night of the Christmas parade though, so there was lots of traffic in town and we had a good sized enthusiastic crowd. All played well and I feel the night was a success. For those of you who could not attend, below is a link to the recording. But first, a few notes about the piece.

This concerto is for flute, violin, and harpsichord soloists supported by a small string orchestra. The orchestra’s conductor was the violin soloist, and the flute solo was played by the orchestras first chair flutist. I jokingly told my family that the soloist line-up sounded like a bad joke since we all have different nationalities. However, I think we worked well together and it was an excellent learning experience for myself.

It is thought this particular concerto was the first piece written to really highlight the harpsichord as a solo instrument, rather than just a continuo (accompaniment) part. The piece has three movements, with the first movement featuring the harpsichord in a flashy, technical cadenza.

Learning the piece mainly on piano and then transferring to a harpsichord was a challenge and yet it made so much more sense on the harpsichord. Once I was comfortable with the new instrument, it was so evident the piece was composed for harpsichord over any other keyboard instrument. The primary challenge in adjusting to the harpsichord was the difference in the keyboard. The keys are shorter and narrower, so while it was easier to master the highly technical sections, it was also challenging to spatially adjust. What I loved though is the lightness of the keys on a harpsichord. The cadenza in particular had a number of extremely fast technical passages, so it felt like my fingers could literally fly over the keys and not worry about missing notes due to weighty keys. 

It was a lot of hours spent practicing, and there were frustrations along the way in regards to practice availability with the harpsichord, concern over the instrument holding tune, disagreements on balance between the soloists and the orchestra, and creativity on how to lay out my music to minimize page turns and maximize my ability to see. But it all came together in the end and I enjoyed the honor of performing as an orchestra soloist for the first time in my musical career.

See below for a video of the performance and the concert review from the paper.

Bach Brandenburg No. 5

TSO Concert Review

Still had to turn pages but not nearly as many.... :)

Hollywood!

My dear blog readers,

I'm sure you think that I have completely forgotten about you. In reality life has just been busy. I wrote this over a week ago but have only just gotten pictures sorted out. I'll do much better from now on I'm sure haha :) So now, to give you some stories:

When I decided to take a 3 week trip home this year, I thought it was time to be a bit of a tourist in my own country. Since I was flying in and out of Los Angeles, and had seen nothing of the city except for the airport (which I have grown to really dislike), it seemed like a good opportunity to plan a stopover and check the place out.

Given everything I wanted to do in the 3 weeks, I decided to only spend 2 nights, but it was enough by the end of that particular adventure. I did not see everything on my list, or anywhere close to everything possible, but I got a good look around and can now check that particular place in the world off of my list J

Planner that I am, I chose well ahead of time to book a rental car, with a GPS. Great plan, right? I’d have flexible transportation and a handy dandy gadget to direct me around the huge traffic filled confusing-to-navigate city (probably not so confusing if you really know your way around, like any place, but still). This was all an excellent plan until I got to the rental agency. The bonus to all this was that I managed to sleep on the flight. So I was tired but not exhausted. However, I found I was a bit short on patience when I had to wait 45 minutes for the free shuttle from the arrivals lounge to the rental agency. Yes it was free so I should not complain and yes it was my fault I missed it the first time since I did not flag down the driver, but that form of rational thinking did not equate in my tired brain.

So next hurdle: waiting in line to get my car. The line was long and the number of staff was short. But never mind. I had the pleasurable experience of observing those around me, including a family who “had such a long day because they’d just flown alllllll the way from Cleveland!” It was that moment I had to remind myself that long days are very relative ideas, as I felt that working all day before catching a 14-hour international flight was slightly more exhausting, but in their defense they were traveling with children.

Finally my turn and, guess what?? Free upgrade for yours truly. Now, often this is a bargain right? Well, I was only halfway thrilled with this because I went from a small car to a mid-size SUV (because they were out of cars) so all I’m thinking is “I have to parallel park THAT in downtown LA?” But never mind, extra space for my luggage, yay. But then, it happened. That feared moment for modern travellers: no GPS! They did have one for me, it just happened to be the last one, and it did not work. “No problem!” the guy said, they just wouldn’t charge me for it….and I could use my smartphone instead! I pointed out that would mean absurdly expensive data charges since I was an international traveler (the guy just kind of looked at me weird when I said that haha). Never fear, they had the solution: MapQuest! Being the out of country traveller with no other options I gratefully let them print direction to where I was headed for the night and decided I would figure the rest out along the way.

By this point it was getting into rush hour. But I only had to go 18 miles, not bad I thought. Well….an hour and a half later I was wondering what I had gotten myself into J First time driving in the US in some time, in a new vehicle in a new city with no GPS. But I made it! I only got lost 3 times! And even saw a couple of funny thing alongs the way. A smart car merged in front of me and had a vanity plate that said NOTDUMB. I laughed J

I spent the next couple of days exploring Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles. I spent more time in museums learning about the life of immigrant Americans or exploring Little Mexico (yum locally made food!!!) than doing the uber touristey things like tours to the Hollywood sign (although I did see it from a distance) or Universal Studios (does walking past it count?) but I enjoyed the time just the same. I was careful to look up directions before going anywhere and kept an eye out for places with free WiFi, just in case.

I think one of my favorite stops was the Griffith Observatory. The night was clear and the view really was spectacular. The city is positively huge, and the Observatory was a great way to appreciate the size. I also enjoyed spotting a couple of film crews as I was out and about. One had a group of guys in tweed jackets and old fashioned hats, with a lady looking straight out of the 50’s prepping to shoot something. I also found a lovely statue of Marilyn Monroe, and nearly got run over by Spiderman as he dashed off to save someone. Santa Monica Pier before heading back to the airport was a nice way to enjoy the sunshine and do some people watching.

See photos below. L.A. won’t be top of my list of places to visit again soon, but I am glad to have gone and enjoyed the time I had (when I stopped getting lost haha).

Museum of Broken Relationships. Unfortunately
it was closed....

Walk of Fame!

LA City Hall

Piano converted into something by a thingmaker

Forrest Gump's bench :)

I like this guy!