Right now, it’s about 8:30pm on Thursday, July 1 and I’m on a bus heading to Copenhagen. The last few days have been really great; the rehearsals were super productive, we started to travel, had a great concert last night, and the orchestra members are really opening up. I already have so many amazing memories from this tour, and it’s really just beginning!
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On Sunday we rehearsed in a new space in Potsdam. It’s great having a stage crew that takes care of moving and setting up the instruments. It’s been tedious to try and get the instrument list and set-up charts correct, but the man in charge is really nice and tries hard. He eventually started calling himself “my shadow” because he had an equipment related question about every 5 minutes the last few days of rehearsals. I like organizing things, so I didn’t mind helping.
The rehearsal space was a warehouse-like area turned into a cool/hip artsy area. We finally played through both programs, it was hard to believe that we would be performing pieces that we hadn’t even played through yet! However, the best part about the space was that both lunch and dinner were catered by an awesome company! Fresh salads, warm lasagna, potatoes, veggies, free drinks… :)
After the full day of playing (well, except for when Johan and I didn’t play in Rite…we snuck out the back door and went outside to watch the Germany vs. England game), the day ended with an amazing concert given by all of the instrument coaches. It was such a great way to end a super intense and exhausting week. They played some great tunes, a lot that were inspired by Middle Eastern rhythms (written by Daniel Schnyder, who composed the contemporary piece for the group to play in August). It was amazing to see everyone finally putting their hair down, enjoying music, and even dancing a bit. I think it was the moment the orchestra finally felt like a united group of people. It’s about time!
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Monday was our last day with the coaches, and we wanted to make the most of it. The morning rehearsal was very relaxed, as we played through the strings only pieces. We were back at the school rehearsal space, which was like a sauna…but right next to a lake, so it was nice to have some time to walk around outside! During the lunch break, Wictor, Johan (whom I now call “Gramps”…we are all starting to really bond now!), and I walked to downtown Potsdam and shopped for a gift for Damien to thank him for all of his help. We found a grocery store with some nice whiskey/scotch choices. I left the decision on which to buy up to the boys.
We had a lot of time to leisurely make our way back to rehearsal. It was nice to see some of the city (Potsdam is a small town outside of Berlin). I never got to see much of the Berlin Centrum, so this was my main tourist opportunity (plus, since we’ll be back in August, I can check it out then!)
The second half of the day was filled with more rehearsals, and ended with a beer (on the orchestra’s budget) by the lake to say goodbye to the coaches. It was a nice way to chat and celebrate how much we’ve grown the past week. But…the celebrating didn’t end there. The coaches unofficially invited the orchestra members to hang and have a beer at a Brauhaus near our hotel. It was a great hang, and I think most of the orchestra members came out.
First, I sat and talked with a few of the girls in the string section. We bought a few pitches of beer (brewed at the restaurant) and I had a great time with them! It’s so nice that people are feeling more comfortable! The whole night was filled with a lot of mingling and even more laughs. I also got to chat with some of the coaches that I hadn’t been able to get to know outside of rehearsals. When the bar closed, the entire group ended up wandering around and eventually found a new place that was open (only one bartender and about 30 people!). Wictor and I spent a lot of time chatting with Damien at the end of the night.
The conversations with Damien throughout the night really got me thinking and reflecting upon the first week of BYP and the future that I hope to have in music. He talked a lot about his path, about how he perceives music, and about what he thinks we need to do. I still really don’t know what Damien thought of me. He’s a positive person with a lot of energy, and I felt like sometimes he just went for a generic answer to my questions when they involved my future and ambitions. During the first part of the week, I was so obsessed with this…I couldn’t really read him, and hated feeling like he thought I was an inadequate player. I was upset that I didn’t represent myself well at the audition, and wished I could have a conversation with Damien about it. I never felt comfortable bringing it up, and even tried asking about our audition DVD’s and what he thought about our growth when we were at the bar. But, he only talked about Wictor, and it honestly made me laugh a little. I still wonder why he avoided many real conversations about my playing, hmmmm.
But, oh well…as each rehearsal day passed, I began feeling more and more like myself musically. As we sat talking to Damien, I actually felt empowered. It didn’t really have anything to do with what he was saying specifically. I liked hearing his opinions and stories, but I kept thinking that “hey, I can do this”. I know my strengths and weaknesses, and I’ve worked hard. Sometimes it is easy to forget these when a bad day occurs, and it takes time to feel good again…but I do...finally!
At the end of the night it was sad to say goodbye to Damien, He really helped the section feel the music, and it was fun to hear a new perspective! He told me to watch out for the guys (especially Alexandr, the Russian…who is awesome! His English is slowly getting better, and I think he’s feeling much more comfortable with everyone. He says that in Russia, his shortened name is “Sasha” and a girl named Maria is usually called “Masha”..I told him he can call me that….but he’s the only one that’s allowed!) Damien also thanked me for helping him out...which really met a lot to me.
The night ended and I got back to the hotel at about 2am, and needed to pack up all of my stuff because it was a 7:30am departure time…
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The tour officially began on Tuesday. We had a super early checkout, and then left for Potsdam for a full morning of rehearsals. The day started late, and there was some tension in the group because the schedule was getting messed up. We needed to get through the entire repertoire, but we also needed to leave for Gdansk, Poland on time! After some rearranging and a few tense conversations, we all made it onto the bus….luggage, instruments, and dinner packages in hand.
Leann saved Eline and me a seat on the “nice bus”. Us Americans have to look out for each other :) The bus ride was 9 hours long, and all of the roads in Poland are so small...so we were driving so slowly!! We had a good time, though. I tried to sleep as much as possible. We were sitting around a lot of fun people, which helped the time pass. Each day I’m having more in depth conversations with new people, and it’s been fun to get to know so many musicians from different countries. I even had a long conversation with our photographer who is from Berlin and talked about East/West Germany. I love hearing about history from people that actually lived through it…much more interesting and impacting than reading it in a book!
We made it to Gdansk around 11pm, and our hotel was amazing! A good night’s sleep in my own bed prepared me for a great day and concert in Poland the next day!
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