BYP first concert

Wednesday was my favorite day of the BYP experience thusfar. I was so happy to have a great night’s sleep, shower in a huge bathroom, and warm breakfast. I met some of the other orchestra members in the hotel lobby at 9:45am to go on a guided tour of Gdansk.

To be honest, I had never heard of this city before. I really didn’t know much about Poland, either (whoops…such a naïve American!), but I was pleasantly surprised with the beaty of the city! I learned that the architecture is very international…there is a lot of influence from Belgium, Germany, and Russia, and it doesn’t look like any other city in Poland. We had beautiful weather for the tour, and a great guide. She told us a lot of cool/spooky stories about the church, the merchant streets, and some other buildings (too many to repeat, and they aren’t as interesting withough having been there!)

At noon we had to meet the entire orchestra and walk to the concert hall where lunch was waiting for us at the hall’s fancy restaurant right on the water. It was a very nice ‘sit down/be waited on' lunch. The percussionists were served first becase we had to eat quickly and help the stage guys set the stage. We didn’t mind…it’s part of the gig :)

We were pretty cramped on the stage, and it took some time to arrange the equipment to fit. We were on a high riser with limited space, but once we figured out the set-up, it worked quite nicely. As everyone was getting ready and the orchestra was getting seated, Kristjan (conductor) came in and started to talk to me. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet because I didn’t want to force conversation. I also wanted my playing to ‘speak for me’ before I spoke for myself. He asked me where I’m from in the States, and being from Cincy is a good thing...since that is where his brother conducts (or, used to conduct. Paavo is changing to the Paris Sympony next year). We chatted for a bit about the States, and then he gave me a really great compliment, one of the best to hear from a conductor…he said that I have really good time. :) Although it was a simple statement, it really made me feel happy and proud of myself for my contributions to the music. I went on to say that I’ve really enjoyed the experience, and working with Damien was great. He then said that he’s looking for the next ‘Sebastian, Martin, Damien…” (names of the coaches) in this orchestra. Kristjan has a fresh, hip, groovy, and very musical approach to conducting and rehearsing. I love it…and if he’s looking for new people to support and contribute to his ideas, then this is a really good place for me!

After the conversation I couldn’t wait to rehearse and play the concert. The hall was set up like an arena and the acoustics were quite dry. But, I think it was a great place for our first performance. The rehearsal went well, and we were slowly getting used to the space. We had to so a lot of peer listening for the percussion section, since it was so different from the spaces we rehearsed in.

Directly after the rehearsal we ran next door to eat at the same restaurant, and had to be in concert dress and back outside at 7:15 for a group picture. Good thing I’m relatively low maintenance (seriously....), because we were severed dinner at about 6:40! I threw my concert clothes over my very gross, sweaty body (Poland is humid, and we’d been either outside or playing all day!) and went to take the picture. I also made the percussion guys pose for a few section photos…they love me, whether they want to admit it or not! :)

The concert began at 8pm. I was on one piece in the first half… a cello concerto by Arvo Pärt. I played the vibes, and was happy with the performance. The audience was a little stale at first, but I think they loosened up little by little. The second half of the concert was Rite. Kristjan conducted with no score, and I’ve never seen anyone put so much energy and excitement into a performance before. It was inspiring. I laid down my part just fine…this cymbal playing is really feeling good!

The audience was on their feet 2 seconds after the last note. We were all sweating, and I was so proud of my new friends for giving so much on the opening performance. I know each concert will get better and better! After a few bows, we played 3 encores. Tckaik was the second, and Kristjan entered the stage from my side, and came over and gave me a hug before taking the podium. It was a crowd pleasing moment, but made me happy…I love playing that tambourine part!!!

The energy in the room after the show was palpable. Everyone was exchanging hugs and congratulations. I’m proud of the percussion guys. I think we really stepped it up, and it will only get better. We’re actually becoming close friends, too…which makes a world of difference!

Everyone wanted to go out for a drink after the show, so almost everyone showed up in the hotel lobby. We walked around the city for a long time, but couldn’t find anything to accommodate 50ish people! So, about 12 of us decided to go out on our own. We found a place to sit outside and have a beer. We really wanted food as well, but the waiter said that the cook was drunk so he couldn’t make us anything!!! I asked if I could go to the kitchen to whip up a few things….but he said no :(

The socializing at this bar was very short, because they soon turned off the lights and practically kicked us out. We were a little disappointed with the rude behavior, but wanted to continue our party anyway. I ended up hanging with 5 other friends, Leann, Eline, Igmar, Ellen, and Hannah. We found a really fun place to hang out all night…and let’s just say that it was a night I will never forget! So much fun, so many laughs, and such great people. We had a 4am stop at a Kebab place, and then headed back to the hotel for a 6:15am departure time...it was a traveling day, so there would be plenty of time to sleep :)