Nov 25, 2013
Patrick G. Jordan, viola
While we were waiting, we noticed an unusually large number of young women outside the arrivals door, and learned from Jiwon Choi, who met us, that there was some K-pop star on a flight arriving around the same time as ours.
Nov 22, 2013
Patrick G. Jordan, viola
We’re off to Korea this morning, and as we leave Japan, I feel a need to revisit one word I used in the second installment of this blog. I wrote of the “contradictions” that one experiences as a Westerner here. This trip, my fifth over almost 20 years, has given me an opportunity to see those “contradictory” experiences in a new light.
Nov 21, 2013
Patrick G. Jordan, viola
The colours of the changing leaves and the general juxtaposition of nature and agriculture was a nice change from the sometimes brutal urban landscape that is Tokyo.
Nov 20, 2013
Patrick G. Jordan, viola
Yesterday was our day free of performing obligations, and people headed off to do all manner of things. Some people went swan-boating at Ueno Park. Several people ended up at the Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa. There was an impromptu trip to the Toho Conservatory, which was about 3km from our hotel in Chofu. There were several separate excursions to the Tsukiji Fish Market. Judging by the purchases of my colleagues, Tafelmusik has single-handedly kept the knife-makers of Japan in business for another day.
Nov 19, 2013
Patrick G. Jordan, viola
I have never seen a Japanese audience respond so immediately to a piece of music as the two houses have so far.
Nov 18, 2013
Patrick G. Jordan, viola
The amount of planning that has gone into any tour of this magnitude boggles the mind, and everything so far has gone very smoothly. A huge thank you to Masako-san and her team!
Nov 15, 2013
Patrick G. Jordan, viola
Wandering around in Japan until you find a place that looks interesting is one kind of adventure; locating a specific place, the precise location of which you do not know is another kind of adventure altogether.
Nov 14, 2013
Patrick G. Jordan, viola
Experience remains a great teacher. Our 13+ hour flight yesterday seemed more like a breeze after travelling Toronto to Perth 18 months ago, a travel period that clocked in around 30 hours door to door.
Dec 3, 2012
Aisslinn Nosky, violin
Yesterday started in the mid-morning with a pleasant drive from Saskatoon to Regina. Before we boarded the bus a mini fashion show broke out in the hotel lobby as several orchestra members showed off some extremely warm sweaters and coats they had picked up during our hours off in Saskatoon. The weather stayed clear enough that we could enjoy the beautiful prairie sky rolling along outside the comfortable warmth of the coach.
