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October 2010

     
    Oct 22, 2010

    Asia Tour - October 22, 2010

    Elly Winer (viola)

    Today was our last day in China and our final concert of the tour at the Beijing Music Festival. We bussed over to the Forbidden City Concert Hall to find the setup of the stage in chaos. The Beijing stage crew was very late arriving and our staff was hard put to get it all set up for the dress rehearsal. This hall has a wonderful acoustic and a roomy stage, but has very little in the way of lighting.

    Oct 21, 2010

    Julia Wedman's Grand Tour: Journal Entry 2 - October 21, 2010

    Julia Wedman (violin)

    It’s my last day of a magical three weeks spent traipsing all over Germany. I am sitting on a train from Berlin to Salzburg. The sky is an incredible mix of dark grey clouds interspersed with crisp cool blue. The trees are covered in leaves of delicate yet magnificent golds, oranges and burnt reds. I almost wish the train wasn’t going so fast so I could spend more time looking at each luminescent scene that passes by my window.

    Oct 21, 2010

    Asia Tour - October 21, 2010

    Elly Winer (viola)

    Yesterday, we spent most of the day in transit, flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. There was some confusion upon arriving: the truck for the set didn't show up and our crew had to wait at the airport until 2:30am.
    Today we were free until the bus departure at 3:30pm and most of us went on shopping excursions. Some went to the Cashmere Market, while I led a team to the Pearl Market. After some very heated haggling for pashmina and silk scarves, we headed upstairs to the pearl vendors, an oasis of calm in a frenzied city.

    Oct 19, 2010

    Asia Tour - October 19, 2010

    Elly Winer (viola)

    This morning we had an outreach concert for students at the National Planetarium in Kuala Lumpur. We set up and rehearsed in the planetarium and were quite challenged by the lack of space at the front of the auditorium. We had to stand in place for the entire program as there was no room for our choreography. The slides were modified and integrated to their projection system and were very impressive on such a large screen. The audience of students were very appreciative and asked (when prompted under teasing pressure from Jonathan) interesting and relevant questions of the orchestra.

    Oct 18, 2010

    Asia Tour - October 18, 2010

    Elly Winer (viola)

    Today we had our dress rehearsal in the concert hall of the twin towers. The hall has a completely wooden interior, like some of the finest European halls we've played in. The new projection screen for the Galileo show was up. This one is much lighter and easier to travel with. The ornate original one was extremely heavy and took hours to set up and take down.

    Oct 17, 2010

    Asia Tour - October 17, 2010

    Elly Winer (viola)

    Today, feeling more rested after our day off, we began rehearsals at the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. The massive towers have the Malaysian Philharmonic's concert hall contained in the shopping mall of the complex. We were led through the bowels of this building to a tiny rehearsal room, going through gate after gate, much like the final shot of the 70's TV show: Get Smart.

    Oct 14, 2010

    Asia Tour - October 14, 2010

    Elly Winer (viola)

    A big hello to all our Tafel-Fans! On Thursday morning (or very late Wednesday evening!) we set off to Asia for another exciting tour. As well as returning to China for the third time, we will play a couple of concerts in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The trip was easily the longest travel day that we've ever experienced: over 27 hours of travel!

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