Final update before tour.....

Grüß Gott......

Last nights concert went very well and if you turned on the news at the right time you would have seen the Berlin group playing at the big conference treaty signing thingy. Tonight we perform Don Juan, the Rosenkavalier Suite, Ravels' Rapshodie Espagnol and The Nielson Flute Concerto (quite a sweet concert concert for the horns, as those of you in the know might realise)

After a week and a half I still never cease to be taken away by the beauty of Garmisch.... Although the mountains remain the same shape, they rarely look the same for more than a day. After 5 days of snow I am now wearing a T-shirt, even as the snow still melts on the side of the road. The sky is now so clear you feel like you could reach out and touch mountains over 10 miles away. Two days ago I was making snow angels on a balcony after a sauna.....

Tomorrow morning we leave this town, I am looking forward to reconviening with kid sis in Zurich in a few days, now I must go pick up my washing and have a nap, tonight is a big show and tomorrow will be a long day, I believe we are taking a bus through the Alps and into Italy, our destination tomorrow is another beautiful town called Bolzano. A place which already holds memories from previous trips, which reminds me that I should buy some shorts before we leave.

By the way, that little piece of German at the top is the typical Bavarian greeting, literally meaning "Hello God" or "Hello, God!" im not quite sure....

Ice hockey, diving boards and chamber music.

Since the last update there has been a lot of snow, snow ball conditions have been very good and the piste for arse sledding has been exceptional. It has also been quite cold outside so some time has been spent investigating some of the indoor activities available in the town. As an old Winter Olympics city there are many resourses for those sort of activities. Swimming has been a regular on the menu and ice skating (and ice gnomb racing) kept me very busy on thursday evening and the memories are being kept fresh by two nice blisters today.

On Friday the local ice hockey team were playing in the Play-Offs for the 2007 German League. That was an amazing event, really good atmosphere and I hadn't realised what a quick and exciting game ice hockey is. What I noticed was how much interplay there was between the announcer and the fans. whenever he said anything the spectaters would reply in perfect unison. Whenever Garmisch scored (they won 7-0) a giant flag would appear at the bottom of the fans stand and would be spread out by the fans until it covered the entire stand, quite an impressive sight in a big stadium.

Yesterday about a third of the orchestra headed for Berlin and we were left here preparing a chamber programme for tonight (Sunday). Tomorrow is the full concert and then on Tuesday morning we head to Italy.

Wedding Bells

On Wednesday the orchestra witnessed a first, the marraige of two current members during a tour. Erik and Laura were married in the Richard Strauss Instituit in Garmisch on a cool, sunny morning. As well as friends and family, members of the orchestra were allowed to attend and many people came as the couple have a long history with the orchestra.

The wedding march was played by four horns (we even got a mention in a local newspaper).

That evening a buffet was provided for the whole orchestra and the drinks were free. 280 liters of beer, several hundred shots, some cheeky scandal and a nightclub in town later and everyone was feeling a bit worn out, but a lovely night was had by all and we all give the lucky viola and harp playing couple our very best wishes.

First Snow

View from Hotel room window:
Same view the next morning:

Here is my first update, we arrived in Garmisch almost a week ago, I had forgotten how beautiful this place is, I can see the Zugspitz, the tallest mountain in Germany, from my hotel room window. The weather until today has been gorgeous and warm and just on cue today I woke up to find it snowing, once the clouds lifted this morning I saw that the mountains have changed their close and were wearing white to celebrate a new week.

As we did last year a select group of us have rented bikes, the best and only way to get around this city quickly, a few trips up the neighbouring valleys and mountain tracks have produced some spectacular views and shortness of breath, and a nice graze on my shoulder and hand from when my front wheel forgot to do its job on some gravel. I will work out how to upload pics soon I hope.

Rehearsals are going very well, the sectionals have finished and the whole orchestra have been together for two days now. I am finding my feet as the new official fourth horn of EUYO, every horn on the course auditioned for high horn so someone had to take on this different and sometimes challenging role. I am enjoying it immensely and the horn section is as good as any I have played with in this orchestra.

I am not with a small group who are making a little extra stop in Berlin but instead will be playing in a chamber music concert here before we embark on the quite busy tour schedule.

So, so far it is going really well, must go now to pick up my washing, have a hair cut at the Frissuer and dry clean my suit. Next update very shortly, there is a lot to tell.

Preparing for the Travels

The Beatles gave way for Strauss, who has surrendered to Elgar, while my preperations continue. Once the next load is out and hanging, and the sheets on the bed are changed, I will be running to buy a jacket, new suitcase and some happy crickets.

Tomorrow I am leaving on my four week oddesy of Europe and Kazakhstan. I will be spending 11 days in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the German Alps, then on to Bolzano in Italy, Wiesbaden, Zurich, Genoa, Bologna, Berlin, then across to Kazakhstan for concerts in Astana and Almaty. I suspect there will be a few other stops on the way to keep us on our toes too.

Meanwhile preparations here are only beginning.

With luck you should be able to see pictures while the tour happens. Highlights will include mountain cycles in Garmisch, Football matches, concert halls, hopefully an Italian beach or two, sun and snow (possibly on the same day, on my previous stay in Garmisch I have cycled to the hall in shorts and a t-shirt to find a fresh layer of snow in the evening)

The orchestra is the European Union Youth Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy, who also happens to be a rather fine pianist, Sir James Galway will play on his flute, with his wife and Janine Janson will be with us on the Violin.

Keep checking, I am expecting many colorful pictures and storys over the next month, but for now, I'm off to buy some crickets.