A Curtain Call and a Master's Degree!

After spending so much time on the road between June and October of this year, I have finally had some (relatively) free time the past few weeks.   I have enjoyed my break from traveling and 3-service days, albeit short-lived, which has allowed me to concentrate on more important things.   I have been spending lots of quality time with Kristi and Eli and I've tried to re-introduce myself to my friends and hang out with them at least once a week.

But that definitely doesn't mean nothing's been happening on the musical side of things.

I've really enjoyed preparing for my solo events in January/February.  My recital repertoire has been selected, and I'm trying to polish it up to share with everyone at UW-Whitewater and Southern Miss.   It looks like I'll be pulling out my alto trombone in a solo context for the first time in over 6 years!   I figure it's about time to unleash some Albinoni, and it has been a blast rediscovering his Concerto 9, No. 2.  Highly recommended.

At North Texas, I'll be performing a relatively new setting of James Kazik's Concerto for Trombone with the Symphonic Band under the direction of Dennis Fisher.   I'm trying to memorize it, which is something I used to be really good at, but have yet to attempt as a professional solo artist.

In early November, the Staatsoper did the Wagner Ring Cycle under the direction of Christian Thielemann.   Wow, was that fun!!   As some of you know, I'm not the biggest fan of the Ring, mostly because the folks 'round here take it so flippin' seriously, (Despite its ties to ancient Norse mythology, it's not worthy of the quasi-religious weight that it is so often given here... I mean, honestly folks...we're talking about dwarves, giants, and dragons chasing after a magic ring here...)  but the sheer quality of this particular cycle was enough to win me over.  

No matter what one thinks of his works or his personal life, it's no secret that Wagner was a master of musical composition.  Combine that with the fact that Thielemann simply conducted so well and with such spirit and clarity of musical intent that the orchestra and singers could not help but respond with world-class performances, and it's no wonder that the audience responded with some of the loudest and most enthusiastic ovations I've heard in my time here.

The pit during Götterdämmerung. I found the photo on an opera fan's blog.  

A very special moment for me came after we finished the last opera, Götterdämmerung.   Thielemann asked us all to join him on stage to take a bow and have a real curtain-call of our own.   This was something I've never seen done before, and it was very meaningful to many of us.   After all, the orchestra plays a significant role in Der Ring des Nibelungen, and Wagner in a way treats the orchestra as its own character much of the time.   In fact, one could say it's the only character (besides the ring itself) that appears in all four operas!  

I've often wondered what it's like for the singers to stand behind the gigantic velvet curtain, waiting to be thrust into the spotlight to the sound of cheers (or boos) from the waiting public.  It was a truly unique event as the entire orchestra huddled together behind the curtain; for me, it was my first time on the Staatsoper stage.   Thielemann made sure we were all there and signaled for the curtain to be opened.   We were simultaneously blinded by the bright spotlights and deafened by the roar of the approving crowd, and I must say I felt a slight lump in my throat.   It feels nice to be appreciated, and it was a quite satisfying reward to feel the gratitude of the audience after such a mammoth musical undertaking.   We all took several bows, and I couldn't help but smile.  :)   Below is a photo I found on the internets... It's quite blurry, but at least you get the idea.

Speaking of the University of North Texas (like, 5 paragraphs ago), I just graduated from there!    As you may recall from a previous post, I decided early in 2011 to finish the final four courses required to complete the Master of Music degree that I began back in 2006 before coming to Vienna.    Over the past year I completed several special long-distance projects that I was able to substitute for the remaining credits, and on December 17th I officially became an alumnus of UNT!

It feels great to have finally finished what I started, and it gives me a great deal of pride to hold a degree from the university that played such a huge role in my journey to the VPO.   I owe a huge 'Thank You' to many people there, but I would like to especially express my gratitude to Prof. Vern Kagarice and Dean Warren Henry for their assistance in making this happen.   Also thanks to Dean Henry for sending me these photos of the commencement program.

I'm at center-stage.  You can make out my trombone behind the bald guy.

Now you all know my middle name!

When I visited UNT back in June, I went by the bookstore and preemptively purchased a UNT Alumni t-shirt, but didn't wear it until last week!

Now it's true!

Also, in keeping with my flag-collecting dorkiness, I was able to find official (or quasi-official) university flags from both schools I've graduated from.

My alma... maters?... materi?...matero?...   My schools.

Back in November, just after the Ring Cycle, I played my 500th opera performance in the Wiener Staatsoper!!   It happened before I even had time to notice it was coming.   That means that I'm well over 700 total performances with opera and VPO combined.   That's a lot for 4-and-a-half seasons.

2011 is now almost finished, and I'll be performing on Sunday in our annual New Year's Concert under the baton of Mariss Jansons.    It will be broadcast live to over a billion people worldwide (so they tell us), and is by far the biggest concert of the year for us.   In America, it will most likely be broadcast in the afternoon/evening of January 1st on your local PBS station.   Check your local listings, make sure to tune in or 'DVR it', and ring in the new year with some lively Strauss waltzes and polkas!

Flags! Flags, Everywhere!

Several years ago, I was listening to the radio on my way home from school, and the host of the show I was listening to mentioned that he had traveled to something like 95 different countries in his lifetime.   He was talking about how dear this achievement was to him, how his experiences in those countries had truly enriched his life, and how excited he was to be closing in on a total of 100 countries visited.     It's especially remarkable considering the host is not someone who travels for a living; he's not an airline pilot, a missionary, or a diplomat, and he's not in the military... he's just a radio host who enjoys traveling.  

At that time in my life I had been outside the USA only twice before, once to Scandinavia for an international trombone festival, and once across the Canadian border at Niagara Falls during my honeymoon: a total of 4 countries.     But as I listened to the radio personality describe some of his trips, I imagined how cool it might be to follow his example.   It seemed a very adventurous, optimistic, and romantic thing to set a goal like that, and I decided I would try it.

At the time, the idea of visiting 100 countries seemed a bit ridiculous... so I set a more realistic goal for myself: to visit 50 foreign countries and all 50 US states.

Now fast forward 6 years.   We're not only living abroad in Austria, but my job is also very travel-heavy.  In a relatively short time span, my grand total has jumped from 4 to 36 countries!!  

I have been very blessed with some amazing opportunities for travel since joining the Vienna Philharmonic, and my life has truly been enriched by each place I've visited.   I'd like to talk more about why I enjoy traveling and why I think it's important in a later post, but right now I want to share a project I've been working on to help me keep track of (and ultimately celebrate the completion of) my travel goals.

Sorry, but this requires more backstory.  I'll be as brief as possible... let's try it this way:

Moved to Austria. 
Didn't know squat about foreign countries.  
Felt like ignorant American. 
Felt embarrassed when meeting people from countries I had never heard of.  
Decided to learn things.  
Bought iPhone app.
Learned where all the countries of the world are located on a map.  
Yes,  still know.  
Must occasionally review.   
Saw 192 nations' flags outside UN building in Vienna.  
Decided to learn those too.  
Bought iPhone app.
Learned those, too.  
Must occasionally review.  
Remembered goal of 50 countries.
Decided to collect a flag for each country visited.
Realized flags are large - wall space was insufficient.
Had an idea. 
Desk flags!
Needed something to display them.
Commissioned handy woodworking father to build stand.
Turned out great.
Realized I had also visited 36 US States.
Decided to do a 2nd stand.
The End.

There are two stands: one for nations (front) and one for US states (rear)

Yes, this was the elegant solution I came up with.   My Dad was awesome enough to spend a day fashioning two flag stands out of beautiful black walnut wood from the hills around my hometown. 

Each stand has 51 places for small desk flags and will 'thusly' show my progress towards my "50/50" goal.   Why 51 holes?  For the 'countries' stand, I wanted to put the Stars & Stripes in the center and still have room for 50 other countries.   For the 'states' stand, I have the flag of my home state (Tennessee) in the center and room for the other 49 plus the District of Columbia.

Don't they look great!?!?   Well, at least I think so.   It's so great to be able to look over at them when I come into my office and see that visual reminder of the great experiences I've had.   And when both stands are filled to capacity, I will have achieved the goals I set 6 years ago!!

And now... some FAQ'S (Yes, I have actually been asked these questions):

Q: What order are the flags in?
A:  Starting in the center and alternating out both left and right, they are in the order that I first visited each country or state.   So the further you go from the center, the more recent.

Q: Do you count airports as visiting a country?
A: No.   I wanted to make sure that all the flags represent an experience rather than geography, so I don't put a flag in just for flying through an airport.  I don't feel that constitutes a true visit to a place.   For each flag, I've actually walked around, spent the night, had a meal, etc. in that place.  At the moment, the only place I've technically been to that isn't in the stand is Singapore.

Q: What counts as a country?
A: This question comes up in regard to places such as Hong Kong, which is technically owned by China.   Should I count it as a separate country or not?   In general, if a place has its own government, is a member of the UN, or has ever sent an athlete to the olympic games, I count it.  And in most cases, if a place has its own flag, that answers the question in and of itself.   The only ones that I'm a bit iffy about are the Cayman Islands (a British Overseas Territory) and the Vatican City, but for the moment they're in there.

Well, that's all for now.   Hope I haven't bored you all too much.   I reckon everyone's got an inner dork... I just seem to also have an outer dork who happens to like flags and traveling.  :)

Australia!!!!!

Incredible... Awe-inspiring...Beautiful...Best Trip Ever!!    These are some of the words I've used to try and describe our recent tour to the 'Land Down Under'.    Australia has been on my travel 'bucket list' for a long time, and it did not disappoint.    My wonderful wife was able to accompany me on our first-ever voyage to the Southern Hemisphere, and she has done a fantastic job of sharing the tourist-y parts of the trip over at the Vienna Wilsons.    I have included several of my favorite sightseeing photos anyway.

I was originally not supposed to go on this tour at all, but due to some last minute changes in personnel I was able to tag along as a backup principal trombonist.   The orchestra always takes two principal players on long-distance tours, both to avoid overtiring by spreading out the work and to have a cover player in case of illness or other extenuating circumstances.   Since my contract classifies me as a 2nd trombonist, but moving up to 1st when needed, I get taken along quite often as a principal player.

What an amazing venue!   Can't believe I performed here.

Trying out a didgeridoo... harder than it looks, even for a brass player.

There wasn't that much repertoire to go around, but what I played was quite enjoyable:  Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony, Schumann's Symphony No. 2, and Mahler's beautiful song cycle Des Knaben Wunderhorn with fantastic soloist Matthias Goerne.   Also, we did quite a bit of Johann Strauss 'Neujahr's Konzert' stuff: Donauwalzer, Kaiserwalzer, and Unter Donner & Blitz (usually for encores).

I am kicking myself for not buying this hat...

Can you find the trombonist's head in this photo of the Pinnacles Desert??

The worst part of traveling to Australia is traveling to Australia.   Did you know that Australia is FOREVER away from Europe?    We flew out of Vienna on a Sunday evening around 5PM and arrived in our hotel room in Perth at 1AM on Tuesday!  Even with the time difference of 6 hours, that's a long trip...

But at least the flights were nice.   I had business class seats the whole way down, which helped immensely, especially on the flight from Frankfurt to Singapore.   On that plane we had seats which folded down to make pretty convincing beds.   I slept for the majority of the flight, and it really helped with jet lag once we landed.

We fell in love with Australia right from the start.   It's one of the few places in my life that have lived up to all my expectations, and I think it's because it's a truly authentic and unique place.   You know the feeling you get on your first trip to Manhattan?  The sort of "wow-I-can't-believe-I'm-here-and-it-looks-and-sounds-exactly-like-I-thought-it-would" feeling?   That's the feeling I had in Australia.   It's one-of-a-kind and it's exactly what I thought it would be like.

The friendly and energetic people, the amazing and unique wildlife, the gorgeous and vast landscape... it all really exists!    Things like kangaroos, wild obsessions with sports, eucalyptus trees, boomerangs, and Aboriginal art are not just stuff you see in the movies.   You see them everywhere you go! 

A humpback whale breeches off the coast of Perth

Our whale-watching tour was definitely a highlight

The beautiful city of Brisbane

 

The concerts were all very well-received, especially in Sydney.    Performing in one the world's most famous buildings is something I'll always treasure.   Nevermind that the acoustics aren't fantastic... it's the Syndey Opera House!!   Who cares!  It was just a joy to be there.

Now, I'm not an architecture person, but I definitely recognize greatness when I see it.   The Sydney Opera House is an amazing building.   Kristi and I spent probably an hour or more just walking around it, viewing it from every possible angle and vantage point.   It does have the tremendous advantage of sitting directly on the waterfront of the beautiful Syndey Harbour, which only serves to enhance the experience.

There's not that much to say about the music, because I just didn't play that much.  Conductor Christoph Eschenbach was in fine form the whole tour, which says alot because it was a long and arduous trip.     The musical highlight for me was Schumann's Symphony No. 2.   I am continually astounded by the Schumann's use of rhythm and his gift for melody.   It's one of my favorite symphonies, even though the trombones don't play that much.    The second movement is an absolute joy to hear in the capable hands of our string section.  I recommend you look it up sometime if you don't already know it.

Another transcendental musical experience came in the form of Mahler's lied Urlicht, which was part of the song-cycle performed by Matthias Goerne.    You may know it as the 4th movement of Mahler's 2nd symphony, though in that context it's performed by an alto rather than a baritone.    One of my all-time favorites, really.    Again, if you don't know it, do yourself a favor and YouTube it!   I'm thinking about trying out a piano and trombone version of it on my recitals this winter.   We'll see how it works.

 

Standing next to me is the main reason this trip was so awesome...Kristi!

Also on my list of unforgettable moments is the very last concert we performed in Sydney.  I don't know if this is just a Sydney thing or what, but when we finished the concert, the audience proceeded to shower the whole orchestra with red and white streamers!!  They were coming from everywhere!   Kristi was in attendance that evening, and she said that a roll of thin ticker-tape-style paper ribbon was left in each seat during the intermission.   I think she took particular delight in hurling it at me from her seat in the choir loft.   It was a very fun way to close out our Australian experience, and we took great pleasure in reeling off one final blistering Strauss polka while buried under mounds of paper!

 If you'd like to browse all our Australia photos, CLICK HERE.
 

Unforgettable!

I Feel Like Celebrating!

I've got three big reasons to celebrate today...

First and foremost, I am very excited to announce that I have reached the end of the year's final tour!  That's right, after my busiest year of touring ever, with a total of 22 weeks on the road,  in 9 countries on 4 continents, I will be heading home in three days.   I am thrilled and relieved beyond words to be able to say that.   I've had some truly great and rewarding experiences during my travels in 2011, but I must say I hope I never again travel this much in one year.     There will be some upcoming posts about the current tour, which has taken us to Australia (which was AWESOMELY AWESOME), Hong Kong, Macau, and now Japan.  Here's a sneak peek:

Secondly, I wanted to take the opportunity to announce some upcoming solo events that have been developing in recent weeks.     I am honored to have been invited to be a guest artist/clinician at three wonderful universities this winter.    First up will be a Trombone Day at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on January 29th, 2012; then the following weekend at the University of Southern Mississippi's Trombone Day, which will be February 3-4, 2012.   A huge thanks to Mike Dugan (UWW) and Ben McIlwain (USM) for the invites!   I am really looking forward to these events, which will each include a solo recital and masterclass(es).   Just after the USM event, I'll head back to my (soon to be) alma mater, the University of North Texas, where I will be performing a concerto with the UNT Symphonic Band and giving some masterclasses (stay tuned for more info).    As I found out back in June at the International Trombone Festival, I get such a kick out of solo playing, and I feel very blessed that the opportunities keep coming.   

 These places will not know what hit em'!

And lastly, I just realized yesterday that I missed the 1-year anniversary of Back Row Perspectives!  It's now been over a year since my first post, and I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself for sticking with this.   There was a part of me that thought I would give up, but I have been so encouraged by the feedback from BRP readers that I found the motivation to keep posting.    I know I often comment to many of you that I just post this stuff for my own enjoyment and to preserve my memories (which I do), but it is also nice to think other people are somewhat interested in it as well.    As of today, the blog has over 15,000 views from two-dozen different countries, including places I've never been before! I'm lookin' at you, Bulgaria and Norway!!

I hope to someday visit these BRP-lovin' countries!

So that's what I'm happy about today!    I made it a year without giving up on the blog,  I'm gonna get to hug on my sugar booger and my li'l turkey buzzard in a couple days (yes, those are actual nicknames of my wife and child), and now I get to start preparing some solo works for my concerts in January/February! 

There are some good things coming up in the orchestra as well:  Wagner's Ring Cycle with Christian Thielemann and Brahms' German Requiem with Danielle Gatti.   Keep your eyes peeled for full reports.

SKF in China *gong sound*

Well, it's been great to be back home... for a couple weeks at least.    Kristi and I are heading out today for Australia!    Yes, the Wilsons are about to invade the land down under as part of a VPO tour that will also include stops in Hong Kong, Macau, and Japan.    I'll be gone for about 4 weeks, but Kristi will be with me for the Australia portion of the tour.    My parents have (graciously) agreed to watch Eli while we're away.

I am planning to do a tour journal much like I did back in February/March, so keep your eyes peeled for photos and stories from my first ever experience in the Southern Hemisphere!

In the meantime, here are some photos from the last part of the Saito Kinen Festival, a two-week tour in Beijing and Shanghai.   Not much happened there... mostly just hanging out in between orchestra rehearsals and performances... so I think the photos will give you a good picture of what it was like.   The one thing I would say is that I really enjoyed getting to know the other musicians in the orchestra.  It was also very cool to experience an orchestra besides the VPO.  It taught me alot.

Catch you on the flip side... of the world!!!  Wow. I'm such a dork.

Beijing: the air quality capital of the world.

What a difference a day makes!

With Randy outside the Performing Arts Center in Beijing

CCTV Building in Beijing

The view from my hotel room in Shanghai...very different from Beijing

The two tallest buildings in China... for now.

100 floors up at the world's tallest observatory

Looking DOWN on the Jin Mao Tower = creepy.

The Oriental Pearl Tower

Think there are enough apartment complexes??

I do not envy these guys' jobs.

Matsumoto Wrap-Up

The Saito Kinen Festival Orchestra gave this year's final concert in Matsumoto this afternoon, and boy was it a good 'un!   As I've mentioned in previous posts, the best part of this whole experience has been the music, as it should be.  

The festival started out with lots of rehearsals, sometimes for 5 and 6 hours at a time.   In fact, the entire first week I was here was nothing but rehearsals.   I suppose they just want the orchestra to sound polished, which is not at all guaranteed when you assemble an orchestra with personnel that have never really played together.   Plus there's the pressure of having everything recorded for national broadcast and an eventual DVD/CD release.   

All that rehearsing definitely payed off, because the orchestra performed both Miraculous Mandarin and Bluebeard's Castle really well.   I had never performed the full-length ballet version of Mandarin before, just the concert suite with the VPO back in March, and it was really interesting to hear and play the eerie conclusion to what is probably my favorite Bartók piece.   And what fun it is to play!   John Engelkes, bass trombonist in the San Francisco Symphony, played beautifully in all his big solos.   There are quite a few trombone features (Bartók makes liberal use of glissandi to symbolize sensuality) and I had a blast performing them alongside John as well as Koichi Inoue, a fine freelance player from Tokyo.

The section for Bluebeard and Mandarin.  Shin, me, Mayumi, Koichi, and John

If there's one thing I've learned from 4 years in the VPO, it's that there is PLENTY of mind-blowingly beautiful music that involves the trombones very little, or not at all.  Bluebeard's Castle is a fine example.   Bartók's writing is truly masterful, with great themes, drama, and a great variety of colors and sounds to complement the bizarre storyline.  It was truly a joy to 'sit through' all four performances here in Matsumoto.

The opera/ballet production was made even more special on opening night when the festival's director, Seiji Ozawa, began the evening by conducting the strings in an emotional tribute to the victims of the March 11th earthquakes and tsunami.  The piece was Bach's famous Aria (known to many as Air on a G String), and Maestro Ozawa shaped it so masterfully that many in the orchestra consider it the musical highlight of the festival.  As I sat with my eyes closed and soaked it all it, I couldn't help but replay in my mind the terrible images of the utter devastation from March, and was more than a little surprised to find that when I opened my eyes my vision was blurry with tears.   I was certainly not alone in that.   It made me proud in that moment to be sitting amongst the proud Japanese people and to be participating in some miniscule way in helping to return life back to normal after such an enormous national tragedy.

We were all shocked to find out upon arriving at the opera house for the 2nd performance that Ozawa had developed a serious case of pneumonia and was being hospitalized.   He has been in bad health for some time now, especially following a bout with esophageal cancer a couple years ago, but his youthful demeanor and energy in rehearsals made it seem he was perfectly fine.   The assistant conductor had to step in with a grand total of 'zero' rehearsals under his belt.   Bluebeard is not an easy opera to conduct, but with the orchestra and singers rallying behind him, he did a fantastic job.   Seiji was eventually able to return for the final performance and was rewarded for his efforts with a massive reception from orchestra and audience alike.   It was a really special moment to see him bounding up on stage for curtain call after having been so ill just a few days before.    

For the orchestra concert side of things, the program is Tchaikovsky with a bit of Bartók thrown in for good measure.    I am having so much fun playing with this section, which consists of Massimo La Rosa (principal trombonist, Cleveland Orchestra), Randy Hawes (bass trombone, Detroit Symphony), and Yasuhito Sugiyama (tuba, Cleveland Orchestra).   I've known of all three of these guys for a long time, and it's so great to get to perform with them.   We mesh really well, and everything is SO easy.  Guess that's how it's supposed to be.   Plus, they're all great guys.

SKO 2011 section: Massimo, me, Randy, and Yasuhito

The program begins with one of my favorite Tchaikovsky works, Overture and Fantasy from Romeo and Juliet.   Say what you want about 'Tchaik', but that guy could write some melodies.    We've had two concerts so far, and the soloists have been fantastic every time, especially the woodwinds and horn (Neil Deland, Toronto Symphony).    Second on the program is Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 3, another delight that came out of nowhere and has instantly become a new favorite, especially the gorgeous 2nd movement.   Who knew he wrote anything besides Concerto for Orchestra?   I'm embarrassed to say my knowledge of Bartók repertoire has been tripled at this festival!   The concert finishes with a spirited and energetic version of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4, a piece I've wanted to play for a long time.   The brass section is let loose, indeed encouraged, by the talented young Venezuelan conductor Diego Matheuz, and we certainly take advantage of that freedom... tastefully and musically, of course.  :)    I have immensely enjoyed the orchestra programs so far, and can't wait to perform another couple times in China.   

On that note, I'll sign off for today.   Look for updates from Beijing and Shanghai in the next few days!

PS - After the last concert on Sunday evening, the festival threw a big farewell party.   The spread was amazing, but the thing I will always remember is the GIANT tuna that was wheeled in during the festivities.   

This is what happens when you tell a piccolo player to make a funny face...

The crowd gathered 'round as a sushi chef expertly sliced and diced the mammoth fish to feed the multitudes.  CRAZY!  Only in Japan, I guess.  And no, I did not partake.

Domo Matsumoto (Mr. Roboto?)

Tomorrow is my last day here in Matsumoto, Japan, and I must say I am eager for a change of scenery.   By the time we leave for China on Monday, I will have been here in the same town, with the same hotel room and same basic routine, for 18 days.  That's a long time by my touring standards, and it's been exacerbated (5 syllables, whaaat?) by the unfortunate fact that I'm here alone.   I REALLY wish I had been able to bring Kristi and Eli.   It was just too much after six weeks in America followed by two weeks in Salzburg.   Our little man needed some time at home with his normal routine, and it would've been torture on all of us to try living in a hotel room for 4 weeks in Japan.   As it turned out, they've been keeping busy with all sorts of fun stuff.

Though I don't think I ever want to commit to something this lengthy ever again (without my family accompanying me), there have been some great things about the experience, which I'd love to share with you.

First, a bit about Matsumoto itself.   It's not what I would consider a beautiful town, though I can't say I would consider any of the large cities of Japan to be particularly attractive.  I'm not a fan of the modern architecture, the crowded narrow buildings, or the whole industrial/business look of it all.  That said, there are some quite nice things about the town. 

There's no denying the surroundings are breathtaking.   It reminds me a lot of Upper Austria, with the lush rolling hills on the outskirts of town and the snow-capped mountains beyond that.  In fact, the whole atmosphere of the place is surprisingly similar to Salzburg, which is where I would be right now had I not come here.   Much like the Salzburger Festspiele, the Saito Kinen Festival takes over the city every summer.   Everywhere you look there are SKF banners, posters, or t-shirts, and I am frequently stopped all over town by music 'fans' when wearing my festival staff shirt.  
 

Looks a lot like Salzburg

There are SKF banners everywhere!

VPO bass trombonist Hans Ströcker has done this festival a lot, and he told me the food here was great.   Boy, was he right! And much to the detriment of my waistline!   Of course, no matter how good the restaurants are, I can't eat out every meal.  

Enter the wonder that is the Japanese Convenience Store!   It is amazing to me how well one can eat by just taking a visit to the corner market.   In the US, about the best you can do is a Slim Jim and a Yoohoo.  Here, there are many more fresh and somewhat healthy options.   My favorite is called onigiri, a triangle of rice wrapped in seaweed and filled with one of a few various substances (tuna, salmon, etc.).

An example of onigiri

You can also get really high-quality sandwiches and other prepared pastas, noodles, and sushi.   I have been eating about one meal a day from the convenience store just down from the hotel called Lawson Station.

'My' convenience store, with the Hotel Buena Vista in the background

One day this week we had two orchestra rehearsals back-to-back, which didn't leave much time to get lunch in between.   So the good SKF folks organized a "Soba Party"!

Soba noodles are served cold and dipped in a bowl of soy-based broth.   They are traditionally made from buckwheat (which is what the word 'soba' means), and supposedly the most famous soba area is just up the road in Nagano.    SKF invited several soba makers to come provide the noodles for our party.   They all lined up their big boiling kettles under the awning of the performance hall, and cooked MASSIVE quantities of noodles, which were then poured into colanders and rapidly cooled in a big vat of ice water.    Then each maker piled up their noodles on these big circular wicker mats and everyone gathered 'round the tables with their individual bowls of broth.

Cooling off the soba noodles

I was a little unsure of the 'procedure', but after watching some of the Japanese folks do it, I caught on.   I dug my chopsticks into a big pile of soba, grabbed a big chunk, and dipped it in my broth.    I enjoyed so much delicious buckwheat pasta that I nearly couldn't play in the afternoon rehearsal!

The whole vibe reminded me a lot of the huge company picnics I attended as a kid when my Dad worked for a Japanese company.   There was loud 90's American rock music, swimming pools filled with bottled drinks, and even a shaved ice stand in the corner (I had the blue flavor).  All that was missing was a dunking booth in the corner.   And besides the soba, there was fried rice, tempura, yakitori bbq skewers, and crepes.   Yes, crepes!    It was a great time.

The best part of the SKF by far has been the music and the people.   More on that in the next post!