Coming to a Town Near You!

As I posted some time ago, I’ve had the great honor of being invited to be a guest artist at this year’s International Trombone Festival. Yes, such a thing does exist. In fact, they’ve had 39 of ‘em, and for this special 40th anniversary festival, the ITA has decided to return to my quasi-hometown of Nashville, Tennessee! I’m super excited to have this major trombone event in my neck of the woods, and I can’t wait to hear all the great things that have been planned.

All the events will be held on the campus of Vanderbilt University, except for a special concert in which Joseph Alessi will premier a new trombone concerto with the Nashville Symphony in the Schermerhorn Center.

In preparation for my appearance at the ITF, which will include a solo recital and a masterclass, I will be giving four other recitals; two in North Texas and two in Middle Tennessee.

I will be visiting the campus of the University of North Texas from June 15th – 18th. There I will be rehearsing with my accompanist for the ITF, Natasha Sukhina, and we will perform a concert on the evening of the 16th. While I’m there, I’ll also have the chance to sit down with some of my professors to continue working towards my goal of finishing my Masters degree from UNT. On the 17th, I’ve been invited to give another solo concert at the University of Texas, Arlington. Thanks in advance to Vern Kagarice and Dennis Bubert for the chance to play and for organizing everything.

Natasha and I will then fly to Tennessee to perform a concert in my hometown of McMinnville, which is something I’ve wanted to do for years. That will be in the afternoon of June 19th. The next day I have the chance to do one last concert and masterclass at the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts, on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University. The trombone instructor there, David Loucky, was my instructor when I attended the GSFTA in 1998! David has been kind enough to organize an evening recital for the entire school, which is hundreds of 11th and 12th-graders. I am very excited and honored to be able to share music with the students and hopefully inspire them. After all, I was sitting right where they sit not that long ago (although 13 years sounds long, now that I think about it…).

Anyway, just wanted to post this announcement so folks in my two favorite regions could save the dates and begin to get the word out! All the concerts will be free admission.

Check the “Upcoming Schedule” page for more details, i.e. locations and times.

My Mad Dash to the Opera

I’ve been in a bit of a storytelling mood lately (as reflected in my last post), so I thought I’d share another crazy happening from last month.

It was a Friday, and I was in the middle of a Philharmonic block under Peter Schneider. I was playing principal on Josef Suk’s symphony Asreal, which is actually an interesting piece. We had an evening concert that was to begin at 7:30, and since we were performing in the historic Theater an der Wien rather than in the Musikverein, Schneider called for a 6:30 acoustic rehearsal. Even though most of us groaned at the announcement, it turned out to be a very good thing.

We sat on stage and ran through some of the tricky spots, and by 6:45 I was sitting on my travel case backstage preparing to go get some food. The first piece on the program was Dvorak’s Biblische Lieder, which has no trombones. Then there would be an intermission, so in all reality I wouldn’t have to be dressed and ready to go onstage until probably 8:15.

As I was packing up my trombone, my phone rang. On the other end was Dietmar, and he sounded panicked. He was at the opera, scheduled to play principal trombone on Tosca, and no 2nd trombonist had shown up yet. Hmmm. OK. Let’s talk about this…

Dietmar asks, “Who was scheduled to play tonight?” I told him who was supposed to play, and he said, “Well, I tried calling him and he won’t pick up.”

     “That’s weird. I bet he forgot.”

     “Are you in Vienna?”

     “Yes, just finished the Philharmonic rehearsal at the Theater an der Wien.”

     “Do you play on the first half of the concert?” he asked.

     “No.”

     “Could you come over and play the first act of Tosca in order to give time for a  substitute to show up?”

     “Sure, what time does the performance begin?”

     “In 7 minutes…”

WHAT!!?? Yes, that’s right. The opera was to begin at 7:00. (I would like to take this chance to say that my colleague who was scheduled to play 2nd trombone had a very good excuse for not showing up. Happens to the best of us…)

I immediately leapt from my seat backstage and began running with my trombone strapped to my back. The Theater an der Wien is not that far from the State Opera House, but when you’ve got only 6 minutes to get there it seems A LOT farther! Also, my less-than-adequate physical stamina did not aid matters.

It must’ve been a funny scene, me sprinting down the sidewalk with a big instrument, whipping in and out of pedestrian traffic and trying my best to avoid knocking over any tourists or old ladies in fur coats (both of which are plentiful on the sidewalks of the old city). I also had my iPhone plastered to my ear, breathlessly giving Dietmar updates on my progress:

"I am… HHH, HHH… about 2…HHH,HHH… minutes away…"

I made it into the backstage door with about 2 minutes to spare. Dietmar had pulled my black suit out of my locker and as I changed into it he put together my trombone. We all rushed upstairs and into the pit just as the concertmaster gave the tuning note. I had done it! In the span of 8 minutes, I went from calmly relaxing backstage at one theater to sitting in the pit performing in another one.

I was completely out of breath and very sweaty, but was nevertheless able to play decently… until… the asthma that has been plaguing me since last September decided to rear its ugly head. Apparently my sprint to the opera had angered my bronchial tubes, and about 10 minutes into Tosca they decided to go ahead and swell up. I started wheezing pretty badly, which developed into a cough just in time for a really quiet section of the music. I had to eventually sneak out of the pit to take a couple puffs on my inhaler so I could make it through the rest of the act.

A substitute showed up in time for Act Two, so I headed back over to the Theater an der Wien to play the Philharmonic concert. I got there just as the first half was finishing, so I had some time to catch my breath and cool off before taking the stage for the Suk symphony. I found myself wondering if other professional musicians deal with things like this…

High Drama (Literally)

This past Easter weekend I played in a run of Wagner's Parsifal in the State Opera.   It's traditionally scheduled around Easter because the storyline of the gargantuan work centers around the quest for Christian relics, plus the final act takes place on Good Friday.   Wagner was very interested in these kinds of things... holy grails, spears, templar knights, etc.    It was one of several things the Nazis found so admirable in him.    And after performing this opera three times in one weekend, I found myself getting quite annoyed at the curious over-the-top blend of German epic poetry and faux religiosity.   

Don't get me wrong, the music is beautiful.    But absorbing hour after hour of magic evil castles, curses, holy grail ceremonies, and perpetual wounds interspersed with references to the healing power of a spear (rather than the One actually pierced by the spear), it was enough to make me a bit nauseous.  

Apparently I wasn't the only one...

The end of the first act of Parsifal is a point of contention for many an opera scholar, but it has nothing to do with the music, the text, or the staging.   It has to do with what happens after the music stops.   The act ends with Parsifal observing a lengthy grail ceremony.   The atmosphere becomes very reserved, pious, and even worshipful.   In fact, in our production the knights all take Communion on stage.   In order to preserve this "holy" feeling, the tradition that arose at Wagner's own Bayreuth Festspielhaus was for there to be no applause following the first act.    The orchestra simply finishes the last note, the lights come up, and the audience heads to the restroom or bar or wherever they go.

I have a couple problems with this.

First, although the folks at Bayreuth would swear on their lederhosen that Wagner wanted it that way, I've always heard that it was a misunderstanding.    I always thought that Wagner wanted there to be no curtain calls after the first act, not a complete ban on applause.    I've even heard a story that Wagner himself once shouted 'Bravo!' during a Parsifal, only to be shushed and hissed at by the audience.   

But even if one assumes Wagner indeed wanted complete silence, the fact that there is some debate on this issue means that at some point someone will applaud after the first act.   Some folks aren't aware of  the tradition; other folks don't agree with the tradition; some folks just forget.   Of the 10 performances of Parsifal I've played, someone has applauded in 8 of them.    

So, what happens when someone applauds?    The other audience members just sit idly by?  To each his own?   We're in Vienna, my dear reader.   Not a chance.

The usual response to even ONE clap from ONE wayward soul:  THREE HUNDRED people very loudly go "SHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"     Which of course preserves the holiness and reverence of the moment much better than some applause...

My point is that if no one applauds... great.  Fine.  It's quiet and the Wagner fans feel really awesome.  But, if someone does applaud, the shushing and calls of, "Ruhe!" (Quiet!) disturb the mood just as much.   If someone claps, the damage is done!  You can't un-clap a clap!   

So, to the 'high drama' part.    The first performance last month went fine.  No applause after the first act.    But then came the second performance, on Easter Sunday.    As the final chord of the first act faded into silence, a gentleman in one of the boxes high up to the left side of the stage began to applaud very loudly.   Of course the audience reacted as always and began to shush him.   But he just kept going.   He kept on clapping with all his might, and so the other people began to escalate their reprimands.  Instead of shushing, it became hissing, which turned into booing, which turned into... yes... shouting.

Finally, the conductor, Ingo Metzmacher, looked up towards the source of the applause while gesturing with his arm and shaking his head.   The man finally stopped applauding, but then shouted his message to the audience...

"I find this holiness totally misplaced!   It's what led to the rise of National Socialism!"

The orchestra all sat there, mouths agape, myself included.   I've heard boos, hisses, and insults of all kinds hurtled at the stage.   But NEVER have I heard someone yelling at the audience!!   It was truly an unbelievable moment.    The man (who I like to call Screamy McShouterson) had obviously planned an ambush.   He was perfectly positioned to be heard by everyone, and the delivery of his message sounded rehearsed.  

As the conductor left the pit, the audience and orchestra were both murmuring in shocked amazement at what had just happened.   What did he say, again?  Did you hear?   Who was that?   What's he on?

I would like to say at this point that although I sort of agree with Screamy, I don't think what he did was right.    Again, to each his own.  If I think the non-clappers should leave him alone, then it's only fair that Mr. McShouterson leave the non-clappers alone.

Screamy then made me think even less of him when he decided to punish the conductor for his rebuke.   When Metzmacher came into the pit for the second and third acts, Screamy loudly and passionately booed.   And he kept on booing until the rest of the audience drowned him out with supportive applause.

What a crazy night!

The Long and the Short Of It

I'm quickly closing in on the end of my longest uninterrupted streak of calls ever, and I've gotta say, it feels nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel.   Of course it's my own fault that I've had so much work to do in the last couple months.  I'm the one taking off three weeks early in June to prepare for my upcoming performance at the International Trombone Festival (more on that later).   But it's still been a feat of some magnitude to play virtually every concert, opera, and rehearsal since March 16th.   That's 8 weeks!   

There's lots of specific operas and concerts to tell you about at some point, but something has really struck me as odd in the 'big picture' of it all.   It seems that in the State Opera (where I've played the vast majority the 8 week streak) a definite pattern has emerged that is somewhat interesting.  Not very interesting... just somewhat.   But it gives me an opportunity to talk about an aspect of having an opera job that I often get asked about: the length of the performances.


It seems that in the first half of my streak, the opera house was staging almost exclusively really LONG works.   We're talking about 6 performances of Anna Bolena ( 3 hours, 30 minutes), Wagner's Ring Cycle (around 18 total hours of opera over 4 evenings), and a run of another Wagner staple, Parsifal (clocking in at a little over 5 hours)!  The month of April was... long......... very................. long.   Again, I brought this on myself.  I'm fully aware.  Just sayin', that's all.


But the last couple weeks in the opera have been a stark contrast and welcome relief.   First of all, there's a run of Don Giovanni, which is easily one of the most coveted services to play because Mozart doesn't write a single note for the trombones until about 10 minutes from the end of the opera.   If the performance begins at 7PM, I don't actually enter the opera house until about 9:30.   I have a warm-up, change into my black suit, and enter the pit around 10 o'clock just in time to play the final scene.   There's a big soprano aria just before our entrance, so we usually stand just outside the pit entrance until we hear applause from the aria and then enter and take our seats.   We do it that way so as not to visually disturb the performance.    The Vienna State Opera has a completely uncovered orchestra pit, so virtually every audience member can see us when we go in.   But once we've made it in, we get to play some of my favorite Mozart music ever.   

Sometimes I get really nervous on Giovanni evenings, because when 8PM rolls around and I'm not even close to leaving the house I start to instinctively get a but twitchy and feel that something's not right.   It's a weird feeling to be at home watching TV with Kristi when the performance downtown has been going on for a couple hours already!


There's also been a ballet running recently called "A Tribute to Jerome Robbins" where the trombones play only the first 30 minutes and the last 30 minutes with an hour break in the middle.   Again, a very pleasant call to play because I usually go over to Starbucks and have a treat and then head down to the trombone room and practice till it's time to re-enter. 

Add to that Nabucco and Jenufa, both at 2-and-a-half hours, and it's been a much less stressful and tiring couple of weeks.  I'm very thankful for it, but I often wonder why they don't schedule the long and short operas more interspersed instead of in runs or streaks like this.   The current way means that the orchestra is dead tired during the long opera months and could honestly probably work a bit more in the short opera months.  Hmmm.  Dunno.

Catching Up (Or At Least Attempting To)

It's been 6 weeks since my last post, and the first finger of my left hand can't believe it just typed that number.   But don't let the absence of posts deceive you into thinking there hasn't been much going on... au contraire, BRP readers!    Ever since I returned from our wonderful California tour, life has been jam-packed, stuffed to the gills, and spilling over with responsibilities, work, and other generally adult-sounding words.   Oh, almost forgot... also add 'relocating'!

Yes, the Wilson family has moved.   We no longer live in the middle of nowhere southeast of Vienna; we now live just on the outskirts of the middle of nowhere northeast of Vienna!   I kid, I kid.   We live just outside the city limits of Vienna in a nice little town that is much more practically located for all our family activities and for my work commute.   We made the decision to begin looking in this direction several months ago, and God blessed us with a wonderful house that is not only in a better location but also less expensive. 

We moved on April 4th, just about three weeks after I returned from California.   Three weeks sounds like a normal amount of time to pack up a house and move, right?   Well, it is.  But add to that a jazz concert at the Musikverein, playing 1st trombone in Aida, Arabella, and Elektra in the opera, and two Philharmonic blocks, and you begin to get an idea why it took us every second of that 3 weeks to get packed up.   During that time I would go to the opera or concert each evening with a car fully loaded with stuff that I would take by the new house and unload late at night once the performances were done.

Nearly three weeks have also passed since moving day, which is again a normal amount of time to unpack and get settled in a new place.   But again add to that a Wagner Ring Cycle (including my first time playing bass trumpet in the Staatsoper), a run of Parsifal, and another Philharmonic block, and you understand that basically the new house and the opera house have owned me for 6 weeks.

I do not begrudge it, though I'm glad the stressful and busy time is coming to a close.   And it looks like it's just in time for the wonderful Austrian Spring weather!   The boxes are all unpacked, the light fixtures and photos hung, and the back yard is even beginning to resemble the nice outdoor space that it will eventually be.    And waaaaaaay at the bottom of my 'TO DO' list, right next to "remind friends and family that you still exist and you still love them", is the entry, "catch up on blogs".  

So my goal over the next couple of weeks is to do just that.  I've got a backlog of topics that I really want to share with everyone, and I'm going to try my best to tell you about everything that's been going on.    In the meantime, you can check out The Vienna Wilsons for some photos of the new place.

California Tour Journal: Part 4 (final)

Day 9: Palm Desert

Today was a fairly uneventful day, especially compared to the previous few days. We had a three-hour bus ride to the next stop on the tour, Palm Desert, and it turned out to be pretty scenic. We started out following the famed Pacific Coast Highway (aka California State Route 1), and I really enjoyed the views it afforded us.

We made our way through the San Fernando Valley, around the north and east sides of Los Angeles, and finally out east of the city into the desert. The mountains are really beautiful out here. I think many colleagues were surprised to see snowcapped peaks in California (Kalifornia). We also passed a giant (really) wind farm that had the cameras on the buses clicking.

We arrived in Palm Desert around 2PM, but were told the hotel rooms weren’t ready. Luckily, since our hotel is also a casino, we were able to take advantage of the traditional casino-style buffet. For $16 we had all we could eat (which turned out to be a lot). I think the guys I ate with were impressed that they could get so stuffed for so cheap. Ahhh, America.

I ended up not getting my room until around 4 o’clock. I had enough time to sleep for an hour or so before hopping on the bus once more to head out to the theater for this evening’s concert.

So, if last night’s hall was bad, tonight’s was really bad. It’s just really not a good thing when an orchestra that is accustomed to a hall with a golden, velvety sound that carries on forever has to perform in a hall with a sound that I would describe as … cardboard-esque. After each wonderful note played by this, one of the world’s great orchestras, was a reverberation that lasted approximately -.2 seconds. That’s right. The sound actually had negative reverberation. Not sure how that even works, but it was true. It sounded like our instruments were pointed into a bucket of stale mop water, really.

By concert’s end, we were ready to get out of there. I hitched a ride back to the hotel/casino/buffet with Hans, ordered some room service, and went night-night. I miss Kristi and Eli.

Day 10: Costa Mesa

The buses weren’t scheduled to head out for Costa Mesa until noon today, but the trombone section decided to get up early and make a little side trip of our own. Hans rented a car when we were in Santa Barbara so that he could go golfing and do a few other things on his own, and he won’t have to return it until Saturday in San Diego. Mark and Hans had heard there was a good music shop in the LA suburbs, and we thought it might be fun to go check it out and maybe try out some instruments.

We had to spend quite a while squeezing 5 trombones into the surprisingly small trunk space of the Nissan Altima hybrid, and then proceeded to squeeze ourselves into the seats. It was all knees and elbows in the back seat, where I was joined by Dietmar and Christian for the two hour drive to ‘The Horn Guys’ shop.

We had fun conversation on the trip, and were treated (once again) to bright sunshine and scenic views as we drove through the mountainous desert towards Los Angeles. Traffic was lighter than expected, and we made good time. We spent a couple hours in the store, trying out lots of different trombones yet knowing we couldn’t purchase any, mostly because we wouldn’t have been able to fit them in the car!

We asked the storeowner for a lunch recommendation, and luckily just next-door was a Thai place that he gave glowing recommendations. I must say, there’s no way I would have ever gone into this place, but it turned to be very good. We stuffed ourselves with delicious and spicy food (for roughly $7 each) and piled back into the car to head towards Costa Mesa.

I had the evening free, so I took a nap shortly after checking into the hotel in Costa Mesa. I spent my evening walking around, but there wasn’t much to see in what seemed to be a mostly financial district.

Day 11: San Diego

Another day, another bus ride. This one was not bad, only two hours long and in scenic country. Our destination was San Diego, the final stop in California. After arriving at our downtown hotel, I got together with Kyle Covington, principal trombonist of the San Diego Symphony. He took me down to the beach at Coronado, where we took a quick stroll, chatted, and had some coffee at a local café. I found myself constantly using quotes from my favorite San Diego movie, Anchorman.

But seriously, folks, the city is beautiful. As in San Francisco and Santa Barbara, the surrounding countryside, marvelous architecture, and sunny weather combine to create what must be a fantastic place to live. I also echo what I’ve heard my whole life about California… it is very, very relaxed and laid back. Even in these large cities, one gets the impression that everything moves at a much slower pace and that nothing stressful ever happens here.

Kyle came with me to the orchestra’s rehearsal and was eventually able to secure a ticket to the concert itself. The concert went well, although we were yet again battling a sub-par performance space. The acoustics on stage were atrocious, and some colleagues told me that it wasn’t much better in the audience. The audience seemed to disagree, with huge ovations and applause after almost every movement. The trombones also had a good run of Brahms’ 2nd symphony; the final D-major chord was in tune and loud (yet not obnoxious). Hans and Mark were listening off-stage and both said it was very good.

Tomorrow we leave the state of California. I will definitely miss it. The whole visit to the Golden State has been wonderful - even greater that I thought it would be. It leaves me wanting to come back again with Kristi and Eli in tow. In fact, my enjoyment of the trip has been made somewhat bittersweet because I haven’t been able to share it with my family. Well, at least now I have some idea of where we should go and what we should visit.

Days 11 & 12: Toronto

Yesterday was the type of tour day that makes you not want to go on tours. Blechhh… Get up. Check out of hotel. Get on bus. Go through airport. Get on plane. Fly 4 hours. Get off plane. Go through airport. Get on bus. Check in to hotel.

The one silver lining was that Maestro Bychkov invited the whole orchestra to dinner in one of the grand ballrooms of the hotel in Toronto. We had about half an hour after arrival to scrape off and put on our jackets and ties. But the food was totally worth it. The Austrians tend to eat quite sensibly… unless it’s free. Then they become suspiciously American-esque! We all had several plates of wonderful breads, meats, pasta, salads, and of course chocolate desserts. I thought I would burst, as did everyone at my table (mostly low brass players).

I had a restful night’s sleep - or more accurately, a buffet coma – before I rose this morning just in time to shoot an email to Kristi and get downstairs to check out. We had a quick rehearsal before our 2PM concert. I always enjoy the final rehearsal of the tour because everyone is in a great mood (we’re going home soon!) and there are lots of heartfelt thanks to hand out. It’s the time when the orchestra gets to show our appreciation to the stage managers, tour organizers, travel agents, and orchestra leaders that have (usually) made the tour a success.

Bychkov also gave a warm and heartfelt address, where he talked a lot about what a major musical and personal milestone it is in his life to have spent 3 weeks living with our orchestra. It was very moving to hear him talk about how much he has enjoyed conducting us, and how much he will miss us now that the tour is finished.

The concert went well, and it was nice to be in a real symphony hall again… one that was built for the expressed purpose of hearing orchestral music. We were sitting directly behind the horns for some reason (always a mystery to me), so I couldn’t really hear myself think during the climaxes of the Wagner. But the Bartók doesn’t have that much horn stuff in it, or at least not at the times we’re supposed to play. I thought it went well… probably the best we’ve ever played it. It was a good way to end the tour.

We’re now on the bus, headed to the airport. I’m excited because I get a business class seat for the first time in a long time. But I’m even more excited because I’ll see my sugar booger and lil’ buddy soon!

I guess this has probably been my favorite VPO tour overall. Great cities, great concerts, and nice weather… not bad! I had some free time to sightsee and shop and eat good food. And I got to spend time with some friends along the way, both from the orchestra and from the cities we visited. My next major tour will be a full year from now, which is weird to think about. Eli will be 3! We’ll be traveling to various places in Scandinavia, then on to Chicago and finally New York.

Hope you’ve enjoyed my first attempt at a tour journal. I know it was long, but a lot of stuff happened on the tour! Give me feedback, and let me know what changes you’d like to see in the next tour journal. Bis dann!

California Tour Journal: Part 3

Day 6: Berkeley

Today was my rest and relaxation day after the past two days of heavy sightseeing and concerts. I had no responsibilities because the concert this afternoon was Mahler 6 again.

I slept in, took a long shower, and then leisurely packed my bag while my room was again filled with beautiful California sunshine. I talked to Kristi for a while, and even got a few words out of Eli before he ran away from the phone. It’s nice the way the time difference works out, because I get to talk to Kristi and Eli first thing in the morning, which somehow just puts me in a great mood the whole day.

I took my bag downstairs just in time for lunch, and spent about half an hour walking around the Berkeley campus. Being that it was in the middle of a Sunday, there wasn’t much going on.

I happened upon a large grove of eucalyptus trees, all of which were ginormous and smelled incredibly fragrant. In fact, it was the smell that drew me to them in the first place.

After hanging around campus for a while, reading my Kindle and writing emails, I went to Zellerbach Hall and listened to most of Mahler 6 from backstage. What wonderful music! It’s one of the Mahler symphonies I don’t know so well, but after hearing the orchestra’s soulful and skillful rendition, I think I have to get better acquainted with it.

After the concert, we loaded up the buses and set out towards Santa Barbara. I was very sleepy as night fell, and ended up sleeping for the first couple hours of the journey. We had been told that we would stop for food about halfway to Santa Barbara, and sure enough, we pulled off the highway after about three-and-a-half hours. I assumed the driver would drop us off at a shopping center or something with several different fast food restaurants. Nope. We pulled into a parking lot and I was STUNNED to look over and see … a Valero gas station and a Jack in the Box.

So here you have 30 hungry orchestra members all heading towards a very small Jack in the Box at about 9PM on a Sunday. Not ideal. The poor workers had a look of panic as we all crammed in front of the counter and ordered our ‘food’. It was very slow going, especially with the European members having to really think about which of the undesirable and greasy choices they would select. And for some reason the entire restaurant was freezing cold. We nevertheless sat there in the middle of nowhere California in our full winter gear, shivering and silently wolfing down our hastily prepared Jack in the Box meals. We loaded back onto the bus and finally made our way to Santa Barbara around midnight.

Days 7 & 8: Santa Barbara

I got an email today from a friend of mine that said, “The Wiener Philharmoniker in Santa Barbara… someone was smart with their planning!” Boy was he right!! We had the most incredible couple of days here in Santa Barbara, rightfully nicknamed the ‘American Riviera’.

We awoke yesterday morning to temperatures of about 60 degrees and bright sunshine. I met several of the guys in the lobby, and we had no plans whatsoever other than to go find some food. We exited the hotel grounds and immediately gasped at the beautiful view.

We crossed the highway to the beach and spent the next half hour just meandering our way towards the pier we saw in the distance, pausing for a couple impromptu and not at all staged photographs.

The pier we had seen in the distance turned out to be Stearns Wharf. We walked down it in search of breakfast, but it became quickly apparent that breakfast food wasn’t really available. So we all had fish and chips! We found some seats in the sun outside the fish & chips stand and even had some entertainment. A pelican was flying around very close to the pier, and we really enjoyed watching him swoop and suddenly dive at full speed into the ocean after his prey.

Walking onto the wharf, we had seen an advertisement for a ‘land & sea’ tour and decided to check it out. We found out it was an amphibious vehicle tour and all hopped aboard for a 90 minute tour.

We had a fantastic tour guide named Milo, and despite being a bit chilly from driving/boating around in an open vehicle, everyone enjoyed it immensely.

The historic Santa Barbara Courthouse

The view from the tour boat

We spent the afternoon walking around downtown, stopping occasionally for a coffee or to take in the many magnificent Spanish mission-style buildings. I really enjoyed the architecture, and especially the courthouse. It was built in the 1920s and it is truly spectacular. We went to the top of the building’s 7-story tower to revel in a breathtaking 360-degree view of Santa Barbara. We didn’t want to leave. We just stayed up there, chatting and taking photos and soaking up the sun.

Today I slept in and then spent the morning and afternoon just walking around town and taking in more of this amazing city. I walked the beach for an hour at least, then circled back into downtown Santa Barbara, where I did a little bit of shopping and had lunch at Chipotle, my favorite burrito place.

Tonight was our one and only concert in Santa Barbara. I showed up at the appointed hour at the gorgeous Grenada Theater and giggled when I saw all the colleagues. The whole orchestra was pink! Everyone, myself included, had spent so much time outdoors in the past two days (in 60-degree breezy weather) without so much as a drop of sunscreen, and every single colleague I saw was sunburned!

As we rehearsed, we quickly found out that although the Grenada is really pretty and interestingly decorated, it doesn’t so much sound really pretty. It was very dry, and it was often hard for those of us in the back to hear the strings. It was nonetheless an enjoyable and well-received concert.