Classical Music Buzz > Curtis On Tour
Curtis On Tour
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Most people don’t really understand or respect who I am. I’ve been called a guitar several times in the past few days at the airport. Since I’m so big, my owner actually needs to buy me a seat. Some people look at me as if my owner has wasted money on a silly piece of wood.

The other day I was especially mistreated when my owner and I were boarding on to a plane. A flight attendant almost put me into a cabinet. Gladly, my owner had my ticket with her to prove that I do get my own seat. However, things weren’t going so well - I wasn’t allowed to go past the first row because of a regulation - and I almost got separated from my owner because of some weary travelers who wouldn’t give up their seats…

Well, I did get through the day without any injuries, and I just hope for the best next time I’m flying!

-Cello Wang

5 years ago | |
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For some of us this morning started a little later than others. Joel and I were supposed to meet and share a cab to the airport. He thought that we were meeting at 8:30, when in fact we were meeting at 8: 15. When I called him at 8:20 to ask whether he was on his way, he said: “What do you mean?” When we got to the airport at 9am, we found Vicki and Yu-Wen scowling at us, because they had left at the correct time and had been waiting for us to arrive. There was something wrong with each one of us this morning: Vicki was dropping everything - her cell phone, boarding pass, Sprees candy; Joel was having a bad day already; Yu-Wen wasn’t feeling well and I had stepped on a piece of glass the night before, so my foot was hurting a little bit.

The crew on our first flight this morning was not accommodating or friendly at all! They got mad at us for “not pre-boarding early enough” (It’s this airline’s policy that people in wheelchairs pre-board first, and there were quite a few of them on this flight, so naturally we couldn’t have pre-boarded earlier). Apparently the cello, which is considered cabin baggage, has to sit in the bulkhead. However, the airline we flew on doesn’t have assigned seating and since we weren’t the first ones to pre-board, all the bulkhead seats were taken by the time we got on the plane. The crew became frantic when they found out that there was a cello on board. It was as if we had brought a bear! They stopped the boarding process, and made an announcement over the loudspeaker, saying that there is a cello on board and that it has to go in the bulkhead. Well, problem was, the people that were already sitting in the bulkhead didn’t want to move for the cello. The flight attendant first tried to tell Yu-Wen that they’d put the cello in the closet in the front of the plane. At this point I decided to get involved, knowing that I’d make a few enemies. I told the flight attendant that the cello has a paid seat and they can’t just put it in a closet! Then she tried to get only one person to move, to put the cello in the bulkhead and Yu-Wen a few rows behind it. I told her that was also not ok and that the cello has to sit with Yu-Wen. Then they started to tell me, with a rather raised voice, that the ticket for the cello guarantees it a seat, but not necessarily a seat next to the person it belongs to. That was when the gate attendant who had pre-boarded us got involved, the captain was peeking out of the cockpit, and apparently I was “causing trouble”. It all ended when two of the people in the bulkhead got irritated enough to move, so magically two seats appeared for Yu-Wen and her cello. Perhaps I was a little harsh talking to the crew, but hey, it worked! During the actual flight we slept a little bit, I had a geography lesson from Joel on the airline napkin, which had a map of the States on it, and we slept a little more after that.

On our second flight, having learned from our mistake, we made sure to get the blue pre-boarding slip and we were the first ones in line to pre-board. Since there were no people in wheelchairs, we ended up claiming both bulkhead rows. The extra legroom was quite enjoyable. Our second flight was far more enjoyable than the first one! It was also quite a bit shorter.

Once we were at the hotel we rehearsed for a little bit, then got Chinese food for dinner. We’ve instructed Yu-Wen to get lots of sleep and to keep drinking hot tea with honey, because we really don’t want her to get sick!

For me, some of the highlights of today’s travel included:

*On our first flight, before the drama with Yu-Wen’s cello, Joel, Vicki and I tried to sit in the exit row. One of the flight attendants said to me “ You can’t sit in the exit row if you pre-board.” I replied “Well, what sense does that make?” Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, because she said, “I can’t deal with this”, and walked away.

*My water bottle kept contorting during the flight, and I had to keep opening it to let air in. By the fourth or fifth time I did that, Joel and Vicki were starting to think that there was something actually wrong with it. It was funnier then than it is now.

*When we landed in Phoenix, our flight attendant said over the loudspeaker “We made it. YAY!”  Two thoughts went through my head: “Are we in kindergarten?” and “Was there any reason to believe that we wouldn’t make it?”

*We saw a bird inside Phoenix airport. It was just sitting on one of the benches and I was even able to get close enough to take a couple of pictures.

Well, it was a memorable travel day, to say the least. I have to finish unpacking now and then I'll be off to bed.

Until I loosen my bow again,
Bella


Joel giving me a geography lesson on an airplane napkin.


Somewhere between Phoenix and Sacramento.


A luggage tower in Sacramento Airport.

5 years ago | |
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It’s Tuesday night, and I should be packing for our trip out west. But again, true to character, I’m doing everything but! My friend Sylvia is at my apartment, and we just had some pizza while watching American Idol. I thought I’d write a couple of lines, and then I really should pack!

Last night’s concert at Curtis was very exciting! There was a great energy in the hall and also between the six of us; it was a really enjoyable concert to play! However I think it was just a little nerve wracking for all of us, because we knew that it was being recorded for WHYY and for a recording release. Even if we tried not to think about it, WHYY had their cameras and lights set up in the hall, which were quite hard to miss. It was so nice to play at Curtis, because we were playing for all our friends, teachers and supporters. It was a really lovely evening!

Before the Schoenberg, Dr. McGinn, our English teacher, did a beautiful reading of the poem Transfigured Night by Richard Dehmel. Joel will be writing a post with the text of the poem soon, and talking a little bit about it.

There have already been 410 streams and 166 track downloads of the Curtis Concert on InstantEncore.com! I’m looking forward to listening to the recording on the plane ride tomorrow.

Unfortunately I have to start packing now because our morning starts early tomorrow, but I’ll be writing more soon.

Until I loosen my bow again,
Bella


The six of us backstage after the concert.


The six of us with Dr. McGinn, our english teacher.


Bill and I were cello caddies.


This was our reward at the end of the night!


5 years ago | |
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We were all ready to go at 6:30am this morning, except for Vicki, who was six minutes late, but according to the clock in the van she was nine minutes late!! The freezing rain, which was promised to us by The Weather Channel, was a no-show, and the drive to the airport was quick and easy. I took my pillow in the van and was able to take a snooze. We arrived at the airport in Portland with plenty of time to spare, and when we were checking in, we saw that our 9:10am flight was on time. TWO minutes later, after we had dropped off our luggage at the screening station, our flight was delayed indefinitely. It was like showing candy to a child, and promptly taking it away! We got to the gate and took up an entire section of benches, where we planted ourselves as comfortably as if we were in our own living room. It was like being in a living room that happens to be next to a much-needed Starbucks.

In a few hours we were on the plane and ready to leave. There were two guys sitting behind Mr. Diaz and me. I am pretty sure it was their first time flying. The guy directly behind me was fidgeting for the whole duration of the flight, kicking my seat, and at one point the flight attendant asked him if he was all right. During take-off, I heard one of them say: “This is it, man, the take-off!” About half of the flight was pleasant, but when we started our descent into Philadelphia, I understood why Air Traffic Control had delayed us. We flew in fog and some rain for about an hour. If I had to choose between flying in heavy turbulence or flying in dense fog, I’d probably choose the turbulence. If I can see where we’re flying, I can sort of put up with the turbulence. This flight wasn’t as bumpy as some of the flights I’ve been on, but it was definitely bumpy enough for me to make a few audible gasps. I was getting really scared, because I could tell that we were close to the ground, but I couldn’t actually see it! I wasn’t able to see the ground until about five seconds before we landed. It was not pleasant…

We were about an hour late getting into Philly. The weather was treacherous! There were torrential rains and strong winds. It felt like we were in a hurricane. While Mr. Diaz and Margo went to get our new rental van, which was purple this time, Joel and I split a cab back to center city, so we could go to our apartments for about an hour before we had to leave for Longwood Gardens. On the road between the airport and center city there is a small tunnel, which happens to be at a low point of the road. The traffic was narrowed down to one lane in that place, because there were about 2 or 3 feet of water in the other lane. If you ignored the dark color and small quantity of the water, it looked like the ocean because of the waves that the wind was creating.

When I was ready to go to school, I went to the place in my apartment where I usually keep my umbrella. It wasn’t there. I was positive I had brought it back from school the last time that I used it, but apparently not…I was going to have to walk in the pouring rain without an umbrella! I had just blow-dried my hair, and I knew I shouldn’t get it wet, so I put on a coat with a big hood, and decided to take a cab. I couldn’t get a cab for about ten minutes, and if I didn’t get to school quickly, I was going to be late for our scheduled meeting time. I ended up walking without an umbrella, half-trying to keep my hood on, so my hair didn’t get wet, half-trying to avoid the large splashes the cars were making from the puddles in the street. I was completely soaked by the time I got to school, and quite cranky. My mood wasn’t much improved by the fact that my umbrella wasn’t at school either. When we got to Longwood Gardens and were ready to sprint inside from the van, it was raining in five-second phases. Margo, Vicki and I were able to walk inside without getting too wet, but Joel got really rained on.

Longwood Gardens were absolutely gorgeous, and I only got to see a small part of them. I was able to walk around just a little bit before we had to do our sound check. Everything in the Gardens was so beautiful, that it would be impossible to actually describe it, but I’ll give it a try. There were many different types of orchids, there were calla lilies, poppies and many more beautifully looking and wonderfully smelling flowers that I don’t know the names of. There were different rooms, some with grass carpets, others with fountains, waterfalls and rocks, all of them surrounded by more flowers and trees than one could imagine. Our stage was decorated with gorgeous white flowers, and there were flower arrangements in our dressing rooms as well. It was such a nice place to visit and perform in; I just wish we could’ve stayed longer there!


One of the many orchids at Longwood Gardens.


A room in Longwood Gardens. The living wall of orchids is in the far back.


The room that has a grass carpet.


The stage was beautifully decorated with, and surrounded by flowers.

During the concert, the stage lights went out. Later they told us that it was somehow related to the storm, but since the process of restarting the spotlights was very noisy, they decided not to do it. It wasn’t actually that dark on stage, and I think that after the initial shock we could all see our music just fine. My first thought when the lights drastically dimmed was: “Wow, we kept going!” I think my violin was cranky because of the humidity, and during the performance it decided to play a game with me called: “Let’s see how many times I can squeak when you don’t use just the right amount of bow pressure.” It’s a game I don’t particularly enjoy…

After the concert, we attended the reception, where the crab cakes were exceptionally good, and so were the desserts. By now everyone was really tired, so we were heading home early. After we’d gotten in the van and were about ready to leave, two dessert carts attacked our van. The wind just blew them our way, and we watched them crash into the van in slow motion. It was pretty funny. We dropped Mr. Diaz at his house, and met his dog, Sami. She is a sweetheart, a yellow lab. After that, Margo dropped us all off, and parked the van for the night.

Today we’ve been in Brunswick, Portland, 29000 feet above ground, Philadelphia, Kennett Square and Philadelphia again. I think we’ve all earned a good night of rest!

Until I loosen my bow again,
Bella

5 years ago | |
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It wouldn’t be a normal day in my life if an act of clumsiness doesn’t occur early on in the day. This morning wasn’t any different. I got to a practice room at Bowdoin College, and somehow managed to drop my phone behind the upright piano. There was no way of reaching it unless I moved the monster. Let me tell you something: an upright piano may look small in comparison to a baby-grand or a concert-grand but it is not light. And, true to character, instead of asking someone to help me, I moved the piano by myself and reached for my phone, collecting dust from the wall along the way. Then I was ready to start practicing, and went to get my music out of my violin case. Well, guess what? The music wasn’t there. I remembered that I had put one of my parts back in the case after taking it out last night, but not the other two. Luckily Margo was still at the hotel, so after a mildly panicked phone call from me, she was able to talk the hotel concierge into giving her a key to my room to get the forgotten music and bring it to me. My day was going fine so far - I’d had two crises, both averted.

When we got to the hall for our rehearsal this morning, it was locked. We decided to walk around the outside hall to check if one of the 8 doors to the hall was perhaps unlocked, but no,  they were all locked! While we were walking around though, we found some plaques left over from the time when the hall was still the Curtis Pool.


A sign in next to one of the entrances to the hall.


A piece of steel from the original Curtis Pool.


A close-up of the plaque under the piece of steel from the above picture.


All the doors leading into the hall require a card swipe to unlock. After coming upon the fourth locked door, Joel thought that if he swiped his hotel room key, the door would open. Needless to say, it didn’t! However, what it DID do was demagnetize Joel’s key. He didn’t find this out until later, when he was trying to get into his room, and the light was flashing red instead of green. He had somehow managed to demagnetize his second key yesterday, so he had to go back to the front desk and ask for a new key…

We had two concerts today. The first one was at noon, an informal performance for the students at Bowdoin. The quartet (me, Joel, Vicki and Yu-Wen) decided to play something to open the program with. We thought what better is there to play than a couple of movements of Beethoven’s String Quartet, Op. 95. It was an interesting experience to first learn that piece as a quartet (which was a part of this year’s Op. 95 Project at Curtis), then to perform it with The Curtis Symphony Orchestra (we played it at Carnegie Hall a month ago, conducted by Alan Gilbert), and then to go back to performing it as a quartet. We all felt quite exposed after playing it as an orchestra, but many parts were easier to hear and play together. Then we played the Strauss and the Dvorak from our main program.

For lunch we went back to Brunswick Diner. Today they had clam chowder instead of seafood chowder, and I ordered a bowl this time instead of a cup, which was a great decision on my part. It was delicious! After lunch I uploaded some photos on InstantEncore.com, and then wanted to practice a little. Since Yu-Wen and I are sharing a room at the moment, I asked the hotel staff if there was an empty conference room that I could use. They put me in the hotel’s laundry room. The acoustics were actually great in there, and if I could, I’d practice there all the time! Also it was fun to see the really big washers and dryers. I think I could’ve easily fit in one of those dryers!

Our evening concert went really well, I thought. It’s a tiring program to perform, especially since we had already performed two thirds of it earlier that day. After the evening concert, we went back to MJ’s Grill and Tavern, where Vicki and I ordered the NY Strip steak, while most people ordered only salad…

We’re supposed to leave our hotel at 6:30am tomorrow morning to drive to the airport. The Weather Channel is predicting freezing rain, so we have to allow a little extra time to get to the airport. With that said, I’m off to bed now.

Until I loosen my bow again,
Bella







5 years ago | |
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So Thursday (March 6) marked the beginning of our tour!  We had all decided to meet at 7:45 am at the Radisson Warwick hotel to catch the Lady Liberty shuttle to the airport.  I'm not much of a morning person in general, so I began by getting a coffee for the shuttle ride.  We got to the airport around 8:15 am and we checked in and went through the security.  Anymore, you have to get there so early just to get through the security lines!  We hung out around the gate for a while.  I tried to start reading an assignment for my Language and Literature class, but I get ridiculously distracted by noises in general, so I didn't really read that much.  Finally, we boarded the plane.

The flight was short and sweet.  Vicki and I were seat buddies for the plane.  We both tried to get some shut eye, but as usual on planes, it's practically impossible to sleep!  Also, I hate it when I'm sleeping on a plane and I miss my in-flight drink!  I mean, what do you do if you're sleeping and you STILL want your in-flight drink?  Do you leave your tray table down?  Sometimes that seems to work...  Anyhow, we landed at around 11:00 which was 15 minutes earlier than the estimated time of arrival which was sweet!

We got off the plane and walked over to baggage claim.  I don't think I've ever seen such a slow conveyor belt in my life!  After picking up our luggage, we headed over to the rental car area.  As Mr. Diaz and Margo were getting the car, Bella, Vicki, Yu-Wen, and I had a nice little bonding talk about how music is EXTREMELY distracting while trying to study.  I kinda thought I was the only person who felt that way...  When we walked out to our car, I noticed that we had rented a MONSTER VAN for the six of us!  It was pretty intense!  As we were driving, everyone was getting hungry.  In particular, Bella felt compelled to read the name of every restaurant and fast food joint in Maine.  We decided we would check into the hotel first and then we would get some food.

We checked into our hotel around 12:30.  It was sweet that I got my own room!  I like having the option to be alone when I want, and I can always invite people to hang out if I want to.  My room was really nice and quite spacious!  The TV had most of my favorite channels which was pretty sweet too!  We dropped off our stuff and left to get food at 12:40.  Mr. Diaz recommended the Brunswick Diner, so we all decided to go there.  It was unbelievably delicious!  I got a bowl of seafood chowder and a smoked turkey club.  After I ate, I just wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep, but our rehearsal was scheduled in Studzinski Hall from 2-5.  We had to drive right off to rehearse!

The hall was beautiful!  I had the opportunity to play in the same hall last summer.  The sound is really pure and clear.  We started by running through the Strauss (Capriccio Sextet).  That piece is so difficult to play when your fingers are cold!  After running it through, we decided to work on some spots which proved extremely helpful for me.  Then we started working on the Schoenberg (Verklarte Nacht).  What’s amazing about this piece to me is that fact that every time you play it, you notice different things about it.  It’s really a great work of chamber music, and such a pleasure to play it with such great musicians!  Also, the fact that we’ll be playing it for the next two weeks is unbelievable!  We rehearsed the Schoenberg till around 4:30 or so, so we didn’t really leave quite enough time for the Dvorak Quintet.  We rehearsed the first movement and decided to save the rest for the next day.  Bella, Vicki, Yu-Wen, and I were supposed to play some quartet stuff for part of afternoon program on Friday, so we decided to spend the time from 5-6 rehearsing Beethoven’s Op. 95 quartet.  It was interesting to play it as a quartet after having played it as a string orchestra in Carnegie Hall.  It’s such a great piece to work on.

We went back to the hotel to drop off our instruments, and then we went out to MJ’s Grill and Tavern in downtown Brunswick, Maine for dinner.  Again, the food was great!  I got a Cedar Planked Atlantic Salmon entrée, which was awesome!  The seafood is SO great here in Maine!  Dinner conversation was full of great stories by both Mr. Diaz and Margo.  It’s always really cool to hear stories about great artists that seem to deal with the same mundane issues we all deal with in life…

We went back to the hotel around 9 and we had some time to just chill out and get re-grouped for the next day.  We have to get an early start tomorrow, so I think I'm going to head off to sleep!  Enjoy and I'll write again tomorrow...

5 years ago | |
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It’s our first day on the road with Curtis On Tour. We had a nice, short flight this morning. I took a little catnap on the plane, which was a welcome addition to the 5 hours of sleep I got last night. Most of the time when I travel, I fly alone, so it was refreshing to fly with friends. While waiting for our luggage in Portland, we saw the slowest moving conveyer belt ever! Usually you have about 3 seconds to snatch your luggage off the belt, but here you could stand in front of your slowly wending luggage, stretch, yawn, and then reach for it. After loading everything into our big white rental van, we started driving, looking for our hotel. It turns out we drove right past it. I saw it as we passed it but didn't say anything, because I wasn't sure if it was our hotel, and it turns out that the one time I kept my mouth shut, I should've spoken up, because that would've saved us about a half an hour. After driving through town looking for the hotel and turning around, realizing we'd passed it already (during which time I was reading out loud every restaurant and bakery name, because I was starving), we finally got to the hotel and got ourselves checked in. The hotel concierge that checked us in had a little difficulty with our names. Yu-Wen became Gwen, I (Bella) became Ella and Margo became Marco...

We ate lunch at Brunswick Diner, which claims to serve the best root beer floats (I didn't have one, since I'm not a big fan of root beer so I couldn't agree or disagree). We did have some seafood chowder though, which was excellent, followed by hearty sandwiches. After that it was time to get to work, except I think some of us were in a food coma, me especially. Luckily I found a coffee shop in the Student Union next to the hall where we were rehearsing, so I was able to load up on caffeine. (It turns out that that coffee shop also makes bubble tea, so I'll be going back for that tomorrow!)

The hall in which we're playing looks like a beautiful new hall. What one probably doesn't know is that the hall used to be a swimming pool, called The Curtis Pool. We were literally rehearsing in the deep end. During our rehearsal Vicki was sounding awesome in her pizzicatos in the Schoenberg, and she was so enthusiastic about projecting them, that she ripped her “A” string right off of the viola. Mr. Diaz said that her string couldn't take it anymore, so it committed suicide. After four hours of rehearsal we were ready to get back to the hotel and start blogging, but not before a good dinner at MJ's Grill and Tavern, where most of us had the grilled salmon, which was great!

The air outside was crisp after dinner, and it smelled like pine trees. Also we saw a gorgeous black night sky with stars in it, for a change. The only kind of stars we see in Philadelphia are moving, and also known as airplanes or helicopters.

Well, that's about it for today - we're all looking forward to a good night of sleep, because we start again at 9am tomorrow morning.

Until I loosen my bow again,
Bella

P.S. In memorium of Margo's computer, which died this morning.



Flying into Portland.


Waves breaking against the lighthouse.


Our fearless President taking on the van.


The adult counter.


The kids table.


Enjoying our seafood chowder.


Our new favorite, The Brunswick Diner!


Rehearsing in the former Curtis Swimming Pool.


The death of an "A" string.


Post-rehearsal.


It was a long day.


5 years ago | |
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Greetings new and old Curtis friends!

We are extremely excited to be part of the first Curtis On Tour initiative from March 6 - March 21, 2008.  Let me first introduce ourselves! Bella Hristova and Joel Link are our violinists, Vicki Powell and Curtis President Roberto Diaz are our violists, and Yu-Wen Wang and myself (Margo Tatgenhorst Drakos) are the cellists.  I graduated from Curtis in 1999 as a student of David Soyer, and it is such a privilege for me to be able to be once again inspired by the incredible talent, drive and excellence that is Curtis.  During the next two weeks our sextet will be traveling through Maine, Pennsylvania, California and Florida, performing concerts, doing outreach events at schools and medical centers, giving master classes, and meeting Curtis Overseer's & Friends of Curtis, the wonderful supporters that keep Curtis, Curtis! We will be performing the Strauss Sextet (which is the opening to the final act of his Opera, Capriccio), Schoenberg’s incredible Verklarte Nacht, and the fiery Dvorak E-Flat Viola Quintet.

Curtis is a tuition-free conservatory that trains exceptionally gifted young players for careers as professional performing artists at the highest level.  Curtis On Tour is an incredible opportunity to prepare students for the rigors of a performance career and the plethora of skills and the endless balancing act that this requires.  Whether it is juggling travel delays, finding the right directions to a hotel, and preparing talks for students, or squeaking in practicing, trying to get some sleep and stay on top of emails, these are the rewarding and sometimes challenging realities of a professional musician. Equally amazing is the chance to perform the same program multiple times in close proximity! My last year of Curtis I the opportunity to perform a program in multiple cities, night after night.  Never before had I played the same program more than twice and it was a completely life altering experience.  I have found that only after you have played a piece many times, in many different moods, with many different audiences, do you begin to truly explore a piece. For the Curtis students on this tour, I hope they find this to be equally a profound experience. 

Over the next two weeks, Bella, Joel, Vicki, and Yu-Wen will be providing you with a glimpse into life “On The Road” through words and pictures.  We hope you enjoy and that you will share your comments and questions! Our live performance from Field Concert Hall at Curtis will be available for public streaming online right here at InstantEncore.com/Curtis beginning Tuesday, March 11, 2008. 

5 years ago | |
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