CLS Cartagena Tour 2010

The wrong trousers!

2010-01-15T18:23:00.004Z

Or rather, no trousers at all! It's the moment every orchestra manager dreads - your own personal organisation letting you down, just before a concert.

The lead up to Thursday's concert in the chapel of Santa Clara hotel had more than its fair share of uncertainties. Would the stage be big enough for the piano concerto? Would the piano have to be lifted onto the stage in the middle of the concert? Would we be able to change the concert order so that the harp could be moved and tuned during the interval? Would the atmospheric lighting be adequate for the orchestra to read their music?

In addition, there was a heightened sense of tension amongst the orchestra and around the hotel, as by then we had realised that the extreme tidal waves on the previous day (causing the beach to be closed to the public and boat trips to be cancelled) were the result of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Furthermore, at breakfast there were rumours of very slow moving traffic into the old town, so there were doubts about whether we would be able to get to the rehearsal on time. I then discovered that there was a police road block and no traffic was allowed to pass as they were on the hunt for a murderer! Apparently there had been a shooting earlier that morning, and you can only imagine the number of different stories that we heard about it...

Fortunately, the previous day we had agreed that the rehearsal would be later (so that the piano could be there in time after being used for a morning chamber music concert) and we were able to get through the road block with a special permission from the police. Also, the stage was at least two metres deeper than we expected, so there was plenty of space for the piano, the harp, and even the orchestra. All seemed to be going ever so smoothly, until I went to get changed 45 minutes before the concert and discovered that I had forgotten my black trousers! It was crucial for this concert to be in blacks for the stage moves, and I didn't have time to go back to the hotel to get them. One of the production team came to the rescue by lending me a pair, but I have never been so embarrased... Why is it so much easier to organise an orchestra than myself?! I was lucky in that the players were kind, and there haven't been too many trouser-related jokes since.

Tonight we have our final concert of the festival - a performance of the Mozart Requiem outdoors in the Plaza San Pedro. I plan to go ready changed.

Claire Bayliss, Orchestra Manager, approx. 5pm Colombian time

The 'WAG' perspective....

2010-01-15T17:39:00.002Z

The Colombians welcomed us with open arms, and how clever to choose such a wonderful time of year for the festival, with the cool sea breeze complementing the caribbean sun. Colombian sunshine is felt everywhere, even from the wildlife with toucans, sloths and iguanas [who reside in the hotels] posing to have their photographs taken by their foreign visitors.

The settings for all the concerts are visually beautiful and cannot fail to complement the music. It is particularly wonderful to see the music students at these concerts. I spoke to one student who was so happy to be included in the festival; he had never seen a beach or the sea before. What a wonderful life experience for him to be involved in.

'Colombia es pasion!'

Chrissie Fullbrook, wife of timpanist, Charles Fullbrook

A lively string masterclass

2010-01-11T20:42:00.004Z

Katie Heller volunteering to give a Masterclass! Wow - there must be a viola joke in there somewhere....? But then it turned out my students were violinists, phew!

In a very hot room with fans whirring thirty people were sitting, waiting for words of wisdom. I welcomed the students through my very able interpreter. I told them this was going to be fun and not to worry!

Walter, a very talented young boy began with the Bach A minor violin concerto and played confidentally from his scrappy page of music (as with all the students it was a dreadful edition). We spent most of our time experimenting with different bow strokes and he was like a hoover, learning so fast! Gradually he corrected his own bad habits and I think found the changes we had made worthwhile. Oh, to have a student like him at home!

Joanna played next, the Mozart D major concerto. By now the room was boiling and very uncomfortable to play in. I asked for a passage to be played in a more 'mischievious' way - she looked blank, so I tried 'cheeky' - still blank, so I had to settle for 'naughty' which isn't what I meant at all!! I was very well taught as a youngtser, which is, I think, why I love teaching and believe that I have a sort of duty to pass this on. The students seemed startled when I suggested they must sing a phrase in order to be able to play it, even if they do this in private.

Next, we had some Handel, a sonata which I told them I had performed very badly as a student, refusing to use a metronome to work out all the tricky little notes! The class enjoyed my portrayal of Mr. Handel as a big fat man who enjoyed his food and took up a lot of space. (I was trying to get the student to widen her playing, not her stomach)! At which point...enter the photographer!! Oh well... I am looking forward to another session and will try to get through more students.

Having taught for a month in Calcutta many years ago and worked with a string orchestra from Soweto recently I notice that children from these colourful, lively countries all have some natural energy and oomph that sadly many English children seem to lack. They are a joy to teach and I hope we can come here again!

Katie Heller, viola

The Manager's blog part 2

2010-01-11T18:26:00.003Z

Wind is an essential part of some people's jobs: the wind surfer would be lost without a stiff breeze and even golfers like the odd zephyr. For the concert manager wind is the enemy. Take one public square with an access road that acts as a wind tunnel from the beach, add a stage, 40 musicians and several pieces of sheet music and you have a disaster in the making! The wind at last night's concert whipped the music into a flurry of swirling paper and players were forced to hold the music down whilst their desk partners tried to play. The solution is usually good old fashioned wooden clothes pegs. Adroitly applied, they keep the music pegged to the stand and the quick handed musician can turn the page and re-peg in only a split second longer then the usual page turn. Last night's Cartagenera wind however proved too strong even for the pegs so emergency measures had to be taken. Camillo, our Colombian minder and an all purpose Mr Fixit, managed to find a bag of small elastic bands and we spent a frantic 10 mins making up elastic ropes to hold the music to the stand. We couldn't make the elastic rope work for the poor pianist and we ended up gaffer taping his folder to the piano stand - I'm not sure Mr Bosendorfer would have approved!

Never had a all those years watching Blue Peter proved SO useful. Now for some sticky backed plastic and an empty washing up bottle and I'll solve how to stop the choir being blown off the back of the stage for the next outdoor concert .........

Elaine Baines Robins, General Manager

Twirling in Cartagena

2010-01-10T16:51:00.004Z

I was supposed to feel apprehensive about performing the two new Colombian pieces tonight by Zumaque. After all, the pieces had tricky cross rhythms that took a while for the orchestra to grasp. And even when we did, it was all rather edgy and correct - I think we needed a few mojitos to get that relaxed Colombian laid back feel! Fortunately it all swung together on the night, and we had a rip-roaring time with some humorous diversions...

As the trumpet heralded the opening with a fortissimo fanfare I noticed the audience speedily getting to their feet. What on earth...? Of course, it must be their national anthem! Moments later the music had swerved into something quite different - the strings were delving out fistfuls of murky chromatic flourishes and the auditorium was awash with confusion: everyone sat down again!

One poor chap on the second row had evidently manoeuvred the "up / down" a little too fervently and promptly fainted. So with half an eye on the music I watched him being unceremoniously carried down the aisle. Having managed to overcome the almost insurmountable urge to sing the Dallas theme at the end of the fanfare I was able to calm down and groovy on with the Colombian rhythm.

Our shiny-suited composer had asked us to chill out and have fun! So the cellos had planned to do their bit... We organised a cello twirl towards the end of the second piece.

What is it about choreography? I spent the whole piece on auto-pilot thinking about the one bar of special cello operations. Would I drop the cello? Would I do it in the wrong place? Worse still - would the rest of the section bottle out leaving muggins here looking like a right pratt?!

I am happy to report that the plan was a great success - according to a colleague we gave the audience a beautifully synchronised twirl. Our eminent composer showed his happiness with a special and most deserved handshake for Will [Schofield who was leading the section].

Joely Koos, cello, Sunday 10th January 11am

The manager's blog.....part 1

2010-01-08T17:53:00.001Z

There are many worries in a tour manager's life: will everyone make it to the airport with their passports and on time, will the bass get on the flight and will the veggie meals turn up, but its not often you have to look at the sky and hope that the plane takes off before the snow comes down ! Thankfully we were in the air over the Atlantic as the first flakes fell on Kent and the warmth of Florida and the beautiful sunshine of Colombia have made thoughts of icy pavements rapidly disappear! The bass made it here safely too – although we had fun explaining to the Colombian air hostess what a double bass was and why we needed to know it was actually on the plane with us!
The Festival has been as welcoming as last year and its been a true pleasure to greet old friends from both the festival management and players. The Colombian musicians who played with us last year have been welcomed back into their sections like long lost friends.
Today is a busy day with three rehearsals scheduled but that didn’t stop the swimming club meeting for their 7.30am swim. Even at that early hour the sun is bright and the water warm. Breakfast is taken at the cafe next to the pool and this morning after a few too many mojitos last night I was happy to sit sipping coffee as the energetic splashed their way up and down the pool. Tomorrow I might be tempted to join them.

Elaine Baines Robins, General Manager

And they're off!

2010-01-05T09:00:00.001Z

All was frantic in the office yesterday - music scores to hunt down, cases to weigh, currency to collect and share out. Would the new airport security measures just announced mean our musicians will have problems getting their instruments on board? Would snow fall at the wrong time and stop people getting to the airport?

Well, it's all calm again this morning, so the management team (Barry, Elaine and Claire) who are accompanying the orchestra must have finally got everything sorted. Hopefully they're all passing through security as I write. Can't wait to hear how it goes!

Rachel (Marketing), 9 am UK time.