At the end of term

So I am finally home in Denmark for the festive season after a very eventful fall term. I have learned much and experienced much and I am now happy to have a few weeks to digest. I have already written about th EUBO tour covering 26 November - 14th of December but there were many other things in my life.

As the economy started slumping in the UK I faced the fact that I might not be able to continue raising scholarship money and I started serious work on getting work. So far I work two evenings a week in St. John's Smith Square as a concert usher. True it is not a wellpayed job but it is a start and there are good concerts once in a while - eventually I might advance to other venues. I also got my first student and I really enjoy teaching. I have also had a few playing gigs and things are starting to come together.

I also still enjoy my studies. I do however have to be a little careful. With the many things the Historical Performance department at RCM has to offer I can easily spend all my time there and my research will suffer. November was the month when I started getting my research a bit back on track by beginning serious work on the bibliography attempting to read everything I can get hold of relating to my topic. I hope that I will be able to start writing a sample chapter in the beginng of next term. I have particularly lucky with my tutors - now I just have to follow their advice and get to work!

After a quite fall my duo is getting serious. We had a productive working day where we planned programs and rehearsed them. I will spend some of the Christmas holidays making promotion material and learning a lot of new repertoire. I also need to work on technique and general polishing of my playing.

I have been blessed with wonderful housemates this fall. We have been 5 girls and we are having a great time. Only problem is sometimes stopping and going to bed! As always the new year will bring changes as some people have to leave but I think it is going to be a good year.

I am happy to be home but also happy to go back. I am ok financially for now and grateful for the opportunities I have been given so far.

Thanks to everyone who has supported me and Merry Christmas to all.

The final EUBO 2008 tour

By the end of November it was suddenly time to get ready to join the EUBO once again for a final tour which would take us to Luxemburgh, Sweden, Romania and finally London, UK. I had decided to leave a few days early and visit an old friend of mine. Indigo and I studied together at Oberlin Conservatory and she now lives in Hague.I took a train from London to Harwich, a night ferry to Hoeck van Holland and then again train and at quite a good price when considering that I had my own cabin to sleep in. For the next couple we just hung out, ate nice food. I met her friends, took a trip to Amsterdam to buy music and we watched CSI together.

On a Sunday morning she then took me to the train station so I could catch my train to Brussels and ultimately Luxemburgh. In Brussels I met up with 3 other EUBO members and the onward journey was merry as it is when one meets old friends. Unfortunately a sore throath started bugging me... In Luxemburgh we met up with even more people as we waited for the bus to Echternach which was our base for the next days of intensive rehearsals.

Monday morning almost everyone had arrived we were sort of ready to begin. However everyone seemed to be tired and I was sick. However as the afternoons rehearsals ended we were getting back together as an ensemble and over the next few days it became fun again. We recorded Handel Watermusic suite 1 in the new concerthall in Echternach which proved to be a good learning experience. Lars Ulrik Mortensen and the recording engineer had a humerous way of communicating and I really hope the final product will be good.

We ended our stay in Echternach with a concert in the new Hall and the next morning we were off to Stockholm, Sweden. I was still battling a cold and by this point my hearing was reduced which is not particularly helpful when one is playing as part of a group but somehow I was able to make it work. The concerthall in Sweden was lovely and the venue was close to the waterfront and the lovely city center. Unfortunately we did not have much time in Stockholm as we were leaving alarmingly early (6.15am) to travel to Romania.

Traveling took almost all day and we arrived in Bukarest after sundown. The first impressions were not good. The doors to the closets in the rooms were falling out, people had smoked everywhere and we could not find anywhere to eat! Breakfast was not better and the mood was down. However I joined the leaders for a masterclass at the local Conservatory.

The Music Conservatory in Bukarest has just started an Early Music department. Things were rather unorganized but Judith (the EUBO concertmaster) made the students play Corelli Concerti Grossi with some of us. Afterwards we went out ot lunch. The baroque violin teacher knew a good restaurant so finally I had something to eat and we had a good time chatting and we learned a lot about the musical traditions of Romania.
Then it was off the Iasi with a small plane - we had some time to investigate the city and the ammount of concrete apartment flats were saddening. However all over town the old churches were being restored and we had chance to visit them. The concerthall and the 'harpsichord' LUM got to play were also quite something. We passed the hall on our walk through town and were quite surprised about it's state (see picture). The concert went very well and the audience was wonderful. Only distraction were the blinking christmas lights on the backwall! This was also the last time we played our classical program (Haydn, Mozart, e.a.)

The next morning we returned to Bucharest to play a concert in an extremely uncharming venue in true 60's style - so I have no pictures. The hall had no arcustics whatsoever so we had to work quite hard.Then it was off the Cluj which turned out to be a surprise - a beautiful city in the mountains of Transylvania - and the concert venue was a beautiful old theather. Only problem here was smoke - people smoked everywhere and the air on stage was 'visible'. But again we had a wonderful audience and lots of fun playing. By this point my hearing had returned to almost normal so I could truly be part of the performance.

Next morning I got up early to take a walk in the city and buy the last christmas presents. I took lots of pictures and found some sweet little things in a christmas market - but all of a sudden we had to get back to the hotel. It turned out that there was a strike in Budapest aiport which was supposed to be our transfer airport. We ended up after long debates taking a bus to Bukarest (9 hours) arriving at 2.30am. We got a few hours sleep in a hotel near the airport, got up and took the bus at 6am to the airport and arrived in London at 10.30 local time. We had some time then to rest before the preparations for our very last concert at St. John's Smith Square. The concert went very well. It was a joyperforming in this venue and being together one last time.

After the concert there was a reception and the slow goodbuys began. Three of my housemates came to the concert and they also got invited to the reception so I had time to talk to them as well.

Next morning I got up to eat several breakfasts and to say more goodbuys - this went on for several hours. Finally at 11am I was done and I took my suitcase and was on my way home.

The afternoon was spent washing clothes and hanging out in the house.

It was only after it was all over that I realized what a great experience I had just had. What I have earned I will only find out as the next year progresses but I am very thankful to LUM and the EUBO for this opportunity.