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Sunday - April 6th 2003
Today we flew to Samara and so far the organisation
has been really good. We have security, a translator and a representative
from the travel company with us and I am not sure who is actually
in charge (they seem to argue a lot but that could just be friendly
banter for all I know!) but they are getting stuff done and that's
what matters.
The short flight to Samara was comfortable and safe and after being
whisked through the VIP areas we hopped in the car for the 40 km
drive to Samara.
After checking in to the hotel (not luxurious but quite nice nonetheless)
we went to the place where I rehearsed with the small orchestra
that will accompany me on four songs tomorrow night. (see photos!)
Michael Sherbakov will conduct the Samara Academic Symphony
Orchestra and it will be 30 pieces in a simple strings, brass,
wind and percussion configuration. The songs are not particularly
challenging for musicians of this calibre but I am grateful to have
the experience and the pleasure of working with them. I am beginning
to really enjoy these "quasi-symphonic" performances and
I hope we will do more of them in the future. It's really quite
an experience for me and I'd love to be able to share it with you
sometime!!
After rehearsal we took some time to check over all the equipment
for the show tomorrow night and it was good that we did this as
we were able to identify some problems that can be fixed in the
morning in time for tomorrow night's concert.
Then it was time for another "typical" dinner and this
was very enjoyable. I tried some local delicacies (like herring
with walnuts and ketchup… yum!) and I also tried the Russian
tradition of sipping Vodka with a pickle…… this wasn't
quite so enjoyable!!
So the day was done and it was time to sleep and prepare for the
first show on this short tour. Our hosts have been extremely gracious
and are working really hard to make the path as smooth as it can
be and I am grateful for that.
Next
day...
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