Back to Life, Back to Reality...

Brian, Celia, and Billy backstage in the Green Room

Back in the States, and yes it is bittersweet.

We had such an amazing time, honestly, everything was wonderful.


The opportunity to perform as guests of Royal Festival Hall will stay with me forever. I wish that I could speak more on the details of the whole experience but its somewhat futile.

The best part I guess was sharing part of my culture, which has gotten such a bad rap from time and history was freeing. It made me feel a pride I have never really felt before.

There isn't a way to put into words what happened. Well yes, there is I guess but not without either over simplification or over hyping. I told one of my 5th graders when he asked what I was going to do in England and I responded by saying, " I have a gig."

Its true.

But what a gig.

Anyhoo, here are more pics. Cheers!


Nicole at the piano in the BBC studios (Kwame in background)




Chris and I backstage in the Green room



The whole group at the BBC studio recording. Great pic Alex, Thanks!



Me and Bea at the BBC!! (i love to rhyme)


Composer, Poet, Friend, Kevin Simmonds

Good Afternoon London

These entries are going to seem a bit hurried, it is only because I want to sleep (sorry traveling takes a lot out of you).

Anyhoo, the winds of change have turned in our favor

1. We were reunited with our lost members Brian, and Billy at the Manchester Airport.


Brian, Nicole, Billy, and Celia


2. We arrived safely in London


BIG BEN

3. BBC interview tonite, and recording on Tuesday.


Cool huh, at dinner tonite we are all situated around a long table (in a very eastern thai restaurant) having good times and good food...it is just a blessing. This work has brought us together numerous times in venues small and large, but to be able to share this work with an international audience is just mind-blowing. Maybe not so much, but for me it is just a lil.


Ruth (Director of the Literary Festival), and Billy


So Tuesday, performance, performance.

I will make sense of this later, and perhaps, just maybe I'll explain what "Wisteria" is and has become.

Anyhoo, nite. (Enjoy the pics and movies)
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Manchester, UK

First stop on the Wisteria UK tour

Manchester!!!

As of right now two of our memebers are MIA but they will show up in London (flight troubles). Anyhoo as they say the show must go on!

The audience absolutely loved the performance, standing ovation included (which we were told is quite rare with the English).




Stay tuned, for more!!



by the way there was way too much drama with the cello, and although I'm glad to have Bea, I wish that I could have left her at home.

Bea upside down in her PAID seat. (I was pretty upset)

A good day

Today was a good day,

I invited my friend Ashley Horvat to come out and play for my kids at Dutch Fork Elementary. I knew the kids would love her, but their enthusiasim really surprised both of us.

There is always a level of chatter and "noise" when you have a class of 30+ 5th graders with instruments in their hands. While engaging them (kids) in a brief conversation on JS Bach (and throwing his wig at someone...somehow I do believe this happened) the decibel level was more than I could stand. Yet, before I reclaim my silence Ash began playing and almost instantly the kids froze.

I absolutely love to watch children in this type of situation. As her fingers flew through her Bach, they would look around at each other as if they didn't believe their eyes and their ears. I saw my social and very rambunctious class sitting quietly and paying attention to every note she played. When she finished the applause was resounding and I saw my friend blush as if this was her first performance ever and she didn't know what to do with herself. Cute huh.

Its funny but kids are usually the best audiences, WHEN you present the material to them in a way that they can understand and relate to. Ashley passed her music around to show the kids what her notes looked like, even showing them the manuscript of Bach's handwriting. She spoke of how long she had been playing and how she made a career out of this "violin thing".

This "Music Thing" it can take you places if you let it. I'm not advocating for all my students to grow-up to be classical musicians (it would actually flood the system...Just kidding:-) but I think that it doesn't hurt to be exposed to this, maybe it just opens their world just a bit beyond what is everyday to them.



So...

I'm preparing for the UK trip, still haven't packed for me or the cello (Yes I'm taking Bea she would be jealous anyway if I was with another cello for a week) and not to mention practicing. I think for this type of venture a lot of scales, slow with focus on sound etc. will be good for me. Anyhoo, one more day of lessons and I'm off. I'll be intouch (look forward to pics, I just bought a digital camera. yay!).


peace.love.and loc gel

YAY!

Please congratulate my cello students for their recent accomplishments!

SENIOR REGIONAL-ALLSTATE

Miciah Bennett, Brian Smith, Max Lorick

JUNIOR REGIONAL-ALLSTATE

Jordan Boon

First Alternate

Elizabeth VonKeller


Raja says, "meow!" (translation, great job guys, make sure you keep your focus!)