Update #4 - China Tour

Thursday, December 31, 2009, 6:00 pm local time

Thursday, December 31, 2009, 3:00 am Tucson Time

Last night, we played the second concert of our tour, in the magnificent Shenzhen Poly Theatre. The performance was very successful, as you can judge from Linus' comments on the Arizona Daily Star web site http://regulus2.azstarnet.com/blogs/arts/17775/saso-is-loving-shenzhen (copied below).

We just heard that tonight's performance in the same theater is SOLD OUT and we are looking forward to a thrilling New Year's Eve!

Wishing all our friends and supporters a Happy New Year,

Tim Secomb

Tour Manager

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SASO is loving Shenzhen

12/30/2009 04:29 PM

Cathalena E. Burch

In an email message today, Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra Conductor Linus Lerner blogged about the orchestra’s adventures in Shenzhen, China, where they performed a concert Tuesday night and will do another New Year’s Eve:

“Shenzhen is an amazing city and we are located right on the center of Coastal City with all its shopping and just one block from the theater, which is a wonder of architecture.

“The concert last night (Tuesday) went really well and we did not have enough encores! The orchestra was very happy and impressed to play in such a venue and the sound carried so well and we could hear every nuance. We sounded great and the energy of the concert was amazing. Compared to the first concert it was like night and day … we were all rested and having a great time. We performed 3 encores and the audience asked for more. I was already off stage and had to come back again because they would not stop clapping and asking for more music so we repeated the Radetsky March and they stayed standing and clapping with us all the way through the end.

“The theater had probably about a thousand people and they were very impressive and seem to like every piece we played. In China it is common for the audience to clap discretely through the concert and then get really excited at the encores because for them that represents a bonus and they really appreciate the extra music. So in other words, for any orchestra, we cannot be so sure how much they liked it until the end where they ask for encores and more encores!

“The orchestra is very happy with the hall and looking forward to another performance tonight (New Year’s Eve). We are only playing one concert tonight instead as two as previously announced. The sponsors canceled the second concert (the one which we were supposed to play at midnight) and I really don’t know the reason but it works for us so we can have our own party to commemorate the New Year!

“The hotel where we are staying is great and really nice although it is going to be very hard to top the hotel in Dalian since it was a five-star one. Food is good and people are getting massages all the time because they are so good and so cheap … I myself got a massage yesterday for $7 … and yes I went to heaven so good it was!

“The places are so modern around us and because we are so close to Hong Kong, it is very similar architecture. Astonishing! Right across from the hotel we even have a huge Brazilian Steak House and a Starbucks Coffee place right on the side! I will try to send you some pics later today so you can have an idea.

Anyway, everyone is having a great time and everything is going really well. To some people it is still hard to believe that this is happening and SASO is indeed playing like a professional group. I am so proud of them!”

Update #3 - China Tour

Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 3:00 pm local time

Monday, December 28, midnight Tucson Time

The “instrument people” are on the move again. We’ve flown from Los Angeles to North China and now are heading south across this vast country nearly to Hong Kong.

On the first leg of our journey, other travelers on the flight dubbed us the “instrument people” as we stowed violins, violas, oboes, flutes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trombones and other musical gear into the overhead bins. In the bowels of the plane are three cellos, three bass stools, a keyboard and a sturdy 1950s suitcase with its sound system, a snare drum and stand, the very heavy bells and various other percussion items like shakers and tambourines.

We are abuzz about Dalian. As we board the steps to the plane, a few tiny snowflakes dust our shoulders. We leave 19 degree temperatures for the mid-60 in Shenzhen.

Dalian is at the tip of a peninsula between mainland China to the west and Korea and Japan to the east. It is a strategic location and the only ice-free deep-water port this far north – ruled by Russia, then Japan and now China.

This booming city is a center of import, export and finance. It is architecturally impressive, with many new skyscrapers and more on the way. This is a city in progress, the downtown a showpiece of the “new China.” As we rode the bus to the theatre yesterday afternoon we passed many blocks already reduced to piles of rubble and other old multi-story structures being readied for the wrecking ball. In other neighborhoods, the businesses have large colorful Chinese names that blur together as we pass.

Here are a few highlights of our visit:

- Tis the holiday season. Christmas is here. There were decorated trees in the Shanghai airport, Merry Christmas wreathes in the hotel, sugar-sculpture trees in the dining room and holiday carol melodies in the elevator. “Silent Night” was playing as we checked out. Preparations are well underway for Chinese New Year on Feb. 14. In the large square between our hotel and the sea trees are pruned back for winter and wrapped in tiny lights. One section features cheerful yellow leaves tied on by hand.

- As we approached our hotel, Linus told us that “Dalian is probably the most Chinese of any of the cities we will visit.” The very next thing we saw was sign for Haagen Dazs ice cream.

- Breakfast is absolutely NOT to be missed. The buffet is enormous – with fresh baked pastries, homemade jams and marmalade, a bounty of traditional breakfast choices. Boring. We are now into Chinese breakfast delicacies – eggs hardboiled in tea, curious fruits and soups: One was Congee, a milky breakfast soup to which you add ingredients ranging from chili oil and parsley to soy beans and vinegars. Another was a West China specialty – with Langzou noodles made to order as you watched. The man took a ball of dough and swiftly stretched it and twirled it to three or four feet long, then magically split it with is fingers into scores of long strands of noodles. These are deftly and quickly cooked, then served to you in a rich broth (vegetarian) with another array of intriguing toppings. (Here’s a tip: The speckled quail egg is raw. You are supposed to add it to the hot miso soup thereby cooking it.)

- Expect to see many pictures of SASO musicians hamming it up with a whimsical series of bronze sculptures by the sea. Forget the ubiquitous image of someone holding up the Eiffel Tower. Here you can drum with a sextet of jazz musicians, sit for a portrait with the artist, even step into a pair of bronze rollerblades and glide along with the kids.

- Across the street from the hotel was a curved and gilded contemporary convention center. Inside was a traditional Chinese marketplace, a maze of perhaps 200 vendors hawking their wares – everything from exotic (to us) produce and medicinal herbs to raw meat, porcelain plumbing fixtures, leather goods, clothing, textiles, artifacts, even sting rays. One savvy shopper in the midst of this cacophony scored a pair of fresh water pearls for $3.

- To meet unexpected needs we have in our travel group four people who speak Chinese (two natives), plus two doctors and one luthier who can repair string instruments. So far so good.

- Linguistically, we haven’t really encountered many challenges yet. The five-star hotel had many English speaking staff. We are nodding politely and learning to say “ni hao” (a greeting for any time of day), “xiexie” (thank you) and “quin” (please). “ching.” “Wo bu yao” (I don’t understand) also comes in handy. (These sound roughly like “knee-how,” “shay shay”and “ching.” The Chinese-to-English translations can be curious. Our hotel welcome letter said, “Weather is starting to turn cold. Please increase your clothes when you go out. Pay attention to cold.” Skim milk was labeled “weak milk.” And the toothpick that just came with our lunch read: “You are welcome to travel by our plane.”

So far we’ve traveled nearly the full length of China from north to south. We’ve seen nothing but clouds below.

- Donna Kreutz, violist

Update #2 - China Tour

Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 10:00 am local time

Monday, December 28, 7:00 pm Tucson Time

Dalian is a city of about five million on the coast east of Beijing. We are staying in a new hotel a couple of miles from the center of town. Everyone is enjoying these luxury accommodations and especially the amazing breakfast buffet with all kinds of Chinese and western foods. In the summer this is a popular beach resort but in the winter it is rather quiet. Many of us walked to the sea yesterday. The temperature was about 13 degrees with occasional snow flurries, but I heard that someone was seen swimming.

We played our first concert last night at the People's Concert Hall in Dalian. This concert hall is built in late nineteenth century style and seats about 700. We arrived at 5 pm and found cellos, basses, some percussion instruments, and even a harp waiting for us, as promised. We quickly set ourselves up and rehearsed for more than two hours. Then a brief break and snack before the 7 pm concert.

In China, as in Europe, it is customary for the orchestra to wait in the wings and come on stage only at performance time, unlike the US custom of warming up on stage. A gong sounded, and we filed on, under hot stage lights. Each piece was introduced by an elegant young Chinese girl. This concert was a special New Year's event for the employees of the China Bank. In addition to our program, an eloquent Chinese gentleman recited a poem with recorded music accompaniment. We later learned that the first poem was about the life of Chairman Mao, while the second was about the history of the China Bank.

The acoustics were not ideal, and it was difficult for one part of the orchestra to hear the other parts, although the sound blended nicely in the audience. It was not easy for us to play at our best, but the orchestra members showed more energy and concentration than one might expect after such a tiring couple of days. As we had been told to expect, the audience was not as responsive as an American audience, but they warmed to us as the evening progressed, and by the end of the second encore (Johann Strauss' Radetsky March), Linus had them clapping along and cheering.

Afterwards, a late dinner back at the hotel. Today, we fly to Shenzhen in southern China and we look forward to much warmer weather and a modern and acoustically fine concert hall there.

The Arizona Daily Star had a great article with very interesting photos on Sunday. See the link below and don't miss the slide show.

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/322654.php

Thanks for your interest and support,

Tim Secomb

Tour Manager

Update #1 - China Tour

Monday, December 28, 2009, 2:00 am local time

Sunday, December 27, 11:00 am Tucson time

All of us in the main group arrived safely in Dalian with our instruments, tired but otherwise in good shape. It was a very long journey, but with few problems and only minor delays. We are staying at the Howard Johnson Parkland Hotel Dalian.

Welcome to In Tempo with SASO

The Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra recently embarked on a 10-day tour of China, by invitation from their government. Several of our musicians will be sharing their experiences, as well as photos, on this blog. Come along on this amazing journey...