Update #9 - China Tour

Sunday, January 10, 2010, 7:00 pm Tucson Time

For another account of the last couple of days of the tour, here is what Donna Kreutz wrote:

At long last the sun is shining as we land in Shenyang in north China. The temperature is very un-Tucson at 4 degrees Fahrenheit. There is snow on the ground. We’ve been traveling since 5:20 a.m. when we left Dongguan and drove to the Shenzhen airport in the dark. It is nearly 4 p.m.

Yet again we line up to claim checked baggage. People on our tour who are not carrying their own instruments were assigned a percussion bag or other orchestra paraphernalia as their responsibility. All told, we have well more than 200 pieces of luggage to load and unload at every bus transfer.

En route to the Shenyang Ramada Hotel we pass one of the most dramatic buildings of our trip. It looks like a giant Chinese drum trimmed in copper. In fact, this round glinting architectural icon represents a traditional Chinese coin, complete with a square hole in the middle. It is a bank.

We arrive at the Shenyang Ramada Hotel and check into assorted quirky suites in towers A and B. The lobby features an ornate gilded clock and other ornamentation that feels more Russian than Chinese. We are very far north indeed. A late afternoon lunch awaits us. We are guided outdoors across the courtyard and bridge, then left around another high-rise, past an empty swimming pool and hot tub partly filled with snow and finally down ice-glazed steps into the banquet hall.

Well sated, we head to rehearsal. Many of us layered long underwear under our orchestra outfits. Curiously, the entire front of the stage is elaborately decorated with abundant, colorful and fragrant tropical flowers. This is an older theatre like the one in Dalian and the acoustics are challenging. We have trouble hearing one another. Yet the concert is well received.

The next morning we pack up head out for a four-hour bullet train ride to Beijing. What an experience. It is last day of a three-day holiday weekend and many locals are returning to Beijing. People are swarming everywhere. We press forward, literally going with the flow. You surge forward with someone at your back, your front and both sides. We’re packed so tightly there’s no way anyone could fall down. We descend the stairs to the train cars and stow our luggage anywhere and everywhere.

As we travel, the snow falls in what will be a record-setting storm. The countryside is stark and bare, reminding of us of images from Siberia and Dr. Zhivago. We arrive in Beijing after dark with bitter cold temperatures, snow and slush. The buses are cued down the street. Off we trek. At least we arrived. Ninety percent of the flights at the Beijing airport today were either canceled or delayed.

Our hotel is above the Beijing Poly Theatre. We settle in, glad we don’t play our final concert until tomorrow. Here are highlights of our time in Beijing, a city of more than 17 million people:

• Record-setting cold does not stop our intrepid group. Many bundle up and head out to walk for hours through the Forbidden City, the largest and best-preserved cluster of ancient buildings in China, an area that was off limits for 500 years. They share photos with those who stayed behind.

• Cold-phobic folks took the metro to the indoor Silk Market, five stories of tightly packed stalls for intense shopping – leather, luggage, shoes, clothing on the first floor, all things silk on the third floor, jade and pearls on the fifth floor. This is haggle central. Chinese clerks hustle every shopper, bargaining fiercely with calculator in hand, jabbing in ever-lower numbers until there is a sale. Much silk will head to Tucson – scarves, jackets, robes. Pearls and jade also are acquired. Meanwhile, at least two men musicians have their black hair dyed, eliminating any signs of gray.

• Our first day in Beijing the Great Wall of China is closed. Fortunately day two dawns with clear skies and warmer temperatures. About two thirds of our group embark to Mutianya, one of several Great Wall access points outside of Beijing. We walk up and up and up many fights of stone stairs to the snow-covered Great Wall itself. Most of our group takes the left fork. One straggler heads right. A few opted out of the hike and took a cable car to the highest wall. From every vantage the views are spectacular. Meanwhile, four others on the SASO tour hired a private English-speaking guide with a passion for history and visited another section of this wonder of the world.

• Beijing was formerly known as Peking – as in Peking Duck. Many were consumed. This delicacy is everywhere – some ate at the Silk Market, others in a famed restaurant steeped in tradition dating to the 1880s. A few tried a highly recommended nouvelle restaurant. All ducks were classically prepared, carved at the table and savored. We salivate anew as we discuss the nuances of each unique dining experience.

• The final concert was simply superb. Linus spoke in English as Larry translated, clearly taking liberties and making the audience laugh. We played like pros – yet retained our passion. The energy was high on stage and in the house. A rousing standing ovation. People cheering and applauding and waving. No one wanted to leave.

The tour is over, the last concert played, the last bags loaded onto the plane. We are exhausted and exhilarated. We marvel that this indeed did happen. The Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra toured China. We were a hit. We traveled to cities not seen by typical tourists. We played music of the Americas – Bernstein, Copland, Gershwin, Grofe and Villa Lobos – plus popular Chinese selections, Sousa and Strauss. Our audiences spoke little or no English. We spoke little or no Chinese. Yet in six performances in five cities, the language of music transcended cultural and linguistic barriers. For many years our SASO programs and brochures quoted Beethoven: “From the heart, may it go to the heart.” This truly was a heartfelt once-in-a-lifetime experience for all.

- Donna Kreutz

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Here are some corrections and additions to update #8:

- Thanks to Miranda from the China Dalian Yilong Performance Company who accompanied us on the tour.

- Thanks to Irene Schumacher and Clair Secomb as well as Dr. Michael Schumacher and Dr. Michael Moynihan for their assistance in medical matters.

- Thanks to Grace Tam and the staff of Able Tours of Los Angeles for finding economical flights for our large group when other travel agencies had failed, and for shepherding our visa applications through the Chinese Consulate.

Having celebrated our New Year with a December 31 concert in Shenzhen, we will welcome the Year of the Tiger in Tucson with a Chinese New Year concert on January 31 - see http://www.sasomusic.org/ for details. We hope to see you there.

Thank you again for your support and interest in our Chinese adventures.

Best wishes,

Tim,

Tour Manager

Update #8 (final) - China Tour

Thursday, January 7, 2010, 2:00 pm Tucson Time

Dear SASO Friends and Supporters,

We are all safely returned to Tucson or other destinations. Following are some final updates. Thanks again for your emails and support.

Best wishes,

Tim,

Tour Manager

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The Great Wall

On Tuesday, January 5, about two-thirds of our group went by bus to the Great Wall at Mutianyu, in a mountainous region about 60 km north of Beijing. The day was sunny and not as cold as the previous couple of days. We walked or rode a cable car from the village of Mutianyu up to the Wall. It was not at all crowded and a foot or two of fresh snow was still on the ground, making the scenery especially spectacular. Built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1627), the Wall snakes up and down steep ridges, with closely spaced towers. The Wall is very well preserved (or restored) here and it was fun to walk along it and imagine oneself as a Chinese soldier on the lookout for the marauding barbarians of the north. After many days spent in big cities and airports, the fresh air and views were a delightful change.

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The trip home

We had another early start on Wednesday, for the trip home via Shanghai and Los Angeles. It was fortunate that we were early, because the buses deposited us at the international terminal at Beijing airport, which is gigantic and impressive but not the terminal that our flight was departing from. We had to take shuttle buses to the domestic terminal. Then China Eastern had apparently lost the APIS information (names, passport numbers, dates of birth etc.) that we had painstakingly assembled for them, and the agents had to reenter it all at the check-in counter. Glitches like this are minor for a small group, but when multiplied by 85 passengers they can become a major headache. Anyway, we all made it to the plane on time and the rest of the trip was generally smooth and uneventful. After a long layover in Los Angeles and a quick flight to Tucson, it was fun to greet waiting family and friends in the airport and to warn them that once we start talking about our experiences, it may be hard to stop us.

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Final thoughts

Our trip lasted almost 12 days, and involved 10 air flights and a ride in a bullet train, covering more than 18,000 miles. In an 8-day period, we played 6 concerts in 5 different cities. Our group consisted of 68 musicians and 24 accompanying people, including a four-month-old baby. We traveled with three cellos, an electronic keyboard and sound system, bass stools, a set of orchestral bells, percussion stands, and two cases of percussion instruments. Miraculously, we had no major delays and mishaps in that entire itinerary, even though Beijing experienced its coldest day and most snowfall in decades just as we arrived. The airlines did not object as we swarmed on board with multiple violins, violas, horns, trumpets and trombones. Only once did we have to pay a fee for overweight or oversize cases, although some negotiations were occasionally needed.

As far as we know, we are the first community orchestra (i.e., volunteer and non-student) from the USA ever to undertake a multi-city tour of China. If that is not correct, please email us at info@sasomusic.org. Obviously, our success depended not only on some good luck but also on a lot of hard work from many people. I would particularly like to acknowledge orchestra members Chuck Hicks, Linda Koshel, Paul Scott, Larry Lang, Michael Schumacher, Kristen Briggs, Debbie Bouchard, Dee Schroer and Ellen Caldwell and accompanying persons Nick Amonson, Tim Turner, Steven Merritt, Jonathan Schwab, Javier Barrantes, Carol Ekstrom, Michael Moynihan, Matthew Klein and Julian Secomb for their help in various ways, and everyone in the group for their initiative and adaptability in coping with a demanding schedule and some uncomfortable conditions at times. Behind the scenes, Kai Fu of Oberlin College was the mastermind who initiated the tour and was the main contact person with the China Dalian Yilong Performance Company, who made all the arrangements within China. We thank their representatives, especially Melinda, who accompanied us on the tour and coordinated a myriad of details. Our excellent soloists were Tannis Gibson, Kai Fu and Christi Amonson. Linus Lerner, our Music Director, provided inspiring leadership in believing that such a tour was possible, in arranging many aspects of the tour, and in helping us to achieve a musical program and a standard of performance that clearly excited our audiences wherever we went.

Tim Secomb

Tour Manager

Update #7 - China Tour

Tuesday, January 5, 2010, 10:00 am local time

Monday, January 4, 2010, 7:00 pm Tucson Time

Dear SASO Friends and Supporters,

Thanks for all your emails. We are delighted that our updates have helped you to share in our adventure. Following are some more updates from Linus and from me.

Best wishes,

Tim,

Tour Manager

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After a very interesting train ride from Shenyang yesterday, we finally got to our last destination: Beijing! As they say here, if they like the orchestra in Beijing, we are successful! Well we will see tonight when we do our last performance. The theater is another Poly Theater and right below our hotel which makes everything quite convenient, especially when you have a very cold day (the coldest in the last 33 years in China).

After the big snow storm yesterday, everything looks pretty outside and the sun decided to show up. Beijing's energy is quite different than the other cities we have been. It is a vibrant and alive city like New York. The hotel we are staying is a quite comfortable and good taste 4 stars..and the breakfast again very good. I think I am getting fat here in China!

I am so looking forward tonight's concert because we are playing at the theater where all the big orchestras and artists of the world played before. Yesterday there was a Austrian orchestra playing there but Anita Hansen (our first cello player) who attended the concert said that our program is better and has more energy...well we will see tonight!

There will be people from all over the world attending our concert and very important people such as teachers from the Beijing Conservatory and musicians from other orchestras and conductors. I am not sure that we were ever reviewed in any of our concerts but the feedback we got so far has been amazing! I shall write more tomorrow when it is our last day and we are done with the performances.

;-) - Linus

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Our last concert was phenomenal ... probably the best we did in the tour. It was without doubt the best audience we had in the whole tour. They were very responsive to all the music and not just at the end. Again a standing ovation and 3 encores!! The orchestra played at a professional level and everyone was happy. We had a lot of people from other orchestras as well watching us...such as the people from the Viennese orchestra that played yesterday. I am so proud of SASO and their achievements on this trip. It has been a wonderful experience for all and very rewarding. We now have stories to tell and we made history. We will all go back to Tucson with a smile in our face and with so much pride!

- Linus

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After the concert

We were in the mood to celebrate after our Beijing concert, the last of the tour. Clusters of tour members assembled in the lobby and ventured out into the freezing night air. Our group fortunately included Larry Lang, who knows Beijing well. One stop on the subway took us to a street with a row of restaurants that are open late. In front of each was a man trying to persuade us that his restaurant was the best. We settled on one after Larry negotiated a special deal with them. The ten of us sat down at a round table with a Lazy Susan. After a while a stream of dishes arrived such as tofu soup, spicy pork, dumplings, lotus root, deep fried fish (we had inspected it while it was still alive), Peking duck with little tortillas, Chinese 'pizza', fried eggplant, and various interesting fungi and vegetables. All that and 10 big bottles of beer made a memorable and delicious meal, for about $11 per person. The variety of food in China is much more than we find at a typical Chinese restaurant in the US. Getting back to the hotel was not easy, because the subway was closed. Normally it would be a pleasant 15-minute walk, but not at near-zero F temperatures. Taxis were hard to find. Eventually four of us piled into a little 'black-market' taxi for the short ride to the hotel.

-Tim

Update #6 - China Tour

Sunday, January 3, 2010, 11:00 pm local time

Sunday, January 3, 2010, 8:00 am Tucson Time

The last few days have been very full, but we have an evening off today after four evenings of concerts, giving me a chance to send you updates from Donna Kreutz, Linus Lerner and myself.

Best wishes,

Tim Secomb

Tour Manager

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Donna Kreutz writes:

“On the road again. I can’t wait to get on the road again. Making music with my friends. Just can’t wait to get on the road again.” – Willie Nelson

It is 5:20 a.m. as we gather in the lobby of the Silverlake Hotel in Dongguan. Our three concerts in South China are over and we now head north to Shenyang, crossing much of China once again. We leave by bus for the Shenzhen airport then will travel five hours to perform our fourth concert there at 7 p.m. tonight in the very modern Dongguan Yulan theatre, considered one of the top five in China.

We played an 8 p.m. concert last night. Once again the audience was most enthusiastic – a cheering, applauding crowd that gave us yet another a standing ovation. So far we are 4 for 4 – a good sign indeed. After the concert about a third of our group was tough enough to attend a dinner – which was reported to be the best meal of the tour to date, with beautiful platters of whole fresh fish. The majority of us opted to turn in for scant sleep.

Shenzheng is a new city of more than 10 million people. Like Dalian, this is a designated Special Economic Zone, burgeoning over the past decade. After three nights in Shenzheng we traveled in constantly heavy traffic by bus about two hours to Dongguan, another new city of roughly eight million people. We immediately noticed the refreshing greenery – blossoming plants along the freeway, colorful flower beds, manicured gardens and meticulously trimmed landscaping.

We check into the 26-story Silverlake Hotel, a grand ol’ dame with inlaid marble floors, circular stained glass ornamentation on the lobby ceiling, plus a iimposing dark green jade sculpture at least 10 feet high – intricately with bridges, temples, dragon turtles and many more details.

A few highlights of our time in South China:

• On New Year’s Eve day we had free time for excursions – to a swap meet in a historic area of the city, a treasure hunt of bargains and bargaining…to an Epcot-style theme park featuring cultural displays of many Chinese villages from every province, plus an area depicting China’s view of the world, complete with a replica of the Eiffel Tower…and shopping. Directions to the chopstick store and the three-story Chinese book shop: cross over the street using the pedestrian bridge, pass Starbuck’s and Papa John’s pizza, then turn left at the McDonalds. Problem was we were to turn at the third McDonalds after passing the second Starbucks. Along the plaza we passed a crowd watching Chinese men in red cowboy hats try to ride a mechanical bull and not get bucked off. This was a promotion for Joe One blue jeans.

• There is no energy shortage here. Shenzheng looks like “Las Vegas on steroids,” according to one of our musicians. At night sculptures, skyscrapers and everything in between are decorated with moving lights, changing from red to green, blue, white and purple. But take pictures early. The lights go out by 11 p.m. except on New Year’s Eve.

• Images of Linus are everywhere. His smiling image – with a backdrop of the Grand Canyon – is seen on theatre banners, huge ads on buildings, posters on pillars, four-color brochures and concert programs. Many of these marketing materials also include a photo of the orchestra – sometimes large enough to recognize individual players. In one instance, Linus’ photo is reversed, with the baton in his left hand, not his right.

• Food in our Shenzheng hotel was served buffet style with plenty of authentic Chinese dishes, plus some things aimed to please the Americans – like Lipton yellow label tea, baked beans, white bread for toast and French fries with ketchup. We have twice encountered chicken feet – once in soup and later as part of a lunch dish. One of the best dishes yesterday looked like green beans and octopus. An adventurous dinner realized it was not octopus, but very tasty eggplant. Our hotel lobby included an aquarium and tanks of fish, shrimp and lobsters. This is not for ambiance but for a high-end restaurant in the hotel. Each creature is priced. Another disconcerting reality: a couple in our group observed two crates of live ducks being hanging on display.

• All this travel on buses and planes, plus rehearsals, sound checks and concerts, lead several of us to seek out massage bargains. Some enjoyed spa packages in the city. In our hotel a full body massage was just $20. One young female masseuse worked deep wearing four-inch heels for a while, then nimbly kicked them off and practically flew Ninja-style up onto the massage table to continue delivering an out-of-this-world massage experience. The hotel spa was open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

• Unlike Dalian, not much is signed or translated into English in Shenzheng or Dongguan. Most hotel staff and shopkeepers are conversant in the very basics. Not many American tourists visit here. We are exotics. In turn, we are expanding on our vocabulary: I don’t speak Chinese sounds something like “wor boo-hway” and how much is that sounds like dwor-show chyen. Today’s favorite translation was on a moist towelette called a “wet turban.” Our paper cups of tea read “I Love Shenzhen Airlines.”

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Linus Lerner wrote on the Arizona Daily Star web site:

“SASO has been quite busy these last 3 days. The New Year’s concert in Shenzhen was again a great success and it was sponsored by Nissan. Apparently it was sold out because Nissan had bought all the tickets so you could not even get one unless you buy from the ‘black’ market, meaning the guys that bought tickets before and were selling them for more just before the concert just like what happens at La Scala in Milan and other European theaters.

“The orchestra played very well once again and we did not leave the stage without playing three encores. There was a feeling that they wanted more.The next day, Jan. 1st, we took a short bus drive to the neighbor city of Dongguan where we played at another amazing venue and with such great acoustics. They said it was supposed to be one of the best five theaters in China. It was indeed a treat to play there because so far it has been the best venue we played. We could hear every nuance of the orchestra and we sounded really good.

“The city of Dongguan was also quite impressive. Very modern and bright! To me it is a conbination of Washington, D.C., and Buenos Aires with the lights of Las Vegas. Lots of green and very well planned. I think most of the orchestra agreed that it was the most beautiful city we visited so far. The hotel there was quite interesting in terms of taste. It was comfortable but they could use some designer because I don’t think I ever stayed in a place where the combination of colors, carpet and furniture clash so much. The building was very modern but they had a theme for the hotel as if it was a ‘New York ’20s or ’30s hotel style’

“We left very early from Dongguan to the airport of Shenzhen where we took a flight to Shenyang back in the north of China. It was a long trip but we had a good time stopping in the middle of nowhere to change the flights. I can’t remember the name of the place but it was a short stop and then we were back in the airplane and arrived in Shenyang early afternoon.

“Shenyang was yet another surprise for the orchestra — very cold!! The temperature was -28 Celsius. Not sure about Fahrenheit but like -12!! You just step outside and you freeze. Quite different than Arizona!

“The hotel was probably the worst we stayed so far although some people thought it is charming and everyone got a suite.

“We performed last night at the Liaoning Theater, which is also quite impressive but old and very cold, too, although they had the heater running. We had a good audience and they seemed very cold as we started playing but they warmed up after a while and again we did not leave the stage before three encores and a standing ovation.

“Now we are almost about to leave for our last city, Beijing. We are taking the bullet train early afternoon and everyone is excited about it. I can say that this trip has been really amazing so far and SASO is a great group to travel with. We are already thinking where we go next? ;-)

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Tim Secomb wrote:

Earlier this evening we arrived by train in Beijing, in the midst of the heaviest snowfall seen in Beijing in years. We are staying in the Poly Plaza Hotel, in the same building as the Poly Theatre where we will perform tomorrow evening. It is a beautiful hotel and the atmosphere is lively and cosmopolitan. An orchestra from Vienna performed in the Poly Theatre this evening and members of both orchestras found themselves bumping into each other in the elevator.

The train ride from Shenyang to Beijing was an adventure. We were delayed in our departure from the hotel because the baggage truck was late arriving. We arrived at the train station only 45 minutes before departure time, but we had to line up and go through a frenetic security check for cases and then find our way through throngs of people to the train. There was quite a deal of pushing and shoving but with our cellos, percussion cases, and the tall young guys in our party, we were more than a match for the locals and we made it to our reserved seats on the train with about ten minutes to spare. Then there was the challenge of stowing all of our cases and equipment on the train, where every seat was filled and many people were riding without assigned seats at the ends of each car. The bullet train ran non-stop to Beijing, taking about four hours, through a snow-covered landscape.

On our arrival in Beijing, we joined a tremendous river of people surging towards the exit of the station. Some of our group were washed up on the opposite bank of this river and could only wave to the rest of us across the flood. After a while, the human river subsided a little and we were reunited. We exited and saw the exterior of the impressive station building outlined in colored lights with heavy snow falling. It was a fairy-tale scene. Fortunately after hiking a couple of hundred yards through the snow, we found real buses waiting to deliver us to the hotel.

Update #5 - China Tour

Friday, January 1, 2010, 8:00 am local time

Thursday, December 31, 2009, 5:00 pm Tucson Time

Shenzhen Impressions

A few minutes before midnight, a group of us gathered near the hotel on a plaza surrounded by lit-up buildings, like a miniature Times Square. It quickly filled up with many thousands of young Chinese people, packed so close together that one could hardly move. At one minute before midnight, giant numbers appeared on the side of one multi-story building, counting down the seconds. The whole crowd shouted out the numbers (in Chinese of course) and cheered the beginning of 2010 (or perhaps the end of the aughties). A group of about 20 youngsters asked us to take their picture. Then we asked them to photograph us. Then ... we all posed for a group photo, Americans in back, Chinese in front, and an obliging policeman stepped up to take the photo. Priceless!

In both of the Shenzhen concerts, we played 'The Jasmine Flower', a popular Chinese song, as an encore. For the first of the concerts, Christi Amonson, our soprano was ill, so we had no singer. Sitting at the back of the fist violinists, Larry Lang did not hear Linus announce the piece but suddenly realized that he was going to be the soloist. He stood up and played the first verse from the side, then walked to center stage for the second verse. He did it beautifully and it was a magical moment.

On last night's concert, Christi was well enough to sing again, and had already charmed the audience with Bernstein's 'Glitter and Be Gay' from Candide. When Linus signaled her to come on stage for an encore, the audience immediately cheered. Then when we played the first few notes of Jasmine Flower, they applauded again. She sang the first few words in Chinese - another burst of applause!

The auditorium in Shenzheng is superb. The exterior is like an egg, covered with many metallic triangular facets, but with one end opening to a soaring glass wall. Backstage, the production space is so vast that an eighteen wheeler could drive straight in and look small. It dwarfs the sound shell that surrounds the orchestra. Acoustically, it was a joy. We could hear ourselves and every part of the orchestra clearly, and it made us sound good. The first time we ended a piece with a staccato chord, the reverberation was so long and warm that we all gasped. Tannis Gibson, our soloist in Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, loved the concert grand piano in the auditorium. It is a German Steinway, with strong warm sound and a striking range of tonal color. She said she had not had a chance in years to play a piano like that. And tonight we will perform at the Dongguan Yulan Theater, which Linus claims is even better. It is hard to imagine how that could be. It is wonderful to have a chance to perform in spaces of a quality that we can only dream about in Tucson.

The December 31 concert was indeed sold out. One member of our group even had to buy a ticket from a scalper outside, because we ran out of comp tickets. But that did not translate into a full house. Apparently, many of the tickets were bought by Nissan for their employees, who did not necessarily attend. But those who did attend gave every sign that they enjoyed the show immensely.