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
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