Monday, December 31, 2012, 5:00 pm local time
Monday, December 31, 2012, 2:00 am Tucson time
Happy New Year - Hello from the Class Hotel, Dongguan!
We are now in the south of China, an area of lush green vegetation and of intense urban growth, where the tower crane is said to be the national bird - tall buildings are sprouting in profusion.
Yesterday afternoon we went by bus 2-3 hours from Wenzhou to Lishui. Our route followed the valley of a large river (confusingly called 'Daxi Brook' on Google maps). The road took us through spectacular mountainous terrain with many tunnels. The trip took longer than expected and when we arrived at the concert hall we scrambled to set the stage before rehearsing.
Some comments from Diane Ransdell (violin):
'The staff at the theater were very friendly, but they were confused about where we were supposed to be. The young men tried to be helpful. It took ten of them to move the piano. Of course, it takes extra time when you have to stop to put on your white gloves. We had almost an hour to rehearse, but then we had to rush to dinner before the concert so as not to delay our long bus ride back to Wenzhao. Hungry musicians can eat pretty quickly!'
'We have again run into unusually cold weather. The theater was so chilly that the audience members were wearing their winter coats! But they seemed to enjoy the performance. Their applause was very polite at first, but they clapped enthusiastically when we played the encores!'
After our satisfying performance in Lishui, we hit the road again, and arrived back at our hotel around midnight. That gave us just a few hours to sleep before our 5:30 am departure this morning. But even then:
'there was a huge wedding at the hotel, complete with lots of fireworks, resulting in very, very noisy guests who had no intention of sleeping. When we banged on their doors, they merely got louder. Welcome to China! Can’t wait for New Year’s Eve! As it turns out, many people in China have a three-day weekend for New Year’s. Tonight will not be quiet either!'
After some welcome free time this afternoon, we are about to go to the concert hall in Dongguan where we performed three years ago. It is another in the chain of Poly theaters in many cities of China, with magnificent facilities and architecture, and great acoustics.
More later,
Tim
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