...Delighted, actually, to make my second appearance (first as an author) in this very prestigious publication. It would be poor recompense to the publisher were I to make the article available online here, but there's an excerpt available at the Strad site here and at some point I may be able to provide the … Continue reading Publish and be…
In retrospect, the last post wasn't completely different. In fact, it was rather more of the same. Performing in Acarigua always leaves me on an emotional high, with correspondingly maudlin sentiments and blog postings, and it takes about three weeks to return to my normal (I forbear to use adjectives) state. Hey look, it's three … Continue reading Putting the Salz in Salzau
Rodrigo Guerrero, the International Affairs Coordinator Deputy Director of International Affairs for Fesnojiv, is fond of telling people that I’m the only person he knows who has ever said: “I can’t wait to get back to Acarigua.” He’s joking, of course, the suggestion being that Acarigua is essentially the Venezuelan equivalent of Podunk, but I … Continue reading And now for something completely different
The first Monday of my time in Acarigua, I stopped by the office of the núcleo director, Roberto Zambrano, while the orchestra was on break. He was on the phone, in full crisis-prevention mode. The seminario would start in earnest on Tuesday, but the Centro Social was unable to accommodate us until Wednesday, and the … Continue reading The Legend of Bobby Z
It must be one of the near-ubiquitous experiences of childhood: the odious relation or friend of the family who arrives and promptly expresses shock and dismay at the extent to which you've grown. In my case, the remarks were generally treated with well-deserved scorn and indignation. After all, it was the world that changed around … Continue reading Triumphs from Minor to Major
It's become one of the hallmark stories of the year - the rehearsal in Acarigua during a power outage. The orchestra and I working by the limited natural light coming through a single small window, without air-conditioning, rehearsing in extreme heat for over an hour before calling a very necessary break to wring out shirts … Continue reading A good sign… UPDATED
If you ever wanted proof that we live in a world of untold possibility, this picture juxtaposed against those in my last posting should be evidence enough. As mentioned in this previous post, five days after the performance in the barn in Devon, musicians of In Harmony Lambeth performed along with the London Philharmonic onstage … Continue reading Lon-done.
I'm back in Caracas. Even as I type that I have a hard time believing it, since I never expected to return so soon. But here I am, after a 10+ hour flight from Frankfurt across the Atlantic, looking out a window onto the Sabana Grande. Part of the problem is that I feel like … Continue reading Rattling cages
I'm telling the story out of order, but it's my story, and I'll tell it the way I want to. On the 16th of June the Abreu Fellows program officially concluded with a ceremony at the New England Conservatory. For the second major presentation in a row (the first being LA) I spoke last for … Continue reading A fellowship that will not end
Approximately 4 hours west of London by vehicle is a region called Devon, in which lies the town of Exeter. The countryside is beautiful, quintessentially if not stereotypically British, with rolling fields partitioned by tall hedgerows, and cows and sheep dotting the hillside. Just east of Exeter there's an agricultural fairground with a large indoor … Continue reading Cows and cowards (Not Noel)
Jonathan Andrew Govias 