Zlin Day Four

Today I brought the camera along so I could take some pictures of where I've been spending all of my time this week so far.

Here is the concert hall where we have our rehearsals:


Here is the view from the top of the hill, right in front of the concert hall:


One of the other conductors with the orchestra:


These are the teachers with some of the students (Larry Rachleff is on the right in the black shirt standing up and Donald Schleicher is on the right in the blues shirt seated):


It's been flipping hot for the last couple of days. By the end of the day we are all drenched since the concert hall is not air-conditioned. Most buildings in the Czech Republic have no air conditioning as it turns out. There are a few places that have been "air conditioned-ish" but those are few and far between. Our hotel is hot and the air in the rooms is very still. Plus the beds come with terry cloth sheets and very heavy covers so there is nothing to do but sweat all the time. Thank God the heat is going to break tomorrow night and it will be pleasant for the rest of the time we're here.

Our schedule has been pretty consistent for the past four days. Today I got to work with the orchestra on Tchaikovsky 5th Symphony and tomorrow I get to go through part of Petrushka by Stravinsky. It's going to be great. I'm definitely learning a lot not only by conducting, but also by watching everyone else. The other people at this workshop are very nice and overall it's a very supportive group to be around. It's an intense workshop. I find I've been spending about two to three hours studying throughout the day and six hours attending classes and orchestra sessions.

This weekend we are going to get a bit of a break from our busy schedule. Saturday afternoon we have some time off and then Sunday we are taking a trip to Luhakovice, a spa town about thirty minutes away from here. We're going to spend the day in the town and then see a chamber concert that evening. Then next week we come back and hit it hard through the end of next week.

Well that's all for now. It's off to bed so I can get rested up for our big day tomorrow. Oh yeah, Kaia and I are celebrating our 5th anniversary tomorrow too. We'll probably go out for meat and potatoes after my evening class tomorrow night!