The Rest of My Week - in the Dominican Republic

The rest of the week was a blur of sectionals, sectionals, and orchestral rehearsals.

Tuesday

We began with clarinet sectionals upstairs in a hot room that we shared with the oboe players, separated by a curtain. I acquired one more clarinet player from Haiti who arrived the night before with the other Haitian kids. We had a woodwind sectional, co-run by me, the flute teacher, and the oboe teacher. The language barrier caused a very funny situation. The flute player knew more spanish than me and the oboe teacher knew combined, and so he was speaking more Spanish to the kids. We were trying to get the articulation amongst the winds a little clearer and clean, and so he said "más sucio!...más sucio!...crisp...clean". One of the clarinet players who spoke English said, "Do you mean más limpia?" Everyone laughed. He had been saying "more dirty! more...dirty!"

Then we all met for the full orchestra rehearsal, where the teachers played right next to the kids. There was a lot of work that had to get done in three days, and (spoiler alert:) we did it. Tuesday night we held a mini rehearsal for a piece we were going to play in the faculty concert, co-composed by one of the violinists and her friends. It was a fun, quirky piece that pretty much made fun of Mahler, with almost every quote from a Mahler symphony. Very witty, and very well written. We also met two of the older students who hung out with us for a little while, and I actually learned a bit of Spanish. Once you're surrounded and submerged in a culture, it doesn't take long to learn. I think one more week and I'd be speaking it no problem. The violinist who wrote the piece and I, plus the conductor of one of the pieces stayed up very late (until 4am) talking about things that needed to change for the next day. They needed (and wanted) more orchestra! It was because of that conversation that we had additional orchestra rehearsals the next day. And after that night, we became The Trio, staying up until all hours of the morning, hanging out and talking about everything.

Wednesday

In the morning, after eating fresh pineapple, papaya, and watermelon (:-D), I joined my fellow musicians on the beach, who were buying Conch shells. The beach is fine during the day when the sun is out, but if you even venture near the beach towards the end of the day when the sun is going down, a security guard will actually accompany you (with a loaded weapon), for your safety.

We began the day with sectionals. I brought some duets that were photocopied and passed out the parts. We played Home on the Range, Greensleeves, and some simple Mozart and Bach arrangements. It was a great listening exercise. Then we had sectionals (in air conditioning!) and orchestra rehearsal (also in air conditioning!) In orchestra I sat with the first clarinets, since one of them had to go to Santo Domingo. It was a great learning experience, because I was able to help out the first clarinet section. Since the student who played the solos was gone, I thought it would be good experience for the other clarinetist to play them. I was able to help by playing with them, but she did a really good job when she played by herself. All the clarinet players were really fast learners, and it was so nice to be able to work with them. The other students were also really smart. I met a girl who spoke very, very good English who played the trombone. She was a really sweet person, very talented, and very smart. The beauty of the faculty sitting in on the orchestra rehearsals was that other sections could help out. A few times I turned around and spoke with the trombone/trumpet players about the music, and the violins would do the same, etc.

That night, we ate dinner, and started the hang out. Although the hang out never really starts at a certain time. Dinner kind of winds down, drinks get ordered and people just kinda...talk. People gradually leave and go to bed, usually leaving the Quartet (me, 2 violinists, and the conductor). On this night, we had more rehearsals for the faculty concert that would take place the next day. We had a beautiful arrangement of "Call Me Maybe", and I also jumped in reading the 2nd violin part for Por Una Cabeza. Gorgeous music, from Scent of a Woman. Want to see Al Pacino tango?

Thursday

Now the fun begins. The day began with a quick sectional, where we worked on tuning with the oboes and bassoons, since sharing a room separated by a curtain was a bit counter-productive. We had a break, and then each of the teachers held an open class, where anyone in the community who played clarinet could come. I had about 15 clarinetists, including the 5 clarinetists I already had. The other clarinetists had only been playing for 3 or 4 months, where as mine had 3 or 4 years. I was really nervous, on how to keep them all engaged. What do you do with 15 kids who had varying levels of clarinet experience? You have a masterclass. I started by talking about long tones, which we practiced with chords. The kids were in a square on four benches, and I had each bench play a different note to form a major chord. Luckily, they all knew solfege really well, so it was easy to say "Do, Mi, Sol, Do" for C, E, G, C. After doing that, we played some scales together. I was so thankful that I had someone there who could translate, one of my clarinetists. His teacher was even there, watching the class. Then I had some students come up and play what they were working on. A boy came up and played his part for the National Anthem, and I worked on rhythm with him. Then I had two girls come up and play together one of their band pieces, and I worked on singing notes and rhythms, and we did some listening exercises. Another three boys came up and played their pieces, and I shared with them the importance of subdivision. Then one of my own students came up and played the beginning of the Mozart clarinet concerto. Everyone was listening, and it was so wonderful that even though we speak different languages, we were all able to connect through music. I gave him some musical ideas to work on, since his technique and sound was very good. I tied everything together by saying "All these things I've talked about today are important...long tones, scales, chords, rhythm...but the most important thing while playing music...is to play with your heart". Afterwards, I had a good conversation with the teacher who looked on, and he told me about his clarinet festival he has every year in Santo Domingo. I was really looking forward to hearing their clarinet quartet play that night for the faculty concert.

 Then, after lunch I learned the most important lesson. Never walk the 10 minute walk back to rehearsal from lunch while eating a popsicle. There was popsicle everywhere! All over my dress, in my shoe...I felt like a four year old who was eating one for the first time. It was yummy though...and dairy free :)

My clarinet masterclass 

Then we had our faculty concert. We rehearsed a bit immediately after the orchestra rehearsal, and then it was time to perform. The concert was held where the first ceremony for us was held (the one that had all the dancers), and tons of people showed up!! The concert started with some flute trios, followed by a Telemann string quartet, a trumpet and trombone duo, a trumpet and percussion duo, an awesome clarinet quartet (2 of my students, plus their teacher and a bass clarinet), then I played Call Me Maybe for flute, oboe, clarinet, percussion, we played Jordan's awesome piece based around Mahler quotes, and ended the concert with all of us playing Por Una Cabeza.

The concert was great, and it was really inspiring to see how our students came and supported us. I remember being at festivals as a student and going to faculty concerts, and it was the first time I was on the other side, as a faculty member. 

That night after the concert we all celebrated. There were more people staying at the hotel, and the bar was actually still open when we got back. A few people came to hang out, and we were relaxing and talking by the pool. It was yet another late night with the Duo (me and my fellow violin player new best friend/big sister/partner in crime). Turns out, when you know the right people, you can get better beer. I had a delicious Belgian beer, which was a huge difference from the Presidente light and crappy Sauvignon Blanc we had been drinking all week. We stayed up late talking about Egmont Overture, of all things, and had a wonderful three hours of sleep. :) 

Friday

Ah, the last day. We arrived at the concert venue, which held hundreds of people. We rehearsed and went to lunch. We lucked out and instead of heading over to lunch with everyone, knowing the right people and all, we stopped at a sandwich stop which had been closed the night before, and all got really delicious chicken sandwiches, and I had a mango juice too. Then we came back to rehearse some more, and the second part of that rehearsal was hilarious. Musicians are the same in every culture, turns out. I was sitting at the end of the clarinet section, right next to where my new friend was sitting at the end of the violin section. We were making fun of our conductor friends' conducting, and the horn section caught on...then the percussion section got involved and it was all over. With tears in my eyes trying not to laugh we played through the end of the piece. Then finally it hit me...I was really tired. So me and my big sister got up and sat in the audience to listen. After the rehearsal, we all went on a mission to buy coffee, then we got back to the hotel and quickly showered and dressed for the concert. The concert began with speeches, about bringing both the Dominican Republic and Haiti together. Apparently the night before, the kids all had a big dinner and they shared what they thought about the other country, and it was beautiful and very emotional. 

We played for a full house

The concert went so well, and I am so proud of all my clarinetists, the woodwinds, the entire orchestra, and the work that we all put in. We all worked so hard that week, and it really showed. It's such a great feeling to know that you've really made a difference. During the concert, the lights went off! People in the audience freaked out, but the orchestra kept going! Really, really great job. And the music we played was so much fun. We started with Beethoven's Coriolan Overture, then we played two Haitian dances, and ended with a piece called Tres Imaganes Folkloricas (I'll check the spelling on that tomorrow), which my students taught me how to pronounce :) There were so many references to dances, fun percussion spots, and crazy brass melodies that it was so fun to play, and you couldn't help but to sway (at the very least) to the groove. 

MESDA group at dinner

Then it was time for a celebration! On our way over to the bus, because me and my new best friend knew all the right people, we were asked if we wanted a beer, and "Salut!"...right in the middle of the parking lot. So we took it on the bus with us, and headed over for dinner.

I'd say we look pretty good for getting less than 4 hours a sleep per night! 

The dancers from the first ceremony came back, and we had dinner where we ate lunch every day, except now there were table cloths, covered chairs, center pieces, it was beautiful what they did! We took lots of pictures with our students, shared hugs and stories, took more pictures, and said our final good byes. It was such a rewarding experience, and since we all had worked so hard, we decided we would take a night on the town!

We got back to the hotel and packed for a little bit, and went down to the bar to wait for our friends who had a car. After a glass of wine, they came to get us, and we all crammed into the car. We went to an outdoor bar that had lots of dancing, loud music, and lights. Since we were Americans, we got lots of looks, but we found a table and ordered some drinks, and mixed our rum with some coke. And then I learned how to merengue! Fast learner. :)

Then some of us were hungry and cranky, so we stopped at a place called Juniors, right around the corner and ordered burgers and fries. Then we got dropped off and hung out for a little while longer. One by one everyone left to go to bed, leaving the Trio. We sat outside on a balcony watching youtube videos, talking, laughing, and just having a good time. The sun was almost up and I fell asleep in my big sisters room looking at all the pictures I took. An hour later, I woke up to the sounds of her packing and I ran back to my room and finished packing up. We went downstairs for our last breakfast, and boarded the bus. 

We shared the bus with some Haitian students, which was hilarious. Even though they were speaking Spanish, you could tell they were making fun of our conductor friend. Yes, musicians are the same everywhere. 

Yes, we were exhausted and totally fell asleep for most of the bus ride back to Santo Domingo. Too much fun for us! It was an amazing trip, and I really hope to go again next year. If I had the option to stay there for another month, year, two years, I would. My only complaint is that we had to leave! We boarded the plane to Miami after eating some fried food (which gave me a really intense stomach ache until tonight!), and after our lay over, finally made our way to Boston. It was cold and dark when we got back, and I was tired and felt sick, but it was good to get home and sleep. 

I finally feel much better, still a little sleepy, but comfortable. I needed a day of sleep and relaxing. 

xoxo

(Sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors...so tired.)