Here are some pictures of our students working hard at rehearsal!
Yes, we promise to sing it right this time.
What? What?!
Dian Tchobanov, orchestra maestro
Monday, June 23, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
All Day Rehearsal?
Conductors' hands
This started out as what I thought was going to be the longest day in history. Patience truly is a virtue and one that not many college students are blessed with, and having to sit in rehearsal for three and half hours can be hard on one... but surprisingly enough, I think we all fared pretty well.
The bus left the hotel at 8:45 and we drove to rehearsal. We arrived at the hall and after crawling over instruments, made it to our seats where we settled in. The conductors got started right away as we had some ground to cover so we were kept in a constant thought process. Singing foreign languages requires a lot of brain power, but German even more so. "De" is "duh"? And then you have all the umlauts and things that look like crazy eights but mean "ss." Not only do I now feel so much more comfortable with my German singing, but I actually feel like I understood what we were singing by the end of the day. Thank you again Dr. Hart for making me write the translation in my score. It really did help.
Our break in between rehearsals came and we wondered what to do with ourselves for the couple hours we had. The group I was with decided on food and a tour of the Assumption Cathedral. We crossed the main square and headed for the church. Upon reaching it, we were in awe. You just don't see churches like this in Billings, Montana, or in Montana, for that matter... The Assumption Cathedral (which wasn't as old as I thought it was) is the city's main landmark. It was built at the end of the 19th century, of cut stones from ruined fortress walls. Because insufficient funds for its construction were gathered from donations, the municipality held a lottery, thus raising a further 300,000 leva from its citizens. The iconostasis was made by Ivan Filipov, a master craftsman from Debur, and most of the icons were presented as a gift from Russian Tzar Nicholas II, in 1901. The day of the Virgin Mary's assumption into heaven, 15 August, is still the official holiday of the city of Varna. The inside was remarkable. The icons were beautiful, the stained glass stories remarkable, the wooden pulpit and chairs where the royal family sat were intricately carved, and all together created a beautiful cathedral. It gave one goosebumps the moment you walked in the doors once you got past all the tourist information and stands.
Next item on the menu was lunch... ha ha... Our little group wandered back to the main square where we stopped at a cafe called Happy's. I would compare it to an Applebees or something along those lines. It served authentic Bulgarian meals but it also served some American cuisine as well as Fabiano's Brazilian Bread... boy, was he happy. After we ordered our food and our wine, we all began to sit back and relax. We came to realize just how blessed we were to be here sharing good food, good memories, and good times. These people in our choir have become so close to me and I realized just how much closer I had gotten to some people and how much I had learned about others. That realization made me happy and proceeded to carry on for the rest of the day.
We stayed at Happy's for the remainder of our break as it began to rain and we didn't really feel like touring in a downpour. As more of our group kept showing up to get out of the rain, the more we ordered... food, dessert, milkshakes and so on. It was all so good though. The walk back to rehearsal was a quick one though as we all didn't want to get too wet. At least it was still warm out. Humidity is good for something.
The rest of rehearsal went really well. It began to sink in toward the end that tomorrow we would be standing in front of an audience and performing this piece. I only hope that we succeeded in getting the emotion across as Brahm's would have wanted. That's what music is about, after all. We must tell a story or share a memory with others and the expression comes through the tempo, the facial expressions, the dynamics, and so much more. It truly is a work of art and its amazing what we all together can create when we work and sing as one. It's like we all have the same thought and we have to tell it or else we just might explode.... well maybe not quite like that, but you get the idea. Trying to fall asleep was hard. I was just too excited! Tomorrow I actually get to sing the Brahm's Requiem in its entirety! How many people get that chance? Not many, so I just wish to express a huge thank you to all who helped our choir get here. Its a memory I will never forget and an experience I might never get again. Thank you so much.
Christa
Beautiful Gardens and Pink Cake
This post is actually from Saturday, May 31st.
Today a bunch of us took the opportunity to bus up to Balchik which is a small seaside town in Northern Bulgaria which combines the romance of its steep streets with the beauty of the sea. For a long time it has been known as the White Town for the mainly white colour of its lime rocks. We probably will all remember it for its botanical gardens. We got off the bus and walked down the tiny little streets lined with the vendors getting ready for the day until we reached the gates. There we stopped and listened to the history of the Gardens.
The ancient settlement used to bear the name of the Greek god of wine and revelry, Dionysus until after the end of WWI. Then Balchik was handed over to Romania and it was not until 1940 that Bulgaria reclaimed it after the skillful diplomatic intervention of the then Bulgarian monarch Boris I. While Balchik was under Romanian domination the Romanian Queen Maria fell in love with it and built the palace, which was later converted into a botanical garden. One can see both Christian and Muslim holy buildings hosted by the palace - a church and a mosque. Romanian Queen Maria professed the Baha’i religion, according to which perfect harmony was what mattered most. Little by little the palace became the queen’s best preferred place for relaxation, she often used to write poetry and paint pictures in her leisure time. The Queen’s palace has mysteriously landed on the sea coast – it is a building not that grand in scale, but combining elements of Mediterranean culture and the architecture typical of the Bulgarian national revival period of the early and mid-19th century. Rumour has it that the Romanian Queen was desperately in love with a handsome Turkish pasha, while the then Bulgarian prince Kiril was passionately in love with her. The palace owes its pride to its botanical garden, which is really unique, and whose construction the highly reputed Swiss botany expert Jules Jany began in 1926. At that time the garden was named the Garden of Allah. Today, it is found particularly attractive for its rich collection of cacti and exotic plants. The Romanian Queen would often indulge herself in long walks along the meandering paths, tasting the magnificent atmosphere of the palace she had built.
We wandered through the Gardens were we were able to view the beautiful rows of flowers, the ivy covered walls, stone crosses that decorated special areas, tasted some Bulgarian wine, wandered through buildings, and even stopped for a picture on the what used to be the Queen's private massage table. Her private church was really neat. The icons that covered the walls were beautiful. The best part though were the roses. Bulgaria really is the Land of Roses. They were every shape, size, color, and scent. The coolest ones that I saw were a deep purple and had one of the sweetest scents. One I will always remember.
After the gardens we had some time to wander through the streets. I don't think I will ever forget one of the stores. They had preserved puffer fish in their puffed out position. They hung from strings and you could buy them in mobiles or just as figurines. What a person does with them, not really sure... Probably collectors items or something...
Lunch was amazing! We sat down at our tables which were located on a patio that overlooked the harbor of Balchik. We watched sailboats race through a course while we enjoyed our first course of a salad sample. We had three different salads which were all good, but my favorite was and always will be the shopska salad. The others were flavored heavily with dill as is a lot of their food... it takes some getting used to. The main dish was either stuffed chicken or shark. Shocking, yes. The stuffed chicken was excellent, but the shark was somewhat bland, was what I heard. (I'm not a big fish fan so I chickened out on trying it...) The best part was the dessert. It was a strawberry ice cream cake and was the best thing I have ever eaten. It was couple layers of strawberry ice cream stuck between a spongy white cake and was like eating heaven. It made me feel like a little girl again at a birthday party where we are all wearing tiaras.
Rehearsal was an interesting experience tonight. The orchestra is absolutely incredible to listen to. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in listening to them that I forget my entrance... sorry Dr. Hart... Then listening to us come in over the top of the orchestra and find that perfect balance is one that takes some effort, but when there is that perfect balance, you could listen all day. The conductors have chosen their movements and now we are working on their specific details that they want to incorporate into the pieces which is complicated by the time everything gets translated, but in the end it all comes together and is a reminder of why we are here. To make this beautiful music with these wonderful people and become the musicians we know that we can be--what a beautiful thing.
Christa
Today a bunch of us took the opportunity to bus up to Balchik which is a small seaside town in Northern Bulgaria which combines the romance of its steep streets with the beauty of the sea. For a long time it has been known as the White Town for the mainly white colour of its lime rocks. We probably will all remember it for its botanical gardens. We got off the bus and walked down the tiny little streets lined with the vendors getting ready for the day until we reached the gates. There we stopped and listened to the history of the Gardens.
The ancient settlement used to bear the name of the Greek god of wine and revelry, Dionysus until after the end of WWI. Then Balchik was handed over to Romania and it was not until 1940 that Bulgaria reclaimed it after the skillful diplomatic intervention of the then Bulgarian monarch Boris I. While Balchik was under Romanian domination the Romanian Queen Maria fell in love with it and built the palace, which was later converted into a botanical garden. One can see both Christian and Muslim holy buildings hosted by the palace - a church and a mosque. Romanian Queen Maria professed the Baha’i religion, according to which perfect harmony was what mattered most. Little by little the palace became the queen’s best preferred place for relaxation, she often used to write poetry and paint pictures in her leisure time. The Queen’s palace has mysteriously landed on the sea coast – it is a building not that grand in scale, but combining elements of Mediterranean culture and the architecture typical of the Bulgarian national revival period of the early and mid-19th century. Rumour has it that the Romanian Queen was desperately in love with a handsome Turkish pasha, while the then Bulgarian prince Kiril was passionately in love with her. The palace owes its pride to its botanical garden, which is really unique, and whose construction the highly reputed Swiss botany expert Jules Jany began in 1926. At that time the garden was named the Garden of Allah. Today, it is found particularly attractive for its rich collection of cacti and exotic plants. The Romanian Queen would often indulge herself in long walks along the meandering paths, tasting the magnificent atmosphere of the palace she had built.
We wandered through the Gardens were we were able to view the beautiful rows of flowers, the ivy covered walls, stone crosses that decorated special areas, tasted some Bulgarian wine, wandered through buildings, and even stopped for a picture on the what used to be the Queen's private massage table. Her private church was really neat. The icons that covered the walls were beautiful. The best part though were the roses. Bulgaria really is the Land of Roses. They were every shape, size, color, and scent. The coolest ones that I saw were a deep purple and had one of the sweetest scents. One I will always remember.
After the gardens we had some time to wander through the streets. I don't think I will ever forget one of the stores. They had preserved puffer fish in their puffed out position. They hung from strings and you could buy them in mobiles or just as figurines. What a person does with them, not really sure... Probably collectors items or something...
Lunch was amazing! We sat down at our tables which were located on a patio that overlooked the harbor of Balchik. We watched sailboats race through a course while we enjoyed our first course of a salad sample. We had three different salads which were all good, but my favorite was and always will be the shopska salad. The others were flavored heavily with dill as is a lot of their food... it takes some getting used to. The main dish was either stuffed chicken or shark. Shocking, yes. The stuffed chicken was excellent, but the shark was somewhat bland, was what I heard. (I'm not a big fish fan so I chickened out on trying it...) The best part was the dessert. It was a strawberry ice cream cake and was the best thing I have ever eaten. It was couple layers of strawberry ice cream stuck between a spongy white cake and was like eating heaven. It made me feel like a little girl again at a birthday party where we are all wearing tiaras.
Rehearsal was an interesting experience tonight. The orchestra is absolutely incredible to listen to. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in listening to them that I forget my entrance... sorry Dr. Hart... Then listening to us come in over the top of the orchestra and find that perfect balance is one that takes some effort, but when there is that perfect balance, you could listen all day. The conductors have chosen their movements and now we are working on their specific details that they want to incorporate into the pieces which is complicated by the time everything gets translated, but in the end it all comes together and is a reminder of why we are here. To make this beautiful music with these wonderful people and become the musicians we know that we can be--what a beautiful thing.
Christa
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
And We're back!
Please excuse the long delay from the last post until now. During this time the most critical and the most amazing stuff happened, and we didn't have access to Internet to say a thing about it. So in case anybody is still checking up on this blog, there will be more posts and some more pictures forthcoming.
Let me begin with the most important part of the trip--singing the Brahms Requiem! I wish you could have been there; you would have been proud of the Rocky choir. The best way I could describe it is to tell you what the maestro, Dian Tchobanov from Vienna, said of our group's participation. He told us later in the evening that we brought a "noble sound" to the concert; he has heard the choir sing for a number of years previously and he was very complimentary about our being there. I really wish you could have seen us. There will be a video produced of the concert eventually, but for now here is a clip of another group performing one of the 7 movements that we did, so you can get an idea of what we were up to.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=aWdjK2Qgmj8&feature=related
or my favorite movement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg7sU5B_ibM&NR=1
Having the opportunity to perform with the Bulgarian choir was a real blessing for us, and in many ways gave us the opportunity to even have a European choir trip. One of the issues a small school--even with the generous support we received--has is taking a balanced choir on tour. There is no way to guarantee that you'll get equal numbers of sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses. Our group found itself coping with that issue, with almost half of our participants from just one section. Singing with the "complete" Bulgarian choir afforded us the opportunity to take along whomever wanted to go and could come up with the money, so thanks Bulgaria!
Don't get me wrong though, we weren't without our own tunes. We had a couple opportunities, such as in St. Stephan's Cathedral in Vienna, to sing on our own pieces that we brought with us. Those times were all really wonderful and gave us a cozy sense of who we were. The idea that we were across the world, far from all that was familiar to us, but together...then seemingly out of nowhere, on some spontaneous impulse (or perhaps inspired by the amazing chambers in which we stood) we would jump into a choir formation and begin singing. Every single time we did this the busy and frantic pace of tourists would come to a halt to focus in on the music filling the room. The solemn and mournful would perk up and enjoy a sense of peace and relief found in the comfort of the lyrics, and we would remember our fortune and blessings--no matter what else, lost luggage, delayed flights, late nights, squabbles, or otherwise frustrating events, we were singing really beautiful music in really beautiful places. We have much to be grateful for!
Musings by Jesse
St. Stephan's Cathedral (Stephansdom"), Vienna, Austria (we sang here once!)
St. Stephan's Cathedral (Stephansdom"), Vienna, Austria (we sang here once!)
Saturday, May 31, 2008
If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it.
Shakespeare hit the nail on the head with this line. I have to confess that I feel a little silly as I write so passionately about the experience of music, but I only do so because I am compelled by it. I try my best to avoid cliches and otherwise ridiculously empty sayings, but at the same time, I find truth and hope in something so cheesy as, "Music is a transcendent hope for so much of the negative in our world".
In speaking with other choristers we have noted how few, if any, other activities are so forgiving as music; in music if you sing a wrong note, nobody cares or remembers for very long, because they choose to remember the beautiful parts. In music everybody comes to watch a success, to hear a choir and orchestra from around the world join together for Brahms' Requiem; nobody is coming to beat their opponent or see somebody get defeated. Music is an activity that every participant is not only hoping for their colleagues' success but helping their colleague succeed; the better your colleague sounds, the better the group as a whole sounds. Tonight our group sat out on the patio next to the pool and had a little group time. We wanted to practice one of our songs, but aware of the late hour, we knew we needed to practice it quietly. Suddenly, in a way that only a poet can describe, from the mouths of 30 individuals all focused on our conductor's cues, in the middle of the night in a country foreign to everyone of us, perfect harmony filled the air, echoing off of the pool and building walls. Folks from every floor came out to their balcony, probably waking from their sleep, to hear us--to hear the Rocky Mountain College Choir. They knew not who they where listening to, but they knew it was beautiful and they expressed to us their approval by erupting into applause and calls for more. As cheesy as it sounds, that's what I am talking about--that is the power of music.
We have been through a whole week or more of practices now, and tonight was the first with the full orchestra. This addition was pleasant to the sound, and entertaining to the practice. Remember that we are already dealing in a number of languages, the choir split between English and Bulgarian, and nine conductors from all over, two translators and now a whole group of musicians playing a number of different instruments. It still amazes me how so many different people can come together from such vastly different backgrounds and make something so amazing happen.
More Musings by Jesse
In speaking with other choristers we have noted how few, if any, other activities are so forgiving as music; in music if you sing a wrong note, nobody cares or remembers for very long, because they choose to remember the beautiful parts. In music everybody comes to watch a success, to hear a choir and orchestra from around the world join together for Brahms' Requiem; nobody is coming to beat their opponent or see somebody get defeated. Music is an activity that every participant is not only hoping for their colleagues' success but helping their colleague succeed; the better your colleague sounds, the better the group as a whole sounds. Tonight our group sat out on the patio next to the pool and had a little group time. We wanted to practice one of our songs, but aware of the late hour, we knew we needed to practice it quietly. Suddenly, in a way that only a poet can describe, from the mouths of 30 individuals all focused on our conductor's cues, in the middle of the night in a country foreign to everyone of us, perfect harmony filled the air, echoing off of the pool and building walls. Folks from every floor came out to their balcony, probably waking from their sleep, to hear us--to hear the Rocky Mountain College Choir. They knew not who they where listening to, but they knew it was beautiful and they expressed to us their approval by erupting into applause and calls for more. As cheesy as it sounds, that's what I am talking about--that is the power of music.
We have been through a whole week or more of practices now, and tonight was the first with the full orchestra. This addition was pleasant to the sound, and entertaining to the practice. Remember that we are already dealing in a number of languages, the choir split between English and Bulgarian, and nine conductors from all over, two translators and now a whole group of musicians playing a number of different instruments. It still amazes me how so many different people can come together from such vastly different backgrounds and make something so amazing happen.
More Musings by Jesse
Nessebar
Today was incredible! Today was our day off and also the one on which we embarked on a journey to Nessebar which is located about two hours away from our hotel. The drive was beautiful. We drove along the Northern shore and passed the lake and canal in Varna, a ship yard that was the third biggest in Europe at one time, and some beautiful forests. We passed over some mountains and then began the descent down into Nessebar which is slowly becoming engulfed by a new resort town that is springing up along the shores of the sea down that direction.
To reach Nessebar, we had to drive across a small peninsula which before it was paved, apparently was covered by the waves in the winter and then froze over making the town into an island and unreachable by land. As we were deposited at the walls of the city, our tour guide began to tell us the history of the island.
The present-day town is the successor of a Thracian fishermen's settlement named Menabryia (meaning literally "the town of Mena") the foundation of which dates back to the 2nd century BC. Later it remained the only Doric colony along the Black Sea coast, as the rest were typical Ionic settlements. The Greeks named it Messembria (which was later transformed into Nessebar by the Slavs), and it grew into a big and well-fortified town-state. The town benefited from natural protection from both the land and the sea. Remains suggest the existence of aqueducts, a sewage system, fortified wails, an amphitheatre and numerous cult edifices (including an impressive temple of Apollo) at that time. The town became a popular commercial centre as a variety of goods from the Aegean and the Mediterranean regions were traded there and it also minted its own coins in the 5th century BC. Two centuries later, it founded its own colony called Navlohos near Obzor. The whole land between Nessebar and Obzor used to be a granary that supplied the two colonies with food as well as goods of exchange. In the 1st century BC the town surrendered to Marcus Lukulus' legions and was subjected top Roman domination, during which the construction of a second colony of Messembria began and was finished. The second colony, built to the south of Nessebar, was named Anhialo (present-day Pomorie).
In the early Middle Ages the town rebuilt its fortress walls and stayed part of the Byzantine Empire until 812 when the proto-bulgarian Khan Kroum conquered it, including it in the territory of Bulgaria. During the reign of Ivan Alexander the town went thorough a cultural and economic boom, and occupied substantial territories beyond the stretch of the peninsula. It was around that period when most of the churches of Nessebar, remains of which are to be found in the present-day town, were built. In 1366 the knights of Amadeus of Savoy conquered the town, and then sold it to Byzantium for 15,000 golden ducats. In 1453, shortly after Constantinople fell under Turkish domination the town was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and went through a period of decay. The Liberation found Nessebar as a small fishermen's settlement, with well-developed viticulture on the hills above the town.
Our first stop was the Archaeological Museum where we looked at pots and stones and grave stones and things like that. Not different to the naked eye or untrained historian than what we had previously seen in Varna. The best part was downstairs in the museum. The people had rescued icons from the 41 churches in the town and preserved them. They were beautiful. All in bold colors displaying numerous Biblical scenes. The Virgin Mary with the Christ Child, Jesus, Jesus's crucifixion, the beheading of John the Baptist, and so many more. They made the museum trip.
After the museum we wandered around the town and gazed at the churches or what remained of them. According to legend, the churches of Nessebar were no less than 41, which, when compared to the small population of the town, make Nessebar one of the world's settlements with the highest number of churches per capita. One of the oldest sanctuaries is the Basilica, built on the coast most probably around the beginning of 5th century. It was amazing.
One funny part was a man who was sitting inside playing a stringed instrument. When he heard that we were from the US, he started playing "Home on the Range." Not really a song I expected to hear here...
The Old Bishop's Residence located in the centre of the town is probably the most impressive church in Nessebar. It is more than 25m long and 22m wide while its three naves were decorated with ceramic circles and arches. That one was neat and the inside is supposedly preserved as well, but it was locked and hadn't opened for the summer tourist season yet.
Lunch was good again. We started with the delicious shopska salad and then moved onto an incredibly hot vegetable soup which we enjoyed with bread. The main course was chicken in what looked like the mishmash from one of our earlier meals. The dessert was a different kind of dessert. It looked kind of like a caterpillar, according to Faith and Tyler. It was a light pastry that was surrounded by and covered in a maple sugar.
After lunch we were free to wander around through the streets. There were women selling lace, men selling soccer shirts, honey (which Nessebar is known for), and so much more. My favorite was an Indian man who had the most beautiful drinking glasses I have ever seen. When he found out that we were American, he was so happy. He said that we were the first Americans he had ever had in his shop and would give us all a free glass of tea. The tea was amazing and while we were admiring his beautiful glasses, he proceeded to tell us about them. The glasses were rimmed with either gold or silver and were all impeccably made. When he dropped one, though, we all about had heart attacks. Once we regained our normal heartbeats and saw that the glass wasn't broken, we were pretty impressed. Then he set it on the floor and stood on it. This gentleman was definitely not a small man and we all stood there in awe as the glass didn't break again. It was astounding. Glancing at our watches though we realized we needed to head back to the bus.
The bus ride back was a quiet one as we either slept or looked out the window at the beautiful scenery. We stopped at what was their version of a gas station. They had a garage door with Mickey Mouse on it which I found very amusing... who knew he was big over here too? The bus continued on until we got to Varna where some of us got off so we could go see Aida at the Bulgaria Opera House.
Aida was incredible! A brief history and synopsis of Aida is that it was written by Giuseppe Verdi in 1871 after he was asked by Ismail Pasha, Khedive of Egypt. In the four acts Aida, an Ethiopian princess, is captured and brought into slavery in Egypt. A military commander, Radames, struggles to choose between his love for her and his loyalty to the Pharaoh. To complicate the story further, Radames is loved by the Pharaoh's daughter Amneris, although he does not return the feeling. In the end Aida tricks Radames into betraying Egypt and he is buried alive but Aida sneaks in and together they die. It was beautiful. The costumes, the set, the singers, although it was somewhat difficult to understand anything as none of us were fluent Italian speakers and we couldn't read the Bulgarian subtitles. All in all though, it deepened my sense of music appreciation because even if we couldn't understand the language, the music still told a story. That night I went to bed and dreamed of pyramids and music. A lovely experience.
Christa
To reach Nessebar, we had to drive across a small peninsula which before it was paved, apparently was covered by the waves in the winter and then froze over making the town into an island and unreachable by land. As we were deposited at the walls of the city, our tour guide began to tell us the history of the island.
The present-day town is the successor of a Thracian fishermen's settlement named Menabryia (meaning literally "the town of Mena") the foundation of which dates back to the 2nd century BC. Later it remained the only Doric colony along the Black Sea coast, as the rest were typical Ionic settlements. The Greeks named it Messembria (which was later transformed into Nessebar by the Slavs), and it grew into a big and well-fortified town-state. The town benefited from natural protection from both the land and the sea. Remains suggest the existence of aqueducts, a sewage system, fortified wails, an amphitheatre and numerous cult edifices (including an impressive temple of Apollo) at that time. The town became a popular commercial centre as a variety of goods from the Aegean and the Mediterranean regions were traded there and it also minted its own coins in the 5th century BC. Two centuries later, it founded its own colony called Navlohos near Obzor. The whole land between Nessebar and Obzor used to be a granary that supplied the two colonies with food as well as goods of exchange. In the 1st century BC the town surrendered to Marcus Lukulus' legions and was subjected top Roman domination, during which the construction of a second colony of Messembria began and was finished. The second colony, built to the south of Nessebar, was named Anhialo (present-day Pomorie).
In the early Middle Ages the town rebuilt its fortress walls and stayed part of the Byzantine Empire until 812 when the proto-bulgarian Khan Kroum conquered it, including it in the territory of Bulgaria. During the reign of Ivan Alexander the town went thorough a cultural and economic boom, and occupied substantial territories beyond the stretch of the peninsula. It was around that period when most of the churches of Nessebar, remains of which are to be found in the present-day town, were built. In 1366 the knights of Amadeus of Savoy conquered the town, and then sold it to Byzantium for 15,000 golden ducats. In 1453, shortly after Constantinople fell under Turkish domination the town was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and went through a period of decay. The Liberation found Nessebar as a small fishermen's settlement, with well-developed viticulture on the hills above the town.
Our first stop was the Archaeological Museum where we looked at pots and stones and grave stones and things like that. Not different to the naked eye or untrained historian than what we had previously seen in Varna. The best part was downstairs in the museum. The people had rescued icons from the 41 churches in the town and preserved them. They were beautiful. All in bold colors displaying numerous Biblical scenes. The Virgin Mary with the Christ Child, Jesus, Jesus's crucifixion, the beheading of John the Baptist, and so many more. They made the museum trip.
After the museum we wandered around the town and gazed at the churches or what remained of them. According to legend, the churches of Nessebar were no less than 41, which, when compared to the small population of the town, make Nessebar one of the world's settlements with the highest number of churches per capita. One of the oldest sanctuaries is the Basilica, built on the coast most probably around the beginning of 5th century. It was amazing.
One funny part was a man who was sitting inside playing a stringed instrument. When he heard that we were from the US, he started playing "Home on the Range." Not really a song I expected to hear here...
The Old Bishop's Residence located in the centre of the town is probably the most impressive church in Nessebar. It is more than 25m long and 22m wide while its three naves were decorated with ceramic circles and arches. That one was neat and the inside is supposedly preserved as well, but it was locked and hadn't opened for the summer tourist season yet.
Lunch was good again. We started with the delicious shopska salad and then moved onto an incredibly hot vegetable soup which we enjoyed with bread. The main course was chicken in what looked like the mishmash from one of our earlier meals. The dessert was a different kind of dessert. It looked kind of like a caterpillar, according to Faith and Tyler. It was a light pastry that was surrounded by and covered in a maple sugar.
After lunch we were free to wander around through the streets. There were women selling lace, men selling soccer shirts, honey (which Nessebar is known for), and so much more. My favorite was an Indian man who had the most beautiful drinking glasses I have ever seen. When he found out that we were American, he was so happy. He said that we were the first Americans he had ever had in his shop and would give us all a free glass of tea. The tea was amazing and while we were admiring his beautiful glasses, he proceeded to tell us about them. The glasses were rimmed with either gold or silver and were all impeccably made. When he dropped one, though, we all about had heart attacks. Once we regained our normal heartbeats and saw that the glass wasn't broken, we were pretty impressed. Then he set it on the floor and stood on it. This gentleman was definitely not a small man and we all stood there in awe as the glass didn't break again. It was astounding. Glancing at our watches though we realized we needed to head back to the bus.
The bus ride back was a quiet one as we either slept or looked out the window at the beautiful scenery. We stopped at what was their version of a gas station. They had a garage door with Mickey Mouse on it which I found very amusing... who knew he was big over here too? The bus continued on until we got to Varna where some of us got off so we could go see Aida at the Bulgaria Opera House.
Aida was incredible! A brief history and synopsis of Aida is that it was written by Giuseppe Verdi in 1871 after he was asked by Ismail Pasha, Khedive of Egypt. In the four acts Aida, an Ethiopian princess, is captured and brought into slavery in Egypt. A military commander, Radames, struggles to choose between his love for her and his loyalty to the Pharaoh. To complicate the story further, Radames is loved by the Pharaoh's daughter Amneris, although he does not return the feeling. In the end Aida tricks Radames into betraying Egypt and he is buried alive but Aida sneaks in and together they die. It was beautiful. The costumes, the set, the singers, although it was somewhat difficult to understand anything as none of us were fluent Italian speakers and we couldn't read the Bulgarian subtitles. All in all though, it deepened my sense of music appreciation because even if we couldn't understand the language, the music still told a story. That night I went to bed and dreamed of pyramids and music. A lovely experience.
Christa
Relaxation
James Carroll once said, "We spend most of our time and energy in a kind of horizontal thinking. We move along the surface of things but there are times when we stop. We sit still. We lose ourselves in a pile of leaves or its memory. We listen and breezes from a whole other world begin to whisper." This in mind, Thursday was a day of relaxation and sheer enjoyment.
I think, and I think I speak for most, that we are still adjusting to the nine hour time difference and although we sleep, we just don't sleep the same. Sleeping in and catching up on sleep was wonderful none to say the least and most of us opted for that option as we had nothing planned for the day except rehearsal. The sun coming in through my balcony was the perfect wakeup call and for once I didn't seem to mind the techno as much.
Grabbing our towels and swimsuits, we hit the beach hoping to go lay by the sea but when we got down to the sand, we saw it probably wouldn't be so. The tide was coming in and it was too high to lay where we would normally. It we wanted to lay in the sand, we would have to pay leva for an umbrella. So we wandered down along the sand and just looked.
Apparently Golden Sands is a place where a lot of Europeans holiday at. They are used to foreigners, but not really Americans. It was interesting to watch people's reactions when they realized we were American. Most would instantly slip into smooth English as they tried to convince us to eat here or buy this. Others who didn't know English still communicated with their bodies whether it was with smiles or nods as we pointed to the fruit we wanted.
Lunch was an interesting meal. I had what was called a Doner Kabob I think... not sure that's the right name, but I can't really read Bulgarian and frankly I just picked something and pointed. It was a good choice though. It was similar to a pita back at home, but it was filled with the Doner meat (cooked lunch meat pretty much), lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, french fries (odd I know), something like a Catalina dressing, and then a mayonnaise dressing. It was good though. As me and Kristen sat and ate our meal I watched a little boy building a sand fort. It was sad though because he was getting so frustrated as the tide kept washing away the one side of it. Finally he gave up and just wandered into the waves.
Sunbathing was nice. Its kind of funny though because the locals here think we are crazy. Apparently it is still to cold for them. They walk around in jeans and long sleeve shirts while we are running up and down the beaches in our swimsuits. Granted I am not good at converting their temperatures here since they are in degrees C I am not sure what it is, but I do know that its hot.
Rehearsal was fun tonight. We worked with each individual conductor again they picked new movements to direct. Its just amazing to me to see each one's interpretation of the movement. However, they still have to remain somewhat similar to the way Brahms would have done it and that is where Dr. Larry and Mistro Dion come into play as well as Mistro Chonev. They help the directors conduct the way they would and the way that the Bulgarian Orchestra and Choir know how to do it. Granted it's in their own style, but there are certainly guidelines to follow. Also watching Mistro Dion conduct is like watching art. He's incredible and you can't take your eyes off of him. He gathers the entire choir and makes them move like one. I would love to see him direct the orchestra... Which we get to soon hopefully, but not tomorrow as we get a day off. Yay!
Christa
I think, and I think I speak for most, that we are still adjusting to the nine hour time difference and although we sleep, we just don't sleep the same. Sleeping in and catching up on sleep was wonderful none to say the least and most of us opted for that option as we had nothing planned for the day except rehearsal. The sun coming in through my balcony was the perfect wakeup call and for once I didn't seem to mind the techno as much.
Grabbing our towels and swimsuits, we hit the beach hoping to go lay by the sea but when we got down to the sand, we saw it probably wouldn't be so. The tide was coming in and it was too high to lay where we would normally. It we wanted to lay in the sand, we would have to pay leva for an umbrella. So we wandered down along the sand and just looked.
Apparently Golden Sands is a place where a lot of Europeans holiday at. They are used to foreigners, but not really Americans. It was interesting to watch people's reactions when they realized we were American. Most would instantly slip into smooth English as they tried to convince us to eat here or buy this. Others who didn't know English still communicated with their bodies whether it was with smiles or nods as we pointed to the fruit we wanted.
Lunch was an interesting meal. I had what was called a Doner Kabob I think... not sure that's the right name, but I can't really read Bulgarian and frankly I just picked something and pointed. It was a good choice though. It was similar to a pita back at home, but it was filled with the Doner meat (cooked lunch meat pretty much), lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, french fries (odd I know), something like a Catalina dressing, and then a mayonnaise dressing. It was good though. As me and Kristen sat and ate our meal I watched a little boy building a sand fort. It was sad though because he was getting so frustrated as the tide kept washing away the one side of it. Finally he gave up and just wandered into the waves.
Sunbathing was nice. Its kind of funny though because the locals here think we are crazy. Apparently it is still to cold for them. They walk around in jeans and long sleeve shirts while we are running up and down the beaches in our swimsuits. Granted I am not good at converting their temperatures here since they are in degrees C I am not sure what it is, but I do know that its hot.
Rehearsal was fun tonight. We worked with each individual conductor again they picked new movements to direct. Its just amazing to me to see each one's interpretation of the movement. However, they still have to remain somewhat similar to the way Brahms would have done it and that is where Dr. Larry and Mistro Dion come into play as well as Mistro Chonev. They help the directors conduct the way they would and the way that the Bulgarian Orchestra and Choir know how to do it. Granted it's in their own style, but there are certainly guidelines to follow. Also watching Mistro Dion conduct is like watching art. He's incredible and you can't take your eyes off of him. He gathers the entire choir and makes them move like one. I would love to see him direct the orchestra... Which we get to soon hopefully, but not tomorrow as we get a day off. Yay!
Christa
Roman Ruins in Varna
Ruins surrounded by residential neighborhood
Roman Bathhouse
Fabiano, Katelyn and Jesse in the Roman ruins
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Enduring Value
As I am about a week into this choir trip to Europe, I am overwhelmed with how blessed we all are and what a truly amazing opportunity this has been for about 30 students from mostly small Montana towns. Though I do not think that the value is given to those 30 students alone. With this trip our school is taking the stance that we will work hard, find resources and support intercultural experiences--I am so proud of our school, and so grateful to be from it.
The other day the Maestro of the Motsky Svotsky choir, that we are singing with, made quite flattering remarks of our choir, graciously thanking us for participating in the event this year and commenting on the warm tone we bring to the concert. Certainly the privilege is ours and it is we who are gaining the most from this experience. Speaking only of very practical musical improvements, our choir has made tremendous gains in sight-reading, vocal production, sustained singing ability (the entire piece is about 90 minutes non-stop) and our ability to follow different conductors and different styles, even without speaking the same language. I am excited for our choir and audience to enjoy these great improvements.
As one of the recent graduates, I couldn't be more proud of our choir, the way they present themselves in public, the way they engage with the locals and other American nationals, or altogether strangers--everybody has been very complementary of our Montana group. In a way, I feel very much as if our group is a group of singing ambassadors. I have been thinking lately about the American orchestra that was recently allowed into North Korea and the major political value which that trip had. Of course Bulgaria is not North Korea, and we already have pretty friendly relations with this great country, but the idea of ambassadors of beautiful music from a small private liberal arts college in the Montana is a powerful concept to me.
As a popular destination spot for many Western Europeans, Bulgaria sees few Americans. Such being the case, we are often the first, or one of the first experiences they have with Americans. It is so refreshing for this group of intelligent, fun, music-loving students to be the initial representation of our country rather than the oft-cited emblematic obnoxious American tourist who makes everybody cringe.
I can envision Rocky Mountain College building on this program and initiating future intercultural group exchanges that will pave the way for positive relationships whether those relationships be used for politics, business, arts, humanities or anything else. The truth is, if we want to produce leaders in every field at Rocky, these intercultural assimilation experiences are of the utmost importance, and I am so proud that Rocky is indeed forging this path.
Another uniquely Bulgarian experience that I have noticed in the past week is the significant amount of cats and dogs that roam the streets. At first sight, one would be tempted to call these farrel cats and dogs, and I suppose in most ways that is true, but I have observed a very interesting practice here that I have not seen anywhere else. It seems to me that the residents of the country all take a bit of responsibility and ownership for these stray cats and dogs. Most people including our interpreter carry a bag of food in their packs to feed the small animals, and many people leave bowls of water along their buildings for them. My suspicion is that this communal responsibility and caregiving is a remnant of the communist philosophy that reigned here up until 1989. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need". I can't necessarily back this up, but I think in countries like our own where we are very much rooted in individuality and personal responsibility, the reaction to an excess of stray animals would be either personal adoption or altogether removal of them. This is to make no comment on which idea is better or worse, but like so many of the experiences we have--different. And I believe it is at that point, when we can see and appreciate the differences that we can begin to pick out the strengths and build.
More Musings from Jesse
The other day the Maestro of the Motsky Svotsky choir, that we are singing with, made quite flattering remarks of our choir, graciously thanking us for participating in the event this year and commenting on the warm tone we bring to the concert. Certainly the privilege is ours and it is we who are gaining the most from this experience. Speaking only of very practical musical improvements, our choir has made tremendous gains in sight-reading, vocal production, sustained singing ability (the entire piece is about 90 minutes non-stop) and our ability to follow different conductors and different styles, even without speaking the same language. I am excited for our choir and audience to enjoy these great improvements.
As one of the recent graduates, I couldn't be more proud of our choir, the way they present themselves in public, the way they engage with the locals and other American nationals, or altogether strangers--everybody has been very complementary of our Montana group. In a way, I feel very much as if our group is a group of singing ambassadors. I have been thinking lately about the American orchestra that was recently allowed into North Korea and the major political value which that trip had. Of course Bulgaria is not North Korea, and we already have pretty friendly relations with this great country, but the idea of ambassadors of beautiful music from a small private liberal arts college in the Montana is a powerful concept to me.
As a popular destination spot for many Western Europeans, Bulgaria sees few Americans. Such being the case, we are often the first, or one of the first experiences they have with Americans. It is so refreshing for this group of intelligent, fun, music-loving students to be the initial representation of our country rather than the oft-cited emblematic obnoxious American tourist who makes everybody cringe.
I can envision Rocky Mountain College building on this program and initiating future intercultural group exchanges that will pave the way for positive relationships whether those relationships be used for politics, business, arts, humanities or anything else. The truth is, if we want to produce leaders in every field at Rocky, these intercultural assimilation experiences are of the utmost importance, and I am so proud that Rocky is indeed forging this path.
Another uniquely Bulgarian experience that I have noticed in the past week is the significant amount of cats and dogs that roam the streets. At first sight, one would be tempted to call these farrel cats and dogs, and I suppose in most ways that is true, but I have observed a very interesting practice here that I have not seen anywhere else. It seems to me that the residents of the country all take a bit of responsibility and ownership for these stray cats and dogs. Most people including our interpreter carry a bag of food in their packs to feed the small animals, and many people leave bowls of water along their buildings for them. My suspicion is that this communal responsibility and caregiving is a remnant of the communist philosophy that reigned here up until 1989. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need". I can't necessarily back this up, but I think in countries like our own where we are very much rooted in individuality and personal responsibility, the reaction to an excess of stray animals would be either personal adoption or altogether removal of them. This is to make no comment on which idea is better or worse, but like so many of the experiences we have--different. And I believe it is at that point, when we can see and appreciate the differences that we can begin to pick out the strengths and build.
More Musings from Jesse
Reflection on Tuesday
Шопска салата - Shopska SaladTo anyone who read what used to be titled Tuesday and is now confused by seeing that it's now called Monday, I apologize. My time clock is so screwed up that I no longer know which day it is. That day was actually Monday and now I am going to write about Tuesday.
Tuesday was a day where everyone woke up to sunshine and another big buffet breakfast and then we boarded a bus complete with a tour guide and traveled into Varna for our half-day tour. Our first stop? An amazing lunch that was three courses plus dessert. It was a good thing we were walking... The first course was a salad called something along the the lines of a Shopska Salad? (I'll look up the correct spelling) It was my favorite part of the meal. It was cut up cucumbers and tomatoes and feta cheese. Absolutely delicious. The next part was an appetizer called mishmash and it was made of peppers and cheese and egg which you ate with bread. The main course was a chicken kabob, a meatball, mixed veggies, and potatoes. It was a little entertaining trying to get the chicken off the wooden stick and our guide took pity on me and helped me remove them before I sent them flying across the restaurant. The last and maybe even the best part of the meal, was our dessert, which was a three layer cake that was covered and filled with what was a combination of chocolate mousse and pudding. Oh it was heavenly...
After lunch, we walked through the town a little ways until we came to a gate. Inside the gate we were revealed a major surprise. Who knew that there were Roman Ruins in Varna, Bulgaria? Not me! Apparently they are the third biggest Roman ruins in Europe. They are ruins of a bathing center that they built in the 2nd century AD. Walking around, if you closed your eyes, you could imagine what it might have been back then. There was even one room which still had all the original pots that were heated and then the water was let in and the steam would fill the room. There were tops of columns that still had the intricate designs that are imagined by most when you think of Roman buildings. All in all, it was very cool.
The next stop was the Archaeological Museum of Varna where they have the oldest gold in Varna on display. That was neat. They had all these tiny, intricate, golden designs in rings and necklaces. There was an exhibition of graves that had been excavated around the area and they had found what must have been a ruler of some sort for he was found with gold adornments all over his body, and when I say all over his body, I mean it... They had many stones that adorned the tops of graves, but they were all engraved with pictures and each one symbolized something different... It was pretty crazy compared to what we see now days... My favorite thing that I saw though was a angel that was no longer than a pencil and no wider than a quarter. She was in 3-D though and she was holding a circle, but when a magnifying glass was placed above her, you could see that the circle had little 3-d swirls inside of it. It must have taken the artist forever to make her. She was beautiful..
After the museum we were let free to wander downtown for awhile before rehearsal. We found tons of tiny shops and all sorts of fun stuff. There was a bakery where some got all sorts of yummy, rich, chocolate desserts that everybody had to help finish off because the taste was just to much after a couple bites. The streets wove there way down until they reached a small circle where we entered the building that housed rehearsal.
Today was the first day we rehearsed with each of the individual conductors conducting a movement. It was an experience. It's one thing to switch to one new conductor, but when you switch to seven different conductors and throw a translator as well as an orchestra director, Mistro of the Bulgarian choir, and the overseer of the entire workshop, it gets to be hard work. I have never been so tired after one rehearsal, but my musicality has certainly stepped itself up and I now I can say the same of all my fellow choir members. I believe that we came well prepared and have certainly made a difference in the choir, and not just in volume. We were prepared and we're musicians with a passion to sing. Thank you Dr. Hart for that.
At the end, the Bulgarians threw us a cocktail party with some wild, authentic, rich food and drinks. Schnapps is famous over here, but most of us weren't that brave. We sampled the beer and wine, but the food?--we went all out. We ate cheese, lunch meats, cabbage pockets stuffed with rice, breaded pockets of potato and cheese, chicken wings, crackers, cake bites, and so much more. It was wonderful. My favorite part was when Beverly, a choir director from New Jersey who was auditing the workshop, pulled several of us into the back room. The next thing I know, she's teaching us a new song. It was a swinging gospel piece and instantly I realized we needed more people. Soon we had half the choir singing a four part gospel hymn and we weren't just singing it, we were rocking it!
After we performed it for the Bulgarians, we decided to call it a night and were shuttled back to the hotel. I tell you what though, I think we were all clapping and swaying in our sleep last night as we drifted off into our own dreamlands... amazing what we can do when given something new!
Christa
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Varna
Oh what a beautiful and wonderful day of firsts. Today I awoke to a beautiful morning that was already toasty at 9:00 in the morning. After another buffet breakfast, a group of us wandered into Varna with our wonderful tour guide Deanna. We split into groups of four and stuffed ourselves in tiny yellow taxi cars. That was an experience. In Varna there are speed limits and police, but yet driving rules don't seem to apply. They drive fast and don't tend to yield to pedestrians the same way Americans do, that's for sure. Our driver dropped us off and we met up with the rest of the groups where we headed off for souvenir shopping and other odds and ends.
A group of twenty people will attract attention, especially when that group is American and doesn't speak Bulgarian. Way to blend in...not. It was fun though. Shops here are quaint and small and crammed to the brim with merchandise. You can point and pick and try things on and even barter for your goods, but in the end you can come away with some good stuff. The flea market was a lot of fun. It reminded me of the ones we have at home during county and state fairs . Tables packed with silver jewelry, wooden spoons, wallets, belts, pots, and so much more... There was so much to see and very little time, but I believe we all came away with some good stuff. The Bulgarian people were very friendly too and they all seemed to know a little English which made conversation easier. However my favorite gentleman was this little old guy who had some beautiful handmade mugs and coffee cups. We resorted to sign language and charades, but came to a conclusion that seemed to please both of us.
Rehearsal was incredible today. It consisted of all us Americans and the maestro from the Bulgarian chorus as the director. I have never been in such an intense rehearsal. When you have a conductor give you a direction and then the translator tells you what the conductor said, it can get complicated! It was an eyeopening experience though, having to let ourselves rely strictly on our conductor's movements and decide whether he was asking us to crescendo or decrescendo or if he wanted more legato or whatnot. Tomorrow we might start rehearsing with the orchestra too which will really add to the mix. Anticipation fills the air for all.
After the rehearsal and a slight mix up with directions, so most of us ended up at the church where we listened to a concert by our baritone soloist Doug (I have to look up his last name) from Florida and his wife and friends. It was beautiful. They opened with an organ solo and then Doug and a wonderful soprano named Johanna sang "Pie Jesu." Then Doug's wife played a cello solo. The concert continued with a medley of excerpts from "Porgy and Bess" and "Ach Ich Fuhls." At the end we all got to sing a song that was special to an elderly woman in the audience. The song moved us and certainly her to tears. It was beautiful. All in all it was a busy day and one that wore everyone out I think. Sleep will definitely come fast tonight.
Christa
A group of twenty people will attract attention, especially when that group is American and doesn't speak Bulgarian. Way to blend in...not. It was fun though. Shops here are quaint and small and crammed to the brim with merchandise. You can point and pick and try things on and even barter for your goods, but in the end you can come away with some good stuff. The flea market was a lot of fun. It reminded me of the ones we have at home during county and state fairs . Tables packed with silver jewelry, wooden spoons, wallets, belts, pots, and so much more... There was so much to see and very little time, but I believe we all came away with some good stuff. The Bulgarian people were very friendly too and they all seemed to know a little English which made conversation easier. However my favorite gentleman was this little old guy who had some beautiful handmade mugs and coffee cups. We resorted to sign language and charades, but came to a conclusion that seemed to please both of us.
Rehearsal was incredible today. It consisted of all us Americans and the maestro from the Bulgarian chorus as the director. I have never been in such an intense rehearsal. When you have a conductor give you a direction and then the translator tells you what the conductor said, it can get complicated! It was an eyeopening experience though, having to let ourselves rely strictly on our conductor's movements and decide whether he was asking us to crescendo or decrescendo or if he wanted more legato or whatnot. Tomorrow we might start rehearsing with the orchestra too which will really add to the mix. Anticipation fills the air for all.
After the rehearsal and a slight mix up with directions, so most of us ended up at the church where we listened to a concert by our baritone soloist Doug (I have to look up his last name) from Florida and his wife and friends. It was beautiful. They opened with an organ solo and then Doug and a wonderful soprano named Johanna sang "Pie Jesu." Then Doug's wife played a cello solo. The concert continued with a medley of excerpts from "Porgy and Bess" and "Ach Ich Fuhls." At the end we all got to sing a song that was special to an elderly woman in the audience. The song moved us and certainly her to tears. It was beautiful. All in all it was a busy day and one that wore everyone out I think. Sleep will definitely come fast tonight.
Christa
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
What we do not know, we do not know together.
Boy, I think we are about on day three by know, and I am very gratified by the close bonding of everyone in in our group. I fully expected everybody to find a little niche, a person or two with whom they would spend all of their time, but it seems as if the groups of two or three have expanded into ever growing collectives of students getting to know each other and learning to appreciate differences. But my favorite expression of this, is the collective choir of RMC and the Bulgarian Choir. I don't think that any of us understand the words that we are singing--certainly not to a proficiency that a native German would, and yet when we do it together we make beautiful music. Somehow, a classically trained group from Billings Montana, and a much differently trained choir, in the style of Bulgarian folk, come together and make something of beauty. That is the high value of this trip.
Without any reservation or exceptions, I would say that every one of us will leave Europe more musically enriched and bring back to our choir heightened music abilities, though I do not think that is more most valuable lesson that we will have learned. As I watch our group, some of whom have travel abroad before, and some of whom have never left Montana, I see everybody becoming more globally aware. For many it was an abrupt and difficult transition out of the luxuries of America, but now I can see growth in them all--an understanding that what they experience in Bulgaria isn't necessarily worse, but different. I also think that this trip is really helping some see the incredible blessing that we have been given by all of those who support us in our academic pursuits. So for me, I truly think that the great value of this trip is the development of culturally diverse, globally aware leaders and citizens. To expand the expression, the development of our awareness is the cake, and the beautiful music is the icing on the cake!
I couldn't end without noting that last night your very own Rocky Mountain College Choir became the Rocky Mountain College Gospel Choir. A very nice Gospel trained singer gathered a small group around a piano and soon the rest of the group followed in belting a really wonderful soul piece.
Jesse
Without any reservation or exceptions, I would say that every one of us will leave Europe more musically enriched and bring back to our choir heightened music abilities, though I do not think that is more most valuable lesson that we will have learned. As I watch our group, some of whom have travel abroad before, and some of whom have never left Montana, I see everybody becoming more globally aware. For many it was an abrupt and difficult transition out of the luxuries of America, but now I can see growth in them all--an understanding that what they experience in Bulgaria isn't necessarily worse, but different. I also think that this trip is really helping some see the incredible blessing that we have been given by all of those who support us in our academic pursuits. So for me, I truly think that the great value of this trip is the development of culturally diverse, globally aware leaders and citizens. To expand the expression, the development of our awareness is the cake, and the beautiful music is the icing on the cake!
I couldn't end without noting that last night your very own Rocky Mountain College Choir became the Rocky Mountain College Gospel Choir. A very nice Gospel trained singer gathered a small group around a piano and soon the rest of the group followed in belting a really wonderful soul piece.
Jesse
Monday
After sleeping like a rock, I awoke to find the sun shining in through our giant windows and the sound of cheesy techno coming from the pool area... maybe Bulgarians think it's what Americans listen to, but it's not what I wanted to wake up to! Breakfast was the next order of business and that we had a buffet that included lunch meats, olives, eggs, cucumbers, yogurt (which wasn't sweet!), and so much more! The choices were endless and it made for an interesting combination. After breakfast came the choice of what to do? For most? Head to the beach!
A group of us changed into our swimsuits and headed down to the sea. We reaized that we had to pay for the chairs and umbrellas that littered the sand, so we decided not to spend our levas on that. Our group picked up our stuff and headed down the beach, picking up shells as we went. We ran into another group of Americans and decided it was time for pictures. My favorite? We built a pyramid out of human bodies much to the amusement of the locals.
After getting tired of the hot sand we moved to the boardwalk where we were encouraged into a restaurant by a promoter and his promise of a free drink for all of us. He seated us on the roof of the restaurant where we had a view of the entire Black Sea. It was beautiful! The food was intriguing and most of us got a pizza which is way different than pizza is in America. It's much thinnerk and Faith's pizza even had tuna on it, while Tyler's had an egg! They were all good. Others got pasta or even a traditional Bulgarian dish of pork wrapped in what tasted kinda like a potsticker. All in all, a wonderful experience and reasonably priced. Granted our waiter probably thought we were crazy, but it was good!
We continued walking and we met up with more members of the choir and then we found ourselves talking to another restaurant promoter, but this one was younger and Jesse had many questions for him. We found out what it was like to be a young person in Bulgaria, what he did, how many jobs he had, what it was like to work at the resort, how big was his family, and so much more. He promised all of us a real beef steak and a free drink if we came to his restaurant. We just might have to try it... who knows.
We wandered back to the hotel after that and either swam, read, or slept for about an hour and a half until it was time to load the bus for rehearsal. Rehearsal was amazing. The conductor of the choir which we are participating in (Sounds of the Sea) doesn't speak English and so we had to have a translator. It's very entertaining to have to listen to directions in Bulgarian first and then in English, but we can still follow along which is good. The Brahms Requiem sounds amazing with an entire group. The piece just moves everyone and you could see a look of astonishment on all our faces as soon as we heard it with everyone... goosebumps. It just goes to show that music really is the universal language.
Christa
A group of us changed into our swimsuits and headed down to the sea. We reaized that we had to pay for the chairs and umbrellas that littered the sand, so we decided not to spend our levas on that. Our group picked up our stuff and headed down the beach, picking up shells as we went. We ran into another group of Americans and decided it was time for pictures. My favorite? We built a pyramid out of human bodies much to the amusement of the locals.
After getting tired of the hot sand we moved to the boardwalk where we were encouraged into a restaurant by a promoter and his promise of a free drink for all of us. He seated us on the roof of the restaurant where we had a view of the entire Black Sea. It was beautiful! The food was intriguing and most of us got a pizza which is way different than pizza is in America. It's much thinnerk and Faith's pizza even had tuna on it, while Tyler's had an egg! They were all good. Others got pasta or even a traditional Bulgarian dish of pork wrapped in what tasted kinda like a potsticker. All in all, a wonderful experience and reasonably priced. Granted our waiter probably thought we were crazy, but it was good!
We continued walking and we met up with more members of the choir and then we found ourselves talking to another restaurant promoter, but this one was younger and Jesse had many questions for him. We found out what it was like to be a young person in Bulgaria, what he did, how many jobs he had, what it was like to work at the resort, how big was his family, and so much more. He promised all of us a real beef steak and a free drink if we came to his restaurant. We just might have to try it... who knows.
We wandered back to the hotel after that and either swam, read, or slept for about an hour and a half until it was time to load the bus for rehearsal. Rehearsal was amazing. The conductor of the choir which we are participating in (Sounds of the Sea) doesn't speak English and so we had to have a translator. It's very entertaining to have to listen to directions in Bulgarian first and then in English, but we can still follow along which is good. The Brahms Requiem sounds amazing with an entire group. The piece just moves everyone and you could see a look of astonishment on all our faces as soon as we heard it with everyone... goosebumps. It just goes to show that music really is the universal language.
Christa
Monday, May 26, 2008
Airport Day and Arrival
Varna International Airport
Well we made it here after a long day (or maybe even two) but it was well worth it. The flights were all different in their own way as for some it was their first one (yay Lance!) or maybe you got to meet new people, or maybe you just slept (highly unlikely unless it was the last flight). We even got to discover some very new and interesting and actually somewhat edible airplane food. Who serves a shrimp and cucumber cream salad? Austrian airlines, that's who. Switching climates, times, and customs was all confusing at first, but we seem to have all made it intact. Only one bag was lost (sorry Ali) and we all got to the hotel with no mishaps.
Varna wasn't quite what I expected, but then again, who knew what to expect? It is in the process of being remodeled or at least all the apartments here are being remodeled to become more economic and suited for actual living. Their architecture is very different from ours and they have painted things in bright colors. There is so much vegetation and it's very green. It's also humid which is a major switch for us, but when you have an ocean at your convenience, we should be able to handle it...
Dinner was an experience. We were served a buffet of choices and it was all good. Bulgarians have many of our same foods, but then they also serve some very different things. I am going to have to look up names. The part that caught most of us unaware was the paying for our drinks. It was a little bit of a zoo as most of us didn't have leva yet and they couldn't take our credit cards. We eventually came to an understanding that euro was accepted and we settled it. After dinner we met our director, other clinicians, and the soloists. It should be a lot of fun!
After the meeting, a group of us wandered down to the beach and the boardwalk down there so we could possibly scout out an ATM. The beach was amazing even in the dark! The smells and the sounds are soothing and I can't wait to see it in the light! We continued our walk and passed many little restaurants and shops, but we will have to wait until they open tomorrow to explore... We eventually found an ATM that worked, got our money, and turned around and came back to the hotel where I believe most of us fell into bed and slept the best we had in quite awhile. It's amazing what jet leg and exhaustion can do for you...
Christa
Day One Take One
Wow, what a trip. Everybody had a little different experience, but finally here. The first impression on me was the incredible value of seeing a new culture with a vastly different paradigmatic foundation. What one sees when stepping into Bulgaria is a country of former communism which is in the process of becoming capitalist.
The arrival day was pretty relaxed and enjoyable to the extent that we had any energy left after our flights. Just a few hundred yards away from the beautiful sands of the Black Sea our balconies all open up to the rising sun--I'm sure I'll see it at some point but this morning I opted for more sleep. My roommate and I awoke to an equally pleasant experience, the sound of our ever-joyful colleague, Kaitlyn Harding, greeting the others from different balconies.
After a good night's rest, everybody is quite pleasant and in high spirits. We have a day of familiarizing ourselves with the area and tonight we begin full rehearsals for the Requiem.
The arrival day was pretty relaxed and enjoyable to the extent that we had any energy left after our flights. Just a few hundred yards away from the beautiful sands of the Black Sea our balconies all open up to the rising sun--I'm sure I'll see it at some point but this morning I opted for more sleep. My roommate and I awoke to an equally pleasant experience, the sound of our ever-joyful colleague, Kaitlyn Harding, greeting the others from different balconies.
After a good night's rest, everybody is quite pleasant and in high spirits. We have a day of familiarizing ourselves with the area and tonight we begin full rehearsals for the Requiem.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Itinerary
Photo: Dave ShumwayThe Tenth
Featuring Ein deutsches Requiem
(May 26 – June 2, 2008)
Daily Schedule
Sunday, May 25 – Participants arrive. Welcome at the airport by Varna International Conductors Workshop representative and transfer to Edelweiss Hotel at the Golden Sands Resort.
Participants who made their own flight arrangements should make their way to Hotel Edelweiss on their own. Cabs are normally available right outside the
19:30 – Welcome Dinner at the hotel restaurant.
Passengers whose flight lands in
Monday, May 26
10:00 – 12:00 – Orientation. Meeting for participating conductors, faculty and organizers at Hotel Edelweiss. We will discuss the format of the workshop, rehearsals plan, schedule and make specific assignments for the first two rehearsals.
16:45 – Bus pick up at Hotel Edelweiss for the rehearsal hall.
18:00 – 21:30 – Rehearsal of The Tenth
Rehearsal room 1: Rehearsal with pianist, faculty and all conductors at the “Morski Zvutsi” Varna City Choir rehearsal hall
Rehearsal room 2: Professor Marin Chonev will rehearse with the choirs.
21:30 – Bus pick up near the rehearsal hall for the hotel.
Tuesday, May 27:
10:00 – 12:00 – Detailed score study for the conductors with the faculty and pianist.
12:00 – 16:00 – The optional
12:00 – Bus will pick us up from Edelweiss Hotel for The Varna tour.
12:30 – 13:45 - Lunch at a local restaurant which features unique recipes representing authentic Bulgarian cuisine (included in the cost for those who registered for this optional day tour).
14:00 – 16:00 – We will visit the Roman Ruins archeological site and the
16:00 – 17:15 – The guide will be available to introduce us to the main shopping area of
18:00 – 21:30 - Rehearsal of The Tenth
21:30 – Bus pick up near the rehearsal hall for the hotel.
Wednesday, May 28:
10:00 – 12:00 – Private session of all participating conductors with the clinicians at Hotel Edelweiss.
14:15 – Bus pick up at Hotel Edelweiss for the rehearsal hall.
15:00 – 18:30: Rehearsal of The Tenth
19:00 – 20:15 - Performance of Douglas Renfroe with musicians from
20:15 – Bus pick up from the
Thursday, May 29:
9:30 – 13:00 – Rehearsal with the conductors, clinicians, soloists and orchestra. No choirs.
17:15 - Bus pick up at Hotel Edelweiss for the rehearsal hall.
18:00 – 21:00 – Rehearsal of The Tenth
21:00 – Bus pick up near the rehearsal hall for the hotel.
Friday, May 30: free day!
Today we offer the optional trip to Nessebar, an ancient coastal semi-island in South East Bulgaria on the Black Sea coast (approximately two hours drive from
09:00 - Bus pick up from the hotel to Nessebar.
11:00 – 12:30 – Guided tour (archeological museum, panoramic guided tour on foot to see this beautiful semi-island, including visiting art galleries and churches representing different historical eras.)
12:30 – 14:00 - Lunch at a restaurant overlooking the
14:00 – 16:00 - Free time to walk by yourselves, meet the artists who paint beautiful paintings of
16:00 –Departure for
18:00 - Arrival at the “Golden Sands” resort.
Saturday, May 31:
Today we will offer an optional trip to the beautiful ancient city: Balchik. The trip will include a visit to the Botanical gardens where the former Queen of Romania used to have her summer residence.
9:30 - Bus pick up at Hotel Edelweiss
10:15 – 12:00 – Visit the Botanical gardens with an English speaking tour guide.
12:00 – 13:30 – Lunch at a restaurant overlooking the sea.
13:30 - 14:15 – Bus transfer back to the hotel.
16:45 – Bus pick up at Hotel Edelweiss for the rehearsal hall.
18:00 – 21:30 – Rehearsal of The Tenth
21:30 – Bus pick up near the rehearsal hall for the hotel.
Sunday, June 1:
8:45 - Bus pick up at Hotel Edelweiss for the rehearsal hall.
9:30 – 13:00 and 17:30 – 21:00 - Double rehearsal with the orchestra, conductors, clinicians, soloists, and choirs
21:05 – Bus pick up near the rehearsal hall for the hotel.
Monday, June 2:
Free morning!
17:15 – Bus pick up at Hotel Edelweiss for the performance hall.
18:00- 19:15 – Dress rehearsal at the
20:00 – Performance of Ein deutsches Requiem at the
21:30 – Bus pick up for the hotel restaurant.
22:00 – Final Dinner celebration at the hotel restaurant.
Tuesday, June 3:
Free day to enjoy the resort and the city center of
The Rocky College Chamber Choir departs for
Wednesday, June 4:
All the participants depart for their next destination or to return home.
Important phone numbers when calling locally:
Hotel Edelweiss 052- 356005.
Kalin Tchonev cellular phone 0885-297-510
Sharon Cellular phone 0885-339-517
Taxi: 052-500-000 or 052-388-888
If you miss the bus pick up, please call a cab from the hotel reception and ask to be taken to Zala “Morski Zvutsi” (translated: “Morski Zvutsi” Hall), located across from Hotel Musalah (down town Varna). It is an approximate 30 minute ride with a private car and you should expect to pay about 20 leva (equal to approximately 16 USD).
Tuesday, June 3 -
After breakfast, we will have free time to enjoy the resort and do some last minute shopping. We will check out of the hotel at 14:30 and depart for the
Our tour guide, Ursula Klaus, will meet us at the airport. She will point us to the private bus with which the group will transfer to the hotel. We will check in the hotel and enjoy a welcome Dinner at the hotel restaurant (included in the cost). The name of our hotel is: Hotel Sophienalpe. Telephone number of the hotel: +431-486-2432. Contact person at the hotel: Nicole or Michelle Allmayer. Sophienalpe is a family-run hotel in the Vienna The mobile phone number of Ursula is: +43 676 421 4884. Wednesday, June 4 – We will have breakfast at the hotel restaurant. At 9:30 a.m., the bus and tour guide: Ursula, will pick us up for a half day guided tour of Vienna Vienna 2,5 hours walking tour in the city:
centre : St. Stephans, pedestrian zones Graben & Kohlmarkt, walk through the Hofburg with a special focus on the music history (walking by the Figaro House, see the place there the original Hofburgtheater was, where Don Giovanni was premiered, pass by the place of the young Haydn.
Lunch is on our own in the city (not included in the cost). The bus will pick us up from the city center at 18:00 and take us back to the hotel. We will have Dinner at the hotel restaurant (included in the cost). Thursday, June 5 –
We will have breakfast at the hotel restaurant and enjoy a free morning at the hotel and its vicinity. At 12:30 a.m., the bus and tour guide: Ursula, will pick us up for a half day guided tour of Vienna 3,5 hours tour with the bus : Drive along the Ring, but see also a little bit of the modern
lovely gardens from outside ).
Lunch is on our own in the city. Dinner is on our own in the city center (not included in the cost). The bus will pick us up from the city center at 22:00 and take us back to the hotel. Friday, June 6 -
We will have breakfast at the hotel restaurant. The rest of the day is free to enjoy Vienna Saturday, June 7 – This morning, after breakfast, we will check out of the hotel and transfer to the
Our flight is scheduled to leave the
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