Tour Update # 3

Greetings from Newcastle Upon Tyne! We are in northeast England tonight, not far from the border of Scotland. These Brits really like to include whatever river runs through their city in the name of that city. Probably the most famous is Stratford Upon Avon, where Shakespeare ran his theatre. It actually sounds pretty cool - very distinguished I think -  but it sure does make for a long city name. Tonight's concert was probably the best performance by the orchestra on this tour. Interestingly, today was also the day when it seemed like a lot of people started to yearn for home and some are getting a wee bit apathetic. I actually find this encouraging, that even though the passion for performance was a little less tonight, the musicians dug in and put on a very successful concert. It's a mark of professionalism I was proud to be a part of. I definitely got the homesick bug tonight. I got some photos of the family on email (thanks Howard!), and perhaps that's what did it. Or maybe I just miss the companionship of my wife. I have some fun work colleagues but they're no substitute for a loving family.
     Yesterday brought another wonderful train ride on the west side of England that took us down to Manchester. That city was so intriguing. It's not large - less than 500,000 people live there. But there's clearly a lot of money, it has superb infrastructure, and is home to the world's most famous and wealthiest sports franchise - the Manchester United football team (soccer, that is). This was a very standard tour day - leave one city in the morning, arrive in next city, relax for a couple hours, short rehearsal, concert, back to hotel, sleep, prepare to leave next morning. One thing that was very welcome in Manchester was a fairly modern concert hall with a sufficiently sized stage. No more playing from the choir loft! It was great to be back playing in our familiar position in the orchestra - so much easier!
    The last two cities have had rather modern concert halls, especially the one tonight in Newcastle. Technically it's in neighboring Gateshead, hence the name The Sage Gateshead. This hall is only five years old, and we are the first American orchestra to have been invited to play there! The manager of the hall gave a brief speech before our rehearsal - it was quite an honor to be the first Americans there, and he seemed to be thrilled with the program we were bringing: Stravinsky, Fireworks Overture; John Adams, Doctor Atomic Symphony (new American piece); and Holst's Planets with accompanying film of the actual planets. Here are some pictures of these halls:

Bridgewater Hall in Manchester

Interior of Bridgewater Hall

The Sage, Gateshead

 

The Sage at concert time