International ORP in Lima, Peru: Day 3
September 1st, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Waking up today felt much easier, perhaps because I had turned the heater off and the air in my hotel room wasn’t quite as dry. Midori was in the middle of solving yet another crisis at USC over the internet when I knocked on her door. Something was wrong with the elevators in our hotel, and while the view from the 15th floor at the top is pretty, going down the stairs was a real waste of time. I had also picked the staircase that took us out through the underground parking garage. Our ride was patiently waiting to take us to the National Conservatory.
The secretary of the Conservatory was out on the street to greet us and take us to our practice rooms, showing us the building on the way there. The Conservatory is in the old part of Lima (from the early 1500′s) and the interior has really retained the flavor of the past. A set of four balconies on the second floor overlooks a small courtyard and I imagine musicians practicing their instruments in it before the age of portable audio devices.
Laszlo, our interpreter, comes to say hello. A native of Romania, he moved to Peru with his wife 14 years ago to teach and play violin. He spent a few years studying in the States and speaks English effortlessly. The class starts fashionably late and lots of the youth orchestra members are in attendance. The first participant is only 8 and plays a really fast and clean Vivaldi concerto. She appears nervous but that doesn’t seem to affect her ability to go for it! I miss being 8…
Next, a Tchaikovsky concerto played by a 16 year old boy who started playing only 4 and a half years ago (a student of Laszlo’s) and a Beethoven sonata. Midori spends quite a bit of time on all the pieces but there is still time at the end for pictures and conversations.
Laszlo and two of the department chairs take us to a trendy coffee shop for lunch. I get two small tamales and a soup. Delicious! Laszlo shares that he takes every opportunity to give a masterclass in a different city because he is still getting to know Peru. His teaching has brought him to 17 cities so far and he visits 12 of them on a regular basis. One of them, he says, is deep in the jungle where they don’t really have music education programs, but they have gotten their hands on a few instruments and are happy to have people like him help inspire the kids with somewhat regular instruction and demonstrations. Apparently there are snakes around all the cabins where the classes are, and kids are discouraged from walking around at night as they may step on one. The things we take for granted studying music in the United States!
After the short lunch, we are back at the National Museum for the second orchestra rehearsal. This time Maestro Harth-Bedoya starts with the full orchestra and is able to play each piece before we go into different rooms for the sectional rehearsals. Yesterday’s preparation did not go to waste. The passage work is now clean and somewhat confident, but we still have 3 more rehearsals. During the break, the Museum gives each member of the orchestra a sandwich and a guava juice. We are all socializing and the time goes by very quickly. We decide that after tomorrow’s rehearsal, we will read chamber music in the museum until closing time. I also spend quite a bit of time talking to Manuel. He is 21 and has been playing the violin for 4 years but can’t afford to take lessons anymore. He really loves playing and saves money to purchase music that he might be able to learn in the future. He’s majoring in Chemistry in college but says will never stop playing. He heard about the audition for the youth orchestra from friends and prepared by himself. Manuel is really thankful that the orchestra gave him the opportunity to play with Midori and says he’s been practicing very hard. His violin is 3/4 size; I guess that’s the one he could get his hands on.
-Moni
