Bolivia
Philadelphia Brass again heads to Bolivia. We have been invited to open the International Renaissance and Baroque Festival “Misiones de Chiquitos”. We are thrilled to be returning to Bolivia once again and look forward to many wonderful and rewarding experiences.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:24 am
We are REALLY looking forward to this trip - having done it two years ago. The people are wonderful and the scenery is incredible. We plan to post a journal of the trip (with pictures) so check back after April 21st or so.
Scott Mendoker - tuba - Philadelphia Brass
March 20th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
I remember all the great pictures and stories from the last trip (there were even a few about food poisoning and playing at 13,000 feet the day after arrival!).
Enjoy the trip and we can’t wait to see (and hear) the results.
April 21st, 2008 at 10:40 pm
BOLIVIA 2008
Well, our trip has started and Day 1 (April 19th) did NOT end without incident. Our flight from Miami was late by @1 hour and 45 minutes (we were sitting in the plane the WHOLE time!!). Then, as we approached La Paz, we were told that we would be unable to land because of fog on the runway so we had to fly on to Santa Cruz, drop those people off and turn around and fly back to La Paz. We were 4 1/2 hours late!! the poor people at the US Embassy were very patient and understanding. They met us at the airport, whisked us thru the paperwork and out the door to our hotel.
That afternoon, we gave a special concert for the US Embassy at the Ambassador’s residence. It was very well received. We even had volunteers from the audience to hold the tent down as it ended up being fairly windy.
We’re all on Diamox, which is a high altitude medication. It works but the side effects are bothersome - tingling fingers and lips. In the hope that we’ve become acclimated, we’ve all agreed to stop taking it because we have our first big concert in La Paz tomorrow evening.
Today, we gave 2 master classes at the El Alto School in La Paz. We were a little surprised when, jut before the afternoon session, we were asked to appear on LIVE TV on a show that was being broadcast nationally from the school’s auditorium. We played 1 piece and Tony gave an interview with the host. Tony’s the only one of us who is even remotely fluent in Spanish. He did a terrific job under pressure - and you should hear him play horn! It was fun to play and coach these students. It feels SO good to be able to give something back. Tomorrow morning, we go back and play a mini-concert for them.
That’s all for now.
Scott Mendoker - tuba - Philadelphia Brass
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:55 pm
BOLIVIA 2008 Days 2&3
Hello again. Day 2 (April 22nd) had us presenting a small concert and Q&A at the El Alto School in La Paz. Again, the students were great and asked some really fantastic questions. They are so very much in need of materials and mouthpieces, cleaning kits, valve oil…..anything. We”ll put together a package and send it over when we get back to the States. If you have ANYTHING that you would like to donate. please get in touch. philadelphiabrass@mac.com Later that evening, we presented a mixed program at the San Francisco Church in El Alto. It was very well received and our “handler” - Fabiola is the ideal organizer. She works for the US Embassy and has become a close friend of ours, as has her husband, Jorge. And they have a beautiful baby, Bruna. Fabiola makes things happen - period…… After the concert, we were rushed out of the church because of some unrest in the area of the US Embassy. Nothing dangerous - but they wanted to be careful. Nothing like a little drama!!
Day 3, (April 23) This morning, has us awake VERY early to go to the airport for the flight to Santa Cruz. You know, you appreciate air so much more once you don’t have it!!! La Paz was cold and had LITTLE air. It’s @ 13,500 feet above sea level. On the other hand, Santa Cruz is in the high 90s and at SEA LEVEL. We can breathe AND get sun-burned at the same time!! We’ve been doing interviews all along but things have really gotten intense once we landed here this morning. I think that we’ve done 4 interviews today alone plus a photo-shoot. Tomorrow, we’ll have our sound check in the morning followed by a press conference. Tomorrow nite is the opening of the Festival and we’re the group selected for the honor!! It will be recorded and taped for international television and we are REALLY looking forward to it.
We’ll talk again, soon.
Scott Mendoker - tuba - Philadelphia Brass
April 25th, 2008 at 12:56 am
BOLIVIA 2008 Day 4
Well, there ARE traffic lights here in Bolivia, but, quoting a legal term, they are “implied”. I have NO idea how cars don’t crash into each other - a beep of a horn, slow down a little and may the best car win. It’s a bit scary when you’re in a taxi but we’ve managed very well. I can’t say enough about the support staff from the US Embassy and APAC (the people who run the Festival) They are incredible - and that is an understatement. I’ve mentioned Fabiola Ibarnegaray to you before. We are in awe of this woman. She really runs our lives, here, and always has a smile on her face.
After a sound check this morning, we went to the APAC offices for lunch and then, shopping. Tonite, we opened the Festival and the group played extremely well. Our first tune was taped for international broadcast and the Music Director of the Festival couldn’t have been more pleased. People were thrilled and we received an extended standing ovation for our performance - always a good sign. Our encore was specifically and deliberately “non-Baroque”. We played an arrangement of Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing…” and, again, we were met with thunderous applause. After the concert, we went to the APAC center for dinner - 10:45 PM!! - and drinks and was met with even MORE applause. During the course of dinner, we were approached by the Director of a festival in Argentina and were invited to perform there - maybe as early as next year.
The good will, love of music and more importantly, of life just floors us. People are so passionate about what they do and how they conduct their lives. We are all impressed and changed by our time here.
Tomorrow we leave for 2 days at the Missions. I don’t know if we’ll have internet but, if not, I’ll write when we’re back on Sunday.
Scott Mendoker - tuba - Philadelphia Brass
April 27th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
BOLIVIA 2008 Days 5 & 6 (THE MISSIONS)
Lots of very cool things have happened these past 2 days. I’ll try my best to highlight them for you:
Day 5 - San Javier
Still “up” from the previous nite’s concert, we boarded our tour bus for the 4 hour trip to San Javier. Accompanying us was the now-famous Fabiola and 2 wonderful women from the US Embassy - officers Denise Urs and Debra Hevia. We arrived at the Mission and again, was taken by surprise by the beauty and pride (if a building can have pride) of the church. Also, the acoustics were really incredible. The concert went very well and we were enthusiastically received. A very funny thing happened after we THOUGHT we were done: We played our encore and walked off of the stage. Our cases were lined up across the back of the stage and our trombone player, Bob Gale, went out to start packing up. Mind you, the applause had stopped at this point. Well, people were just standing around, SAW Bob and started clapping all over again!! We did a second encore! It was a very wonderful moment. It gets better! After we were packed, we were invited as guests of honor to sit and watch a festival of poetry reading and dance. It was fantastic! There was a comedy skit at the end that was very funny! Well, it was getting late and we still hadn’t eaten. We thought that everything was over and we got up and started walking over to the restaurant. We were grabbed by very attractive young ladies dressed in costume and were pulled into the middle of the square and were coaxed into dancing with them. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!!?!) To be honest, I was petrified and only mildly consoled when I looked over my shoulder to see that the rest of the boys had fallen victim to the same plot! We danced one dance - a sort of Bolivian “Hoe-Down” and then off to dinner. BUT, on the way to the restaurant, we bumped into a group of tourists from Argentina who heard us practicing one of our encores - “Sabre Dance” earlier that afternoon. They asked why we didn’t play it. We explained that we have 3 encores prepared and that one was the third. They begged us to play it and told us that they would be at the next nite’s performance.
After dinner, Fabiola and Debra wanted to go to a Karaoke bar, She convinced Larry, Brian, Bob and me to go along. We sat around in a very tiny bar and listened to Fabiola and Debra sing. We were too inhibited, although we considered going up as a quartet to sing “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head”……….
Five hours later!!, we were back in the bus and on to Concepcion……….
Day 6 - Concepcion
Our last day in the Missions was just as memorable as all the others. At the rest stop, we ran into the Argentina crowd who, again, made us promise to do “Sabre Dance”. I told them that if they clapped VERY loud, we would do it. In Concepcion, the Mission church is just as breath-taking and we gave a wonderful final concert. And, no, we did NOT disappoint the people from Argentina! Before the concert, Tony accepted an award for us from the mayor declaring us special guests of the city. It was a beautiful gesture and a fitting close to our time in Bolivia.
Scott Mendoker - tuba - Philadelphia Brass