Aragón

This past weekend, I traveled with the youth orchestra to the province of Aragón, about three hours from Valencia. We arrived on Friday night and stayed in an albergue; that is, a house with big rooms, each with five bunk beds and one bathroom. Definitely a good way to get to know your fellow musicians. On Saturday we rehearsed for seven hours, which was not easy for the girl who has hardly practiced all year! But it was fun to finally meet the four horn soloists. Three were German, one Spanish, but they all study with the same horn professor at a conservatory in Germany. On Saturday night we played in a big, stone church on top of a hill in a little town called Valderrobles. It was freezing cold, and the sound echoed so much that you could still hear the last chord for a good six seconds after we cut off. A good lesson in adapting to difficult circumstances. On Sunday we performed at a music school in the city of Alcañiz, and that was a more typical performance venue.

 

On Monday evening we played another concert in Ribaroja, a town near Valencia. That was a nice, big stage like we had in our high school performing arts center. Valencia´s local tv station even came to record a little, and they said we would be on the news today (but I was at school, so I didn´t see it).

 

I don´t know if we will have any more concerts before I leave in June. I´m not ready to start saying goodbyes, but I don´t have very long left here in Spain! Two months seems like hardly enough time to do everything that I still want to do. If this is the end of my orchestra experience, then I will say that I´m very happy to have been able to participate this year. It´s been a relief to have the familiarity of rehearsals and practicing and concerts, and I love the music we´ve played and the places we´ve been. But most of all, I have met some wonderful people, and they have been an important part of my time in Spain. I´m so thankful to have met them!