Sentient

We have had two touring days now and have seen beautiful palaces, courtyards and gardens.  On the first morning we headed to Tian’anmen Square and gazed around at the thousands of people there.  Our guide is a wealth of knowledge and although I am retaining some I really need to be constantly with a notepad to get it all.  From the square we entered the Fobidden City (Palace Museum) which was the residence of the ancient emporers.  We crossed threshold after threshold to enter courtyard after courtyard to see yet another beautiful building.  It was extremely hot and humid.  Just as we felt we could not last much longer we crossed over yet another threshold into the garden for the Imperial family.  This was where they could relax and play.  The trees and water made it just that little but cooler and very pretty.

Yesterday’s tour was to the Temple of Heaven which is surrounded by a park where many people were involved in weekend leisure activities.  We passed a group doing ballroom dancing, a group doing tai chi with paddles and balls, many playing a version of hacksac where the sack was actually a few disks attached to feathers.  As we moved through towards the Temple we encountered musicians, dancers and singers and realised we should be playing there ourselves.  The temple itself was very elaborate as were the surrounding buildings.  (photos are from the Temple of Heaven)

After that we spent an hour and a half at a market, but I will write about that another time.

In the afternoon we traveled to the Summer Palace where the Imperial family went to escape the heat.  It is built around a lake and is not one palace but many buildings and courtyards.  The difference in temperature was very pleasant.  We were able to enjoy the breeze acorss the lake.

Sleep continues to elude me and settle solidly on A11!

I am sitting on my bed in the hotel room at 6:59 on Friday morning. Unfortunately I have been awake for hours. Even though I was extremely tired last night I did not sleep well. A11, on the other hand was asleep within minutes of lying down and slept all night. Our flights were both uneventful, we were fed(three times), entertained and some of our travellers slept. After collecting luggage however we discovered one of the chaperone’s suitcases had not arrived, hopefully it will turn up today.

We went straight from the airport to the Eastman violin factory, where the workers were working extra hours just so that we could see them in action. Each violin, cello or double bass is made in an assembly line fashion, with all the workers repeating their own well mastered task over and over. As we moved from room to room we were greeted first with the smell of wood and later with the strong smell of stains and varnish. It was eye opening to see the many steps and the patient care each person was taking on their given task.

The hotel is very comfortable and the food is great.

As we continue preparing to leave on Wednesday I have been amazed at all the little tasks I have added to my list.  Packing my clothes has proven to be the easiest part.  Today I picked up something from the orthodontist, locks for the suitcases, then borrowed  a bag, an adapter and a jacket.  I also photocopied documents for both my family and the group and went to the chiropractor.  Both girls needed minor alterations to some clothes today so out came the sewing machine.  My to do list is shrinking, however, so I am hoping to relax and enjoy Canada Day tomorrow.

The children managed to squeeze in a treat this afternoon.  They joined their Narnia crazy friends and went to see Prince Caspian again.  WIth coupons for free tickets (which we couldn’t use the first time) it didn’t cost a thing.

I continued practising on the laptop I have borrowed and am beginning to feel familiar with the programs which I will need to use in China.  The Stellae Boreales blog now has links to a photo gallery where I hope to post photos every day or so.

When we stop to think about it, it is really quite amazing that L13, A11 and I are off to China due to their years of commitment to learning violin.  L13 has been playing for almost nine years and A11 for eight.  They  have become self motivated and are a big encouragement and help to  each other.  We are way past the practise charts and games I made when they were in Suzuki books 1 and 2.  It is very encouraging to see how they have developed as musicians and hear what their aspirations are for the future.

RIght now, though, I am just looking forward to seeing them play at the entrance to the Great Wall next Saturday.

With less than a week before L13, A11 and I leave for China our days have been very busy.  We finished our school work earlier in the week and were able to devote some time to shopping for a few essential items.  I have also been spending some time learning how to use the new gadgets Andrew ordered in order to make it easier to communicate while I am away.   I hope to be have time and opportunity to update this blog but my first priority will be to post news and photos on the Stellae Boreales blog.

We spent the day yesterday gathering everything together and doing a partial pack.  After recently traveling in Europe with her family a close friend of mine gave me a comprehensive packing list and some helpful items.  We are assuming it will be hot all the time and are packing accordingly.  I do have a pack of medical supplies which take up a bit of room and  some gluten-free rations also.

Yesterday Andrew bought home a lap top generously loaned by a friend at work.  It should give me the flexiblity to work on emails and posts during travel or rehearsal time.  I am aware that our itinerary is a full and exciting one which may see us all just fall into bed at night exhausted.

Today was hot; our first taste of summer for the year. At 9:00am we were on the field warming up for our first game and it was already 25° C. By the time we finished our second game in the early afternoon it was 30° C. At this point Andrew and I had to leave but our team stayed on to play in the tier B final. I haven’t heard  whether they won or not.

Thankfully we did not have to turn up at the Senior Solo Recital in our hot, sweaty gear. We all arrived refreshed to enjoy L13’s three pieces for her Book 8 graduation, A11’s performance of the Souvenir de Sarasate and the rest of the recital. It is wonderful every year to see how the girls have progressed and matured in their playing. It doesn’t seem all that long ago when they were watching the senior students and wondering when they were going to play those hard pieces!

A couple of nights ago Andrew and I went to see Australian guitarist, Tommy Emmanuel perform solo to an audience of around 700 people. It was a change from the diet of violins we have been consuming lately. The concert was excellent. Brought to Canada by fingerstyleguitar.ca, Tommy played a range of pieces, both original compositions and familiar classics.

I’m not sure that I can adequately describe his style; he calls it finger style, but that doesn’t convey all that he manages to do with his hands and his instrument. He did an amazing amount of percussion during his pieces, a couple of pieces were more percussion than anything else. Using all parts of the guitar, including a large sanded area on the front where he scrapes his finger nails, he produces booming “drumbeats” and softer brush like effects. While he is playing on the strings he manages to sound like a whole band, his fingers moving all over the place, picking, strumming, and creating fantastic sounds and rhythms. We particularly enjoyed “Somewhere over the Rainbow”, the Beatles medley and “Guitar Boogie” but many pieces managed to captivate me.

As he chatted to the audience between songs we got a glimpse into the many experiences behind the music we were listening to. Playing guitar obviously gives him great joy, which he wants to share with everyone listening. His composition “Mombasa” came about while he was in Kenya with World Vision visiting his sponsor child. “Initiation” comes out of his experiences with the aboriginal people of Australia, and is apparently never the same from one performance to the next. Some of his songs are inspired by his friends and family, some by great guitarists he admired and who in turn admired him. It was a treat to sit and listen to such imaginative and impressive guitar playing.

The Kiwanis Music Festival is over for another year and the girls found the whole experience very worthwhile, despite the inevitable butterflies before each performance. The week ended well with both girls receiving excellent comments about their sightreading and L13 performing very well in the trophy class. We really appreciated the comments the adjudicator made after each performance. She was very positive and encouraging and at the same time very specific in her suggestions for improvement. As the girls will be performing some of their competition pieces again they were pleased to receive her feedback. Over the years they have had a variety of adjudicators, some who were all sweetness and light but very little constructive criticism and others who concentrated on one main area with little comment on other aspects of performance. By the end of the week B7 was a little “Kiwanised out” but was very proud of his sisters all the same. So was I.

The end of Kiwanis does not mean a lull in performances, far from it. Between the two girls there are nine concerts in the next two weeks! All the performances are with either the performance group or their orchestras, no more solos until June.

We have had over a week now of beautiful sunny days in the twenties.  The grass is greening, we have a few daffodils and star flowers with promises of tulips to come.  On the north side of the house, the snow bank is decreasing in size and could be gone entirely by this time next week.  We have signed up for softball and soccer.  Yes, I believe spring is here.  It may have come and gone, actually; it never stays for long.

Our schedule has been totally different this week as we have attended a Kiwanis Music Festival event each day.  We are over half way through now and the girls have performed beautifully.  Both spent extra hours practising over the last week or so and it showed as they competed in their various classes.  I have noticed a difference this year in their preparation.  Whereas in the past I was called on to listen, advise, count and comment, now they do that for each other.  I must admit they are better qualified to do so than I am.  They have encouraged and supported each other at home and at the events.

Both girls have received a gold and a silver place, with L13’s gold qualifying her to compete in the trophy class on Friday night.  Tomorrow they perform with the ensemble and on Friday they both have sight reading.   I was listening to a couple of violin mums talking in the foyer last night before L13’s class and one was saying that her son wished he was homeschooled so he would have more time to practise.  That is exactly what has happened here this week, the girls have appreciated having the flexibility to spend extra time on violin.  We were able  shift and  waive certain lessons to make it  possible.

In addition to the comings and goings of our family that I write about on the blog, I also keep a record of the books we are reading. You can read that list by clicking on the link in the blog header. There is also a listening list which, on the whole, has been neglected. It is hard to update such a list so I have a new plan which might work. I will occasionally ask the members of the family who have mp3 players what is on their play lists and share that on the listening page. I probably won’t update it very often but at least you’ll see the strange and varied mix we listen to in this family.

Our family is now home after a very busy, but very satisfying day. This afternoon Stellae Boreales had their second fundraising concert for the China tour. It was a wonderful concert, the musicians played to an almost full auditorium, which was very encouraging for them. Our family felt blessed to look around the room and see many of our friends. The group has been practising very hard to master some new repetoire for today’s concert, the most interesting piece being an arrangement of part of the Butterfly Concerto, a Chinese piece.

In the lead up to the concert, the girls have put in hours of practice. Andrew has been working hard keeping the website updated and preparing the program. This morning I was able to finish work on a scrapbook I am making which includes all the performances of the 2007-2008 season so far. I will keep on adding to it as they complete their Ottawa performances and then fill it with China photos and memorabilia when we return. All the families involved with the group worked very hard to make today a success. For weeks people have been procuring donations of goods and services for the auction which followed the concert.

After the last auction item was collected and the remains of the desserts cleared away, we packed up and headed to a Chinese restaurant for dinner, tired but very pleased with the day. Needless to say Andrew and I were very proud of our girls and very impressed with the group’s performance. Andrew recorded the concert, and it is playing as I write this. L13 and A11 have been sitting listening, commenting on the little things they noted as each piece was performed and reliving the whole experience.