India - UK - Peru - Heaven!

Phewy!

Three weeks ago I was in Kolkata;

Two weeks ago I had left Kolkata and had a restful few days with Simon and Sunny in Kerala;

One week ago I was on a plane from Birmingham, via Amsterdam and Lima to Trujillo in Peru having had a few busy days in the UK hosted by Martin and Jean.

And today, I am sitting in the lounge of the Casa de Voluntarios de Otra Cosa Network, wearing a huge smile, as I reflect on the last amazing 6 days!

But first back to Kolkatta ...........

The CCO was participating in a recital cum concert at the Oberoi Grand Hotel, Kolkata, to raise funds for the music school.  The amazing, charming and hugely talented Panos Karan (www.panoskaran.com) had flown on on the Thursday night and I went to the airport to greet him and take advantage of the hour plus drive to talk with him.

We quickly found that we both had the same unstuffy view of music and also both did work in a voluntary capacity - Panos' has his amazing "keys of change" foundation (www.keysofchange.org) - he has given recitals down the entire length of the amazon carting a digital piano into the jungle to take music to children and to give the a window into the amazing world of classical music.

We rehearsed the Mozart Concerto (No.12 in A K414) on the Friday and he was a delight to accompany and proved to be the perfect soloist - and we quickly formed a collaborative relationship.
Saturday my last day, more rehearsal and then the concert in the evening, only made possible by the kind and generous donations of a small group of sponsors. In order to attract a maximum audience there was an added incentive of a free bar and cocktails for the hour before the concert - which gave me a good chance to talk to people and strengthen bonds between the orchestra and its audience.  I hasten to add, I only drank orange juice!

The orchestra (as many people later told me) played their best for years!  The concerto went so well, and I was so happy with how the musicians responded to my conducting, I was extremely proud to be at the helm!

After a splendid post concert supper, it was back to the guest house, packing and brief sleep before an early start off to the airport for my return to Kerala.

The concert had strengthened the invitations for me to return to Kolkata for the next two years, and that is still on the cards.

After the rigors of Kolkata, to spend a few days simply doing nothing, except reading and enjoying the beauty of Kerala, with no noise, no pollution, no crowds and no hustle and bustle.

Friday the 12th and after getting up a 3:30am a four hour drive to the airport saw me waiting for my Emirates flights first to Dubai and onwards to Birmingham.

Well, of course, Martin and Jean, made me feel totally at home, and despite a busy schedule of visits to friends and to do check on my small investments with the bank, they had also thoughtfully planned some small excursions and relaxing times (all featuring food - happily!)

I took a trips to see friends in Hereford and Hove and the 8 days whizzed by!

My most important item for shopping was the purchase of two new batons, as I had given my old ones to Sanjib in India.  I had had the old ones for 20+ years! It was so lovely to go to J. P. Guivier's again and to find the shop completely unchanged after such a length of time.  They are the UK oldest Violin Makers (and they are also baton makers).  Their batons are world famous and any conductor of note probably buy's their batons from them.  A baton is not simply a stick! The cane of the baton is aerodynamically shaped and has to bend quite radically as very high "G" forces are exerted on that simple white stick!

As the week progressed my excitement was mounting for my major excursion to Peru and probably Ecuador.

The excitement is, however, always tempered by doubts and fears, what will the place be like, will the house be OK to live in, will I be able to make a valuable contribution to the project etc etc etc.
Sunday the 21st, wow just a week ago, seems so much longer (in a good way) dropped to the airport by Martin and Jean, quick farewells (hate goodbyes) and on to my fligh to Amsterdam and a quick transit dash 40 minutes to catch the plane for Lima and a 13 hours flight! With entertainment systems offering 200 films, 400 cds, tv shows, talking books, blah blah blah, the flight passed rapidly.  I am old enough to remember films on BOAC, being shown with a single pull down screen and a projector and nobody being allowed to move during the film!

I have read that it was necessary to ask immigration for a 6 month visa as only 90 days are given as standard, so my very first Spanish this trip was to respectfully ask for "una visa para seis meses por favor" - no problem.  Armed with my visa I transferred to the Domestic area for my final leg, the flight to my new home in Trujillo, northern Peru.

I decided to get some local currency  (the Nuevo Sol pl.Soles) and bought myself a bottle of the national classic fizzy drink "Inca Cola" - it is yellow in colour and I realised that it tastes almost the same as "Irn Bru" the famous gassy drink of Scotland!

On arrival at Trujillo airport, tiny, tiny, tiny was met by the designated taxi driver and driven into Huanchaco and was met be Laura from Otra Cosa and shown my room and arranged for my formal induction to the house and Otra Cosa at 9 the following morning.

Peru is GMT-5, so my body clock was a little muddled specially as I had passed through 12 times zones in the last 14 days.  I awoke at 7 and took off for an early walk to the beach, oh and what a shock (in a nice way) ..... Huanchaco is a large village that survives on fishing and the fact that it is one of the surfing hot spots in Latin America. Hardly a soul around during my walk except for the fishermen who use a very ancient one-man reed boat like a canoe, but they sit on it not in it!  People actually think it is the forerunner of the surfboard!

Clouds of birds surrounded the fishing boats, and I suddenly realised that the bird were not gulls but Pelicans! These amazing birds waddle around the place, so ungainly out of water and yet so amazing as the swoop and dive for fish. They fly in formation, not like geese in a V-shape but in a perfectly synchronized line beak-to-tail.

Well suffice it to say, I was very settled in and several volunteers invited me to join them for lunch and my first chance at Comida Typica de Peru ..... of which LOTS later ..... the food here is amazing, tasty, varied and cheap!     If you look around the 3 courses economic "menu" plus a non-alcoholic local drink for £1.25!

Last Tuesday an appointment had been arranged for me with Prof. Carlos Paredes Abad, Director the Conservatoire.  I had already had a skype call with him, during a lovely lunch in Warwick the week before with Peter and Juany, the Directors of Otra Cosa.

Prof.Carlos charming and so welcoming, I was given a tour of the conservatoire and a timetable had already been prepared for me. I was embarrassed and at the same time honoured to be introduced to people as "Maestro" (whilst Maestro simply means teacher in Spanish, within the music profession the term is reserved for seasoned conductors and those considered to be true masters of the musical art) - but am already working hard to get people to use my name rather than a title (or if a title must be used to only use "Profesor") - anyways, after an hour and half of conversation Prof Varlos and I were both keen to get started.

I am to teach Piano, Theory, Orchestration, to work with the Youth Orchestra and then to make whatever contribution I can to add a new perspective fopr the students and teachers alike. 

The Music conservatoire  shares a wonderful building with the Government Department of Culture, the Drama School, the Ballet School, The Dance School, it is the home of the regional professional symphony orchestra and their are departments for Fine Art and Architecture. So it is a buzzy, animated and totally energizing atmosphere in which to work.  For  some it would also be a kind of aural hell as you have music coming to you from 15 rehearsal rooms, the orchestra blasting away, ballet masters shouting instructions ...... all at the same time!

All the activities are government funded, and that means that they are minimally funded and struggling.  for instance the Music Conservatoire receive from the government the salaries for the teachers but not a "Sol" more, there is no money for music, instruments, materials and so there is no library, any only the most minimal of resources.  Government salaries for the teachers are minimal, and it is only thanks to the dedication of Prof. Carlos and his staff that the school can function. 

There are 80 full time students either doing a school teaching degree or a professional performers degree, both courses last 5 years, all done with minimal resources!  There are also about 200 further students who come to the conservatoire for instrumental lessons, and the youth orchestra etc.  Most of my work will be with the full time students.  Being a government academy, the school is open to all irrespective of financial means, and so many students who would otherwise not be able to have a professional education can and do attend. Fees per year are 200 Soles or £50! 

Today as I write this, I feel as though I have "died and gone to heaven" , every Prof. I have been working with has been totally welcoming and happy to share their pupils with me, I have conducted the orchestra and asked to accompany pupils and advise on performance practice.  I have been asked to produce an opera next February, and yesterday was asked to run a choral workshop for young singers. 

The hours will be long (I am very happy with this) 3 days a week I finish at 9:00 pm, and will probably soon be doing around 40 hours a week .....  every Friday night the Orquesta Sinfonica de Trujiillo gives a concert the teatro municipal and then along with activities by other organisations I shall have a very full diary.

The teatro municipal is a delight, a bit run down, but a typical small teatro seating maybe a maximum of 300  people, and I can't wait for opportunities to prepare here (it is used as the Conservatoire concert hall).  

Trujillo is a sprawling city of about 1 million people, at it's heart, El Centro Historico is a delightfully Spanish colonial centered  on the Plaza de las Aramas, and the conservatoire is in a colonial building immediately behind the cathedral.

So my  day starts around 6, shower, cinnamon tea, then an hour of research and then the bus trip to Trujillo (this takes about 30 - 40 minutes during the day) and a 10 minute walk to the Conservatoir (buses are banned from El Centro Historico), classes can start as early as 7 :30, currently I start at 9:00 and depending on the timetable might return to Huanchaco mid-day and return to the Conservatoire late.   This is a bit of a bother as I waste 3 hours a day in this travel, so possibly I will need to move to the centre, especially as everyday more requested and activities are added to my timetable ....... my other concern is that whilst Huanchaco is a pleasant enough place, from December to March it becomes a surfers paradise, and having had a year in a touristic centre in Guatemala, I fear prices will rise and traditional go out of the window in a race to relieve tourists of their money!

Secco de Cabrito Trujillano

With the availability of so many restaurants serving the daily "menu" I can eat lunch for a £1 and breakfast for about the same. It is very hard to detect any difference between breakfast and lunch here - chicken stew (caldo de Gallina) or fried fish and salad, or chicken and rice all feature at both meals!  I plan to be sensible and have a light-ish breakfast, a substantial lunch and then little in the evening.

In November, in addition to teaching, there is a 3 day piano festival, a 2 day ballet festival, a 3 day international opera singers competition, symphony concerts, recitals and a whole heap of arts based activities (exhibitions, galleries, talks) and people have been so king to invite me to many of these.  

Of course I need to have "me time" and this has been greatly helped by my ability to spend time with my good, former internet-friend and now physically present-friend, Nick. He has helped me to explore Trujillo, his home town and it is good to have some time outside of being "Maestro/Professor" just relaxing and enjoying a coffee and the fantastic pastries and cakes made here!

So,  life is full, exciting and it can only get better.