updates
hello again.
i´ve decided that since my internet situation is more generous than i had perceived when i left, that i´d copy my mass update emails onto lj in case i missed any of you on my email list (although it´s your own fault if you did because i said to email me if you wanted to hear about my trip.) but here it is anyway: you can´t escape. this is email number two ... i´m too lazy to go find the first one in my email folder. i´m having a serious blast here, playing a lot and writing just about every day, but manually in a journal as opposed to here for the world to see. so here´s a copy of my latest update, sent out this evening:
hola everyone,
it's hard to imagine, but i've been in chile now for over a month. the last two weeks have been particularly eventful; now my routine is set and it's like everything is just starting for real right now.
Part of the delay in getting my routine set was due to my early vacation to Santa Fe for Trombonanza 2005, which was an absolute blast. there were about 80 trombonists at the festival, ranging from complete beginners (one of the kids had just started six months ago) to some of the best players I have ever heard. People came from all over Argentina, Peru, Chile, and even a couple from Brazil. The professors there were fantastic -- i was completely blown away by the quality of musicians there in Argentina. Every night, one of them had a recital, and each one was excellent. The amazing thing is that these guys all took a week off to play and teach here for no pay at all. As an added bonus, it was also super cheap. I ate like a king the whole week (some of the best beef I have ever tasted) and never spent more than $5 american on a meal -- usually it was more like $2. I also had chances to perform: I sat in with the Santa Fe big band and even got a chance to solo with the band, and also played one of the two solo parts on "West 63rd Street", a jazz piece written for two solo trombones plus a six-trombone accompaniment. I played a duo with rhythm section of "Softly as in a Morning Sunrise" with the same other trombonist, who was very good also, and has his own group in Buenos Aires. He invited me to come check them out, explore Buenos Aires, and crash at his place if I ever needed a place to stay. So now I have an excuse to check out Buenos Aires before I head back to the states, too. And of course I played with the gigantinc entire-festival 80-trombone ensemble, directed by University of Oklahoma professor Irvin Wagner. That was certainly a unique experience.
The second part of the adventure in Argentina was a bit of a surprise. On our way back to Santiago from Santa Fe, bad weather over the Andes forced them to close the pass for two days. Which meant we had to chill in Mendoza, another fair-sized Argentinian city, and wait. Once we resigned ourselves to having a good time, though, we had a blast: we found a cheap hotel to stash our stuff and spent most of the time hanging out with a former student of my teacher who plays in the orchestra there in Mendoza. On the last night, he went to the butcher shop down the street and had a big barbecue for us. So we stuffed ourselves with fresh beef, pork, sausage, "choripán" (their answer to our hot dog -- delicioso!), and other goodies. Easily the best barbecue I've ever experienced (sorry, Dad).
I finally stumbled into Santiago on Wednesday evening and immediately fell asleep. I'm working my way back into the academic schedule and have my first full week of being in class starting tomorrow. I´ve managed to construct a flexible schedule that will give me lots of time to play: big band at la católica, trombone lessons (probably my hardest class because Kevin expects a lot out of me), history of international relations between the u.s. and latin america, and spanish. I´ve also started getting to know some musicians in Santiago -- besides the two chilean trombonists i got to know at trombonanza, I'm playing in a ``music workshop´´ at one of the universities, which is basically a jazz combo. That starts next week. Also, last night I went to a jam session at the Club de Jazz, Santiago's most important (and possibly only) jazz club, which actually isn´t too far from my house. I had the opportunity to play with some really great players there until like 3 in the morning yesterday. it was awesome. a group of them even invited me to play with them at a restaurant gig nearby next friday. So I´m off and running now, ready for the next part of this adventure (and it really is an adventure) to develop.
Sorry to strain your eyes with such a long email; again, I love to hear back from everyone about how things are going in the states. Everyone´s probably getting ready to start their fall semesters, right? I hope that you Amherst folks don´t change the place too much for when I get back in January.
Que se vayan bien,
Alex
and i mean that about writing back and saying hi -- it´s really nice to hear about how things are going with all of my amigos back home.
i´ve decided that since my internet situation is more generous than i had perceived when i left, that i´d copy my mass update emails onto lj in case i missed any of you on my email list (although it´s your own fault if you did because i said to email me if you wanted to hear about my trip.) but here it is anyway: you can´t escape. this is email number two ... i´m too lazy to go find the first one in my email folder. i´m having a serious blast here, playing a lot and writing just about every day, but manually in a journal as opposed to here for the world to see. so here´s a copy of my latest update, sent out this evening:
hola everyone,
it's hard to imagine, but i've been in chile now for over a month. the last two weeks have been particularly eventful; now my routine is set and it's like everything is just starting for real right now.
Part of the delay in getting my routine set was due to my early vacation to Santa Fe for Trombonanza 2005, which was an absolute blast. there were about 80 trombonists at the festival, ranging from complete beginners (one of the kids had just started six months ago) to some of the best players I have ever heard. People came from all over Argentina, Peru, Chile, and even a couple from Brazil. The professors there were fantastic -- i was completely blown away by the quality of musicians there in Argentina. Every night, one of them had a recital, and each one was excellent. The amazing thing is that these guys all took a week off to play and teach here for no pay at all. As an added bonus, it was also super cheap. I ate like a king the whole week (some of the best beef I have ever tasted) and never spent more than $5 american on a meal -- usually it was more like $2. I also had chances to perform: I sat in with the Santa Fe big band and even got a chance to solo with the band, and also played one of the two solo parts on "West 63rd Street", a jazz piece written for two solo trombones plus a six-trombone accompaniment. I played a duo with rhythm section of "Softly as in a Morning Sunrise" with the same other trombonist, who was very good also, and has his own group in Buenos Aires. He invited me to come check them out, explore Buenos Aires, and crash at his place if I ever needed a place to stay. So now I have an excuse to check out Buenos Aires before I head back to the states, too. And of course I played with the gigantinc entire-festival 80-trombone ensemble, directed by University of Oklahoma professor Irvin Wagner. That was certainly a unique experience.
The second part of the adventure in Argentina was a bit of a surprise. On our way back to Santiago from Santa Fe, bad weather over the Andes forced them to close the pass for two days. Which meant we had to chill in Mendoza, another fair-sized Argentinian city, and wait. Once we resigned ourselves to having a good time, though, we had a blast: we found a cheap hotel to stash our stuff and spent most of the time hanging out with a former student of my teacher who plays in the orchestra there in Mendoza. On the last night, he went to the butcher shop down the street and had a big barbecue for us. So we stuffed ourselves with fresh beef, pork, sausage, "choripán" (their answer to our hot dog -- delicioso!), and other goodies. Easily the best barbecue I've ever experienced (sorry, Dad).
I finally stumbled into Santiago on Wednesday evening and immediately fell asleep. I'm working my way back into the academic schedule and have my first full week of being in class starting tomorrow. I´ve managed to construct a flexible schedule that will give me lots of time to play: big band at la católica, trombone lessons (probably my hardest class because Kevin expects a lot out of me), history of international relations between the u.s. and latin america, and spanish. I´ve also started getting to know some musicians in Santiago -- besides the two chilean trombonists i got to know at trombonanza, I'm playing in a ``music workshop´´ at one of the universities, which is basically a jazz combo. That starts next week. Also, last night I went to a jam session at the Club de Jazz, Santiago's most important (and possibly only) jazz club, which actually isn´t too far from my house. I had the opportunity to play with some really great players there until like 3 in the morning yesterday. it was awesome. a group of them even invited me to play with them at a restaurant gig nearby next friday. So I´m off and running now, ready for the next part of this adventure (and it really is an adventure) to develop.
Sorry to strain your eyes with such a long email; again, I love to hear back from everyone about how things are going in the states. Everyone´s probably getting ready to start their fall semesters, right? I hope that you Amherst folks don´t change the place too much for when I get back in January.
Que se vayan bien,
Alex
and i mean that about writing back and saying hi -- it´s really nice to hear about how things are going with all of my amigos back home.