Summer Tour with Britten YSO
This past July I had the very fun experience of touring as an assistant for the Britten Jeugd Strijkorkest. This young persons’ string orchestra is made up of young people from ages 13-22, and they went on a concert tour. We performed in 5 countries in 7 days (!), first in Germany, then Croatia, Slovenia, Italy and lastly Switzerland. It was a lot of fun, and took me back to my own youth orchestra days.
Our first stop was in Bavaria. July is peak tourism season in southern Germany, so because of that and lots of road construction, we kept running into many unexpected traffic delays. We actually ended up being a little late for our own concert…! I think that’s the first time that’s ever happened to me. Thankfully our audience was very supportive and despite the delays, we were still met with a warm welcome.
We stayed onsite, and the next morning we were able to take short hikes in the surrounding farmland, filled with wheat ready to harvest and shimmering golden in the wind.
The next day was a travel-only day, because we had to cover so much ground to get to Croatia. This day had its own kind of magic, however, because we drove straight through the Alps and out the other side. I couldn't help but hear Strauss’s Alpine Symphony in my head the whole journey. It was truly magnificent to see the jagged mountain peaks and the log-hanging clouds clinging to the trees. It almost felt like a spiritual experience, like visiting a place where time runs differently than the rest of the world. And at the end of it, as if to add a cherry on top of the too-good-to-be-true views, we saw a double rainbow.
Our next concert was in Izola, Slovenia. Izola is a beautiful beach town, and we went swimming before our concert to cool off. I felt like something in my life must be going right if I can swim in the ocean before one of my concerts. ;)
The following concert was in Pula, Croatia, near the town square and directly in front of the water (which of course made me happy!). There was an unusual heatwave, so it was extremely humid and hot (32ºC/89ºF). This was probably the most difficult concert for us because of the extreme heat. Most of us had handheld fans that we used to keep ourselves cool between pieces, but the audience didn’t seem to mind and they were also quite supportive.
The next concert was in the town we had been staying for the 4 nights in Croatia and Slovenia: Grožnjan. And what a beautiful town! It is a small village with only 50 residents, almost entirely artists, and has a jazz school. That school was hosting a jazz festival for the entire time we were there. At night when we came back from our concerts, we could count on 30 mins - 1 hour of nighttime jazz in the town square, right next to our accommodations. And for our final concert in Croatia, we played in the concert hall across from their famous church.
Our second to last concert was in Riva del Garda on Lake Garda, in northern Italy. Oh my gosh, what a dream venue, and what a location. I had never been to that lake, but I can now see why it’s so famous. It’s at the end of a lush valley full of small-scale vineyards, and from the road leading up to Riva del Garda, you see where the river flowing from the north meets the lake, turning it a gorgeous aquamarine color.
Our concert location was in the center courtyard of the Rocca di Riva fortress. Peeking above the top of the open-air courtyard, you could see the mountains towering over us while we played. In the audience, there was a young couple, extremely engaged with the music the whole time, and afterwards, they came up to meet us. They wanted us to come give a performance in Spain where they live. It was so rewarding to talk with people who were so enthralled with the music we were playing; it really made my day.
I also was inspired to play a little bit of the piece I’m learning whenever I have time, an absolute favorite of mine (November by Max Richter). In between the noise of the thunder, the stage setup, and voices echoing, though, I couldn’t get a good video besides this small clip. Despite that, it’s definitely something I’ll remember for a long time. Even though it’s outside, the courtyard walls create a decent acoustic and I think the piece is perfect for the location, somehow cinematic both visually and aurally.
Our last concert was actually my favorite. It was at a beautiful wellness hotel south of Zürich in the small town of Oberägeri, Switzerland. We spent the night in rooms at the wellness hotel as well, and the room I shared with the other orchestra assistants, all good friends of mine, had a window with an unobscured view of the lake.
But that wasn’t why it was my favorite. Our audience was so loving and enthusiastic for us. We had one man who came up afterwards shouting “Bravo! Fantastisch!” and insisted on giving every member of the orchestra hugs, twice. To see him get so excited about music and our program was so heartwarming and the best ending of the tour we could have asked for.
After the concert, some of us, including our conductor, spontaneously decided to take a swim in the lake under the moonlight. It became a core memory of the trip :)
The next morning, I actually parted ways a bit early with the group, because it was easier for me to travel back home on my own. But I didn’t have to catch my bus until the afternoon, so I spent the day around the hotel and Lake Ägeri. And I’m so happy I did, because I had the best spontaneous experience!
I went down a few hours before the bus to check out the clear water of the lake and perfect weather. At first I was going to stay in the hotel and catch up on some administrative work while I still had some good wifi, but I decided no, this is a unique place. I decided to bring my violin, too. At first I didn’t want to go through the effort, but I thought, I might as well play something, just a simple tune, something just for myself after the whirlwind tour. When I got down to the lake, there was a Swiss couple on a biking day tour taking a lunch break there, and they asked me to play something. I played one of my all-time favorite tunes, Ashokan Farewell.
They appreciated it so much that they invited me for a drink and bruschetta afterwards and insisted that I come to stay with them next time I am in Switzerland. They even drove me closer to my destination and gave me a great history of the Canton. The amazing thing is that I almost didn’t go down and play. I was considering just staying up at the hotel, having a coffee and catching up on my always-growing list of things to check off my to-do list, but I decided to embrace the moment. And it became such a fulfilling decision to do that!
It wasn’t a perfect performance, but it didn’t matter. It’s so much more important simply to engage with the moment and enjoy the music, rather than worry about it sounding completely perfect all the time. And because I decided to have that perspective, I gave these people an unforgettable memory and made 2 new friends, giving a perfect ending to a wonderful trip I’ll remember for a long time.
I’d like to thank Loes Visser and the team at the Britten Jeugd Strijkorkest for inviting me to come on this tour with them. I had a truly wonderful time. :)