A tiny 6 hour layover

Here I am, in JFK, watching our students playing cards, reading books, wandering around, and generally having a lot of fun.  The morning ran smoothly, especially if you love people watching and getting to know a lot of new WYSO members.  This is my second time as a chaperone for the international tour, and I absolutely love experiencing all this through our students' eyes.  As is normal, we had many nervous stomachs this morning, but all are gaining confidence and trust with every passing moment.

While things have gone well thus far, I must admit that a six hour layover at JFK with 70 high school students would wear on anyone!  But they're doing great - keeping entertained and taking turns wandering and watching stuff.  The chaperones and staff are coping well, too - a little of our own comraderie is helping the time to pass more quickly.

Just a few hours to go until we board, and then on to Buenos Aires.  Sleep well everyone, and hope we all do, too!

Ann Groves Lloyd, PhD

Up, Up, and Away

Bridget Fraser - ED

The WYSO youth orchestra has safely arrived at O'Hare. The check in process was relatively smooth aside from an overweight percussion case and Mr. Smith's missing reciprocity receipt. Both situations were remedied and we all made our way through security without incident. Our plane to JFK is scheduled to leave on time.   It is a beautiful day to fly!

Farewell Concert

Come watch us perform TODAY at 7:00 at Olbrich Botanical Gardens! It’s our farewell concert before we go off to Argentina. We will be playing Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to Candide, Billy the Kid Suite by Aaron Copland, Dwayne S. Milburn’s Liturgical Scenes, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F minor, and “Malambo” from Estancia Suite by Alberto Ginastera—all of which we will be playing on the tour. Pictures of the Farewell Concert will be posted on the blog. Hope to see you there!

~David Cao

Excitement at First Rehearsal

My name is George Cao. I am one of the chaperones on the WYSO Argentina tour and also will take photos and videos as a group photographer. Two days ago, Sunday 7/21, our group met at a Pizza party. Chaperones and WYSO members got a chance to greet and know each other better. Also, everybody got a cool tour t-shirt, which will be worn mainly at our departure and return. Our group seems excited about getting ready for the tour. Last night was also the first orchestra rehearsal with conductors Mr. Smith and Mrs. Eckel. Here are some photos at the event.

4 Days until Lift-off

David Cao - Violinist

                The WYSO tour to Argentina is just 4 days away! I’m so excited but at the same time, I’m also worried about what to bring for the tour. I have a relatively large bag to put all my clothes and essentials in, but there is a weight limitation for all checked luggage bags. For our American Airlines flights, 50 pounds (or 23 kilograms) is the maximum weight a checked bag can be—or there will be additional unnecessary fees for overweight baggage. The 50 pound luggage bag limit seems impossible to reach based on just clothes, but out of experience, it’s easy to go over when you pack all the essentials for a trip. So I have to be selective about what I bring and what I don’t.

            Clothes are, of course, crucial and take up the majority of the luggage space. Packing an adequate amount of fashionable clothes may prove challenging since we are covering a difficult temperature range in Argentina. The temperature in Argentina right now can sometimes allow us to wear short sleeved shirts and short pants for Wisconsin summer weather, and at other times require us to wear a sweatshirt, long pants, or even a medium-weight jacket for the winter chills during the evening. And what about shoes? I wouldn’t want to wear the same pair of shoes around the city every day—but shoes also take up quite a bit of space. Based on the WYSO Staff advice, I’ll probably just bring about a week’s worth of clothes and find many combinations between the shirt-pants choices. 2-3 pairs of shoes is probably enough for me, but that’s just my personal preference.

            As for the essential electronics/accessories, it’s definitely useful to have a cell phone with you that works internationally in case of any emergency during the tour. With that, you need to charge your phone, but the power outlets in Argentina are different than in the U.S…they are 220V and V-shaped. For that problem, I am bringing along a plug adapter to share with my roommate. All the portable electronic devices should be easy to charge, since the charger typically covers a large voltage range—from 100 to 240 volts. In addition, I was told by WYSO that some of the hotel rooms in Argentina don’t have hair dryers. My dad found on Amazon that you can purchase a travel-size hair dryer and plug adapter for less than $25. This hairdryer is dual voltage, so there will be no need for a big, heavy power adapter. Just turn the voltage knob to 250 before using it in Argentina. Just to be on the safe side…for this hair dryer, only use the low setting in case the high setting burns out the hair dryer at 220V. The link for both the hair dryer and plug adapter can be found below. If you purchase the hair dryer and adapter from Amazon, be sure to go through the Amazon link on the WYSO webpage.

Hair Dryer: 

Plug Adaptor:

            Currency exchange and making purchases will also be difficult on the tour. Argentina uses the Argentine Peso, which runs about 8.14 Pesos to 1 US Dollar. Although there are many places in Argentina to exchange money, the rates may not be as good—even at the airport. Try not to exchange money on the streets of Argentina to avoid counterfeit money. I’d say try to exchange all your cash at a local bank or an authorized exchange place in Argentina; they’ll give you the closest exchange to the market value. Bring along an ATM card just in case you run out or can’t find a currency exchange place. You can also make purchases easier in Argentina by bringing a debit card with you.

            And for everyone writing on the blog during the tour, we need a way to write, transfer, and submit blog posts. I know most people are not bringing a laptop and just using their phones to write the blog entries. Bringing an iPad or tablet can also make it easier for you to type and attach pictures. It will definitely help if you download a Microsoft Word equivalent app on your phone or tablet to make typing, editing and transferring blog files easier during the tour.

~David Cao

Interview with Kanon Ando & Liz Bates

As we draw closer to the tour, we want to share a little bit about the musicians who will be traveling to Argentina. Exchange student and violinist Kanon Ando, and bassist Liz Bates recently agreed to do a Q&A via Facebook.

Kanon Ando: 

Give some background information about you.

My name is Kanon Ando. I'm 18 years old, and an exchange student from Japan. I went to Madison Memorial High School this past year, although I still have half of senior year to complete at my home HS where I'm studying music as a major. I play the violin. My other hobbies include playing sports, listening to music, and watching YouTube.

What attracted you about WYSO? How has your experience with WYSO been thus far?

I wanted to get experience with local youth orchestra in America. Then I heard about WYSO. I’m glad to have joined WYSO in my exchange year.

Are you looking forward to being on tour in Argentina? What are you looking forward to?

I’ll be going to a high school of music at home, and have also been a member of the Toyota junior orchestra since 6^th grade. I went to England for a goodwill concert tour with my orchestra when I was in 8^th grade. We played there with a local orchestra. It gave me so much more stimulus to my music. I hope this tour will be as much, or a better tour! I have never been to South America so I have no idea how fun it will be there, but I think this tour will be fun, and I can get more art experience. Also this is a good time to make more friends and get more memories in WYSO! (I haven't talked with a lot of WYSO students yet:/)

Liz Bates :

Give some background information about you.

My name is Liz Bates, I will be a senior at Memorial high school and this is my 7th year playing string bass. I have been in WYSO for the past 5 years and I also am an avid Packer fan and a self-proclaimed geek (reference: Profile picture with Tom Felton). Besides playing in WYSO, I also play in the Madison Area Youth Chamber Orchestra (MAYCO) and spend the rest of my time working or hanging out with friends.

What are some of the difficulties associated with playing bass?

Difficulties playing bass: It's big, hard to carry, and easy to bump into things. Stairs are not friends of bass players, and not owning a van also makes transportation a bit tricky. But after 7 years I have mastered carrying my bass up and down three flights of stairs every Saturday morning, as well as fitting it into my Dad's Ford Fusion. I also have a wheel that I put in place of my in-pin that makes long walks a lot more bearable. Luckily for me, WYSO is renting basses for us in Argentina, so I will not have to deal with buying a hard case and paying to transport it. (Note: Thank you WYSO staff) As much trouble as my instrument can be at times, it is one of my most prized possessions.

What are you particularly excited about for the Argentina tour?

This is my first time out of the country, so I am excited to experience another culture and finally see something other than the U.S. I am excited for the shopping and new food I will be able to try. Believe it or not I am also excited for the extremely long plane ride! I will have plenty of time to complete my AP English 12 project I have been putting off for 2 months. But most of all, I am very excited to finally see a good friend of mine who was an exchange student from Argentina last year. She and I were in the same orchestra class at JMM and I have not seen her in over a year. She is planning to come to our concert on the 26th and bring her whole family! I am really excited for this trip!

What are you worried about?

My Spanish is absolutely pathetic so I am a bit concerned about communicating, but if all else fails my iPhone is never far. I am a bit worried about being so far away from home, but once we get to explore I should be fine. I also don't want my bow taken at customs. That would not make me happy.

Interview questions by Isabella Wu

Warning, Warning, and….More Warnings

As the days draw nearer to take off, there is one prominent concern among Youth string players: Ivory, and chiefly, customs. Last July, President Obama issued an executive order banning the commercial import of elephant ivory, including the entrance of elephant ivory into the United States. While there are loopholes around this (ivory legally acquired prior to 1976, certificates, etc.), customs, naught to say, is notoriously unpredictable. My best bet: Bring a bow without ivory, and preferably without mammoth as well. Ralph Rabin, luthier, is taking orders for composite bows at an economic price. He has also generously donated two samples of mammoth ivory to bring along in case there is need be to educate customs. If the situation ever arises, my guess is that customs would be left in a state of riled pique.

In my mind, the most pressing concern of this trip is with no doubt instrument safety. It doesn’t give much peace of mind when remembering the infamous Alban Gerhardt case a year back. Gerhardt, featured soloist at a Madison Symphony concert, arrived to find his bow snapped in half over the bridge. Later concerts revealed developing problems with a sinking bridge. The TSA came under fire after this debacle, and it is my hope nothing comes to the likes of it.

Fortunately, Encore is more than ready to take our instruments (and us) on a well-supervised tour. For extra precautions, read the instrument instructions by Ralph Rabin on the packing manual and pack accordingly. You should protect your instrument from both bumpy travel conditions and poor humidity levels.

On a more cheerful note, Argentina, much like the typical European city, likes to live the good life – the center of it being food. An interesting morsel of Argentinian cuisine habits: Diets are meat-orientated, and the country is famous for its tasty grass-fed cattle (and the beef of it).  More typical nosh includes pasta, more pasta, and an exorbitant amount of cheese. Vegetarians are almost illusory, and vegans are non-existent. None of this is particularly promising to me, but for the meat-eaters, it’s your haven. 

Mar del Plata is also famous for its fresh seafood. Also note that many of our dinners begin after 10pm, much unlike the paradigmatic culture of America. Rarely does anyone dine before 9. One last reminder: Beware of meat sweats.

               

See you soon,

Isabella Wu