Visiting Escuela 23 del Distrito Escolar

Wednesday morning, WYSO visited Escuela 23 del Distrito Escolar 19.  The elementary age students come from the most desperate of circumstances, many living in tin or cardboard shacks.  There were approximately 150 students and some family members that came to the concert.  The schools are on winter break but this was a special opportunity that many made a special visit to the school to hear the concert.  Mrs. Eckel spoke Spanish to the audience first asking if any had ever heard live orchestra.  Most had not.  Then she introduced each instrument and asked our kids to play a bit so the students could hear each individual sound.  We played Candide, a movement of the Milburn, movements 3 and 4 of Tchaikovsky and the Malambo.  Mr. Smith invited a young lady to conduct the Ginastera.  Also we wore our WYSO tshirts and Mr. Smith wore his Argentina jacket to conduct.  This was very well received.  


After the concert, there was a question and answer period and our WYSO members were able to talk with all the kids.  Then we all went out to the playground and played basketball and soccer with the kids.  The moms prepared sandwiches for us as well.  I have to say that this concert was a most moving experience for all of us.  It was definitely a highlight of this trip and we left feeling like we had really made a difference in their lives.  Andrea our concert organizer said that a couple of the kids came up to her after and expressed an interest in learning an instrument.  The director of the school requested that we send a WYSO t´shirt that they can frame and hang in the school.  The adults also took up a collection to purchase the school a boom box so they can listen to music.  

The entire WYSO organization and parents of these outstanding young WYSO members can be so proud of the transformative impact that we made on young lives by sharing our music.  It was an unforgettable morning that will never be forgotten.  

Traveling

What a full day! We woke up bright and early for a morning start at 9. We boarded the bus embarked on a short trip to visit Evita Peron´s grave. The graveyard has a system like buying property and building a mausoleum (it´s basically condos for rich or important dead people). The starting price for a mausoleum and land is $50,000 USD! Ay caramba!!!! After exploring the graveyard for 30 minutes, we hopped back onto the bus bound for Rosario. After a restful 5 hour bus ride, we finally arived in Rosario. Upon arrival, we settled into our rooms which have some nice hard wood floors, and after 1 hour of down time, we went on the walking tour to a monument of the flag of Argentina, a tall pillared structure with intricate statues, a big flame pit, and fancy lights. We had a great time taking fun pictures to remember the monument. We´re looking forward to tomorrow!

~Clare Virnoche and Iszie Tigges-Green 

Sea Lions & Late Night Tango!

Our first official day in Mar del Plata started off with yet another good breakfast. Although there were not as many choices in the Hotel Riviera than in the Hotel Presidente, my plate of croissants and small bread slices were satisfyingly good with a heavy drizzle of dulce de leche. We departed shortly after to our rehearsal at the Colon Theater. We rehearsed for about two hours in the cozy theater and got acclimated to the relatively dry sound in the hall.

After finishing a fruitful rehearsal, we had time to eat lunch and wander the cities. My friends and I first went to the beach to take a couple of pictures and take in the beautiful seaside scenes. We then went to a very good seafood restaurant—recommended by our tour guide—one block from our hotel. The restaurant was called Cocina Mama, which means mother’s kitchen, and the food there was just splendid. Mae Leigh ordered a seafood rice dish and shared it with Caroline, while Sam ordered a big plate of fried, fresh calamari. Antonia ordered white salmon with French fries and Isabella ordered fried white salmon with whole baked potato. I invited Maynie and Mary to sit with us at lunch, and they ordered chicken with rice and ravioli. I ordered a wonderful seafood dish that came out about 10 minutes after everyone else got their meals. It consisted of 2 huge, fresh prawns, 4 clams covered with mozzarella, and 3 huge fish fillets covered in a shrimp sauce with mini shrimps in it and an avocado-infused mash potato side. It was so delicious and definitely worth the wait.

             

Finishing off our lunch payments, we hurried quickly back to the hotel to go on a Mar del Plata city tour. We drove along the coast, went into neighborhoods with beautiful houses, and even went to the boat pier to see a sea lion! Unfortunately, with all the wild dogs roaming at the pier, the sea lion was scared away. I spent time after the guided tour to buy a cup and straw for mate.

                

We then had about two hours of free time at the hotel after we came back from the tour. I went ahead to practice my WYSO music quietly in my room for the concert in the evening. Sam came back to our room from a candy store nearby the hotel and practiced a bit with me before we had to get dressed up for our 8:30 concert. We arrived there with plenty of time to set up and practice on stage. 

We were all surprised that there was a long line outside the theater, waiting to get in and see our concert. About 20 minutes before the concert, the audience all squeezed into the Colon Theater. The hall ended up being packed full to the limit before we started. We played the usual concert order: Candide, Billy the Kid, Liturgical Scenes, Tchaikovsky, and then Ginastera. The audience seemed very enthusiastic and excited to see us, and after every piece, they cheered and clapped really loudly. They cheered and clapped so loudly after our encore piece Ginastera that we played it again! The audience was so enchanted that they even started clapping along with the music during our second performance of the Malambo. The thing that was really unexpected was that after the concert, there was a group of musicians who came up to congratulate us. They invited us to have dinner with them but since we already planned to go to another restaurant, we invited them to eat with us. It turns out that the group of about 12 musicians were from the youth string orchestra of Mar del Plata.       

We arrived at the restaurant Montecatini three blocks from the Colon Theater. The Argentinian musicians were already there waiting for us and we all went in to have dinner together. All of the musicians were so friendly to us! Mae Leigh, Antonia, Sam, Thea, Caroline, Vivian, and I sat with the musicians to have a great dinner. As a gift, they even offered to play to WYSO some tango pieces in the restaurant. And they performed so well and with great expression! I even got a chance to play Eine Kleine Nachtmusik with them and it was such a fun experience. Before we had to leave, we shared ice cream desserts and exchanged names and Facebook contacts. It was sad to see our Argentinian friends waving at us as we drove away back to our hotel. We ended up arriving at our hotel around 2 in the morning, but it was definitely worth it to stay at that restaurant with our new Mar del Plata friends.

                                                                                                                                               ~David Cao 

              

WYSO Tour Photos

Are you interested in seeing more photos of the Youth Orchestra as they travel throughout Argentina? Follow the link below to see the most recent photos taken by our WYSO parent chaperone, George Cao. We'll post the photos just as soon as we can, but don't forget to check back here to read about what's happening on the tour!

https://wysoargentinatour2014.shutterfly.com/ 

Making friends through music

It was an absolutely amazing night at the Teatre Colon. The buses pulled up to the theatre and we saw hundreds of people standing in line to hear WYSO play their Mar del Plata debut concert. It was SRO by concert time, guessing at 8:50 concert goers. Applause erupted after every movement. The encore was repeated twice as the crowd clapped to the beat and demanded more. We learned the local youth orchestra was there and many of them rushed the stage afterwards to greet the kids. A group of them joined us at the restaurant for dinner following the concert and played chamber music for us during dinner. Co-Concertmaster David Cao joined in as well. The kids exchanged names and Facebook friends were made. People cheered on the street as buses departed back to the hotel. It was a magic evening in every way!

~Bridget Fraser

A chaperone's perspective

It's been a whirlwind few days here in Argentina.  The students' joint concert w/the Argentina National Youth Orchestra was fantastic!  They played so well together, and the concert was enthusiastically received by the audience.  There was even a contingent who gave WYSO a standing ovation!  And judging by the din of voices at the pizza party afterwards, the students have made many new Argentinian friends.

Yesterday was a long bus ride to Mar del Plata.  It's cold here - lows in the 30s last night.  But a warming trend is coming, and by the time we're in Rosario, it should be in the 70s.  The students are off rehearsing this morning, and we chaperones are off to infuse the local economy.  It's our duty after all!

Your students have been amazing - you should be very proud of them.  They're conducting themselve as wonderful ambassadors for WYSO, Wisconsin, and the U.S.

Well, I must run - the stores open in six mintues!

~Ann Groves-Lloyd

Broken elevators and sight seeing

We started this morning with a breakfast of mostly bread and runny eggs. Most of us left the hotel restaurant at about 9 AM, expecting to have plenty of time to pack and return to the lobby by 9:30. We were greatly mistaken. One of the three elevators was out of order, and about eighty people were trying to use the two small remaining elevators to travel up and down fifteen floors. Some decided to take the stairs after waiting too long; others waited more stubbornly. Those who decided to take the stairs had to lug their heavy bags and instruments all the way down to the lobby. I personally had to carry my suitcase down from the 15^th floor. Luckily, I didn’t have to carry an instrument.

We all made it to the bus, albeit not in a timely manner. And so we embarked on our six-hour journey from Buenos Aires to Mar del Plata.

There were three things people chose to do on the bus: sleep, talk, and look at the scenery. The terrain was surprisingly flat, making it difficult for me to remember I was in Argentina and not Nebraska. There were some interesting sights, though, such as long rows of billboards and a huge plethora of countless herds of numerous cows.  They were everywhere.  Seriously, there were a lot of cows.

We stopped at the Minotauro Food Court with a variety of options. Some of the things we ate included empanadas, steak sandwiches, and potatoes -- nothing too interesting –and no green vegetables to be seen.

We eventually made it to the Hotel Riviera in Mar del Plata, and we soon left to walk around and see the city.  We ended the night by eating dinner at the hotel restaurant. Chaperones Bill and Lynn ended our blogging session prematurely, thus the abrupt ending.

~Stephanie Van Fossen & Eric Peterson