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

3 Weeks Until Take-Off!

Welcome to the official WYSO 2014 Argentina Tour blog! This blog is dedicated to all the WYSO friends and families who want to be informed at home about the exciting events happening in Argentina. The blog entries will be mainly from student contributors, but there will be a few times where the parent chaperones or WYSO staff will write about their experiences. Every day, there will be a timely blog post update online about the events going on during that day—memories, sights, music, food, and concerts in Argentina—along with some funny or memorable photos. Before the tour, there will also be a blog post every few days about preparations for the tour. Thank you to all the WYSO students who volunteered to sign up for the blog to write a little about their memories every day.

I’ve been a WYSO member for 7 years and this will be my 2^nd time going on a WYSO international tour. The last WYSO European tour to Prague, Vienna, and Budapest was such a blast and I hope the South America tour will be equally or even more fun. Some of the things I’ve done to prep for this long awaited tour are to read up on the different city attractions in Argentina and brush up on my Spanish. I’ve felt that it’s always been useful to read up a little about the culture, history, and attractions in a place before traveling to it. My three years of studying Spanish in school may also prove helpful during the trip to Argentina.

We are going to three cities in Argentina: Buenos Aires, Mar del Plata, and Rosario. Buenos Aires—the capital of Argentina—is often known as the Paris of South America. It is the birthplace of tango and one of South America’s top tourist destinations, known for its European-style architecture and rich cultural life. Buenos Aires also holds the highest concentration of theaters in the world, not to mention the city’s abundance of museums and opera houses. The next city we’ll be touring is Mar del Plata, which is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean about 250 miles south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is one of the major fishing ports in Argentina and holds the biggest seaside beach resort. The last city we will be touring in Argentina is Rosario, the third most populous city in the country. The city is an important educational center both at a national and international level, home to more than 10 colleges! For those of you who are World Cup soccer fans, Lionel Messi—who is considered to be one of the best soccer players in the world today—was also born in Rosario.

One thing to point out…Argentina is in the middle of their winter right now. The temperature in Argentina during this time of year varies in the 40’s-50’s range. Some people might think that bringing clothes suitable for fall weather might be enough, but I was told to bring WINTER clothing. It might get quite chilly in the evening time, and shopping for warm clothing in Argentina is probably not what you want to spend your money on. I’d say pack a jacket or some gloves just in case it gets brisk.

~David Cao