Summer '14 - Leg One

Summer '14 - Leg One - España

June 26, 2014

I've returned from my first leg of summer adventures and am spending the last of a few quiet days in Switzerland before departing for France in the morning.

I was very fortunate to be invited to play trumpet in Spain with the Three Rivers Concert Band of Wisconsin and Minnesota for the first few weeks of summer break. First and foremost, I owe my former professor Dr. B, the two amazing conductors, and the rest of the band a huge "Muchas Gracias!" for allowing me to make music and travel with them. I've said in a previous post that the musician's community is a vast and most interesting network; having had the opportunity to spend 10 days with these fine people was a firm reminder of this fact. What wonderful, talented, and gracious people!

Where did we go?

The group stayed in Madrid, Valencia, and Barcelona, with an additional tour of Toledo and sightseeing and concerts in Pinto, Cullera, Buñol, and Amposta.

Tour Highlight - The Spanish Municipal Bands

The highlight of the trip was getting to see how musicians participate in their community bands in Spain. In addition to naval, air force, and other professional bands, each Spanish town or city has their own municipal band (they are volunteer) - some with over 100 years of continual service and music making. The Spanish municipal band is a point of great pride in every town we visited, regardless of the size of the city or the location. Each we visited had at least one performance facility (if not both outdoor and indoor), practice halls, and a club/bar - all owned and operated by the band. In particular, touring the conservatory and municipal band facilities in Buñol, home of two of most recognized and coveted municipal bands in the country, was simply amazing. In this tiny town of only 10,000 residents, there are over 200 professional musicians (yes, I wrote professional - making it the highest percentage of professionals to population IN THE WORLD), 2 internationally recognized municipal bands (including El Litro - the first Spanish band ever invited to the Midwest Conference in Chicago - YouTube videos here), a music conservatory, and 2 municipal band specific music schools. Did I mention that the municipal groups are volunteer and that you remain a member (and cannot change bands) for your life? And oh my, can they play.

Outdoor concert venue in Pinto.

Details inside the municipal facilities of El Litro, Buñol.

Outdoor concert venue in Buñol and the site of our third concert.

El Litro.

Indoor performance facility in Buñol.

Music Conservatory, Buñol.

16 Again - or 'Why Toledo still has my heart.'

The first time I visited Europe (and the only time prior to my move here last August) was in 2000. I was 16 and did one of those "let's visit 3 countries and 10 cities in 9 days" sort of things where you are on aesthetic overload by day 7 and you want to say adios permanently to your roommate by day 3. Anyway, on that particular trip I visited Madrid and Toledo (amongst a million other places) and remember, to my surprise, returning to the USA thinking the tiny town of Toledo was the absolute greatest place on earth.

Toledo still holds this power over me. The diverse history, tiny cobble-stoned streets, and cohabitation of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish relics still fascinate me. This is certainly a place I would like to spend more time in the future.

Inside the Cathedral in Toledo.

Absolute favorite fresco EVER.

Barcelona - Still A Personal Favorite Among Europe's Big Cities

In February I visited Barcelona and was instantly hooked. On that trip I went "great guns" and visited a staggering number of attractions and museums in 2 days time, so for this visit I decided to take it easy and simply enjoy strolling around during our tour free time. I did make it back to El Born Cultural Center for a better look around (and perhaps the best lunch I've ever eaten) as well as the Parc de la Ciutadella, but otherwise I simply did copious amounts of walking and shopping.

Montjuic, Barcelona.

Valencia - or "I could totally live here."

That was said many many times while walking around Valencia. Although Valencia is Spain's third largest city, I felt so comfortable walking around I just couldn't grasp that it was. Valencia has the coast, interesting architecture, and a walkable city center - everything you need!