After a 33 hour trip, we arrived in the Italian city of Bolzano late on Saturday night. It was a long journey, but the anticipation of the tour kept spirits high.
Sunday was a free day to rest and recover before the first performance on Monda
y. A group of musicians visited the town of Merano where we are giving the first performance (about a 30 minute drive from Bolzano) and another group travelled to the alps region about an hour drive out of Bolzano. The town of Ortisei was the first stop on this alps journey, close to the Austrian border. After a cable car ride up the mountain, we then drove on to the town of Salle (pictured) where we climbed up a mountain and saw dozens of paragliders taking off the down hill.
Today, the musicians are getting ready for the first performance. Various sectional rehearsals will start this afternoon and already there are musicians practicing in their hotel rooms.
The concert tonight is at the Teatro Kursaal in Merano where the Orchestra will be performing works by Ravel and a work by Australian composer Liza Lim titled 'The Compass' with soloists William Barton on didgeridoo and Sydney Symphony Principal Piccolo Rosamund Plummer on flutes.
Sunday was a free day to rest and recover before the first performance on Monda
y. A group of musicians visited the town of Merano where we are giving the first performance (about a 30 minute drive from Bolzano) and another group travelled to the alps region about an hour drive out of Bolzano. The town of Ortisei was the first stop on this alps journey, close to the Austrian border. After a cable car ride up the mountain, we then drove on to the town of Salle (pictured) where we climbed up a mountain and saw dozens of paragliders taking off the down hill.Today, the musicians are getting ready for the first performance. Various sectional rehearsals will start this afternoon and already there are musicians practicing in their hotel rooms.
The concert tonight is at the Teatro Kursaal in Merano where the Orchestra will be performing works by Ravel and a work by Australian composer Liza Lim titled 'The Compass' with soloists William Barton on didgeridoo and Sydney Symphony Principal Piccolo Rosamund Plummer on flutes.
