[As part of my backlog catch-up series, here is an excerpt from a recent email]
The weekend after Thanksgiving, I attended a concert of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas (POA) at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, for which my office purchased tickets. Sitting in the 5th row, I was able to see the faces of the performers and recognized one of the trumpet players. A quick glance at the program confirmed that it was my 3rd cousin, Chris, who joined the orchestra for their No Borders tour! Neither he nor I knew that each other would be in Mexico, so it was a great surprise!
The Orchestra was on its first official homecoming tour to Mexico. The conductor is a young Mexican woman who is creating a new wave of interest in modern classical music from the Americas. I got to meet the conductor and the solo pianist while I was hanging out with my cousin, as well as many of the young, brilliant musicians. One late Monday night, I took a bunch of my new musician friends to Plaza Garibaldi (after promising the conductor that I would not lose any of them before their early morning flight the next day) to chill with the mariachi bands. Between my cousin who had lived in Mexico, a Mexican-American from Texas, and a handful of brass instrument players, we had sufficient requests for traditional mariachi music. Of course, I love all mariachis after they saved the day when our car got stuck in Guanajuato (you’ll have to read my October blog for that story). It was a fun time all around that led to a really great opportunity for me to become involved with the POA. I’m sure you will be hearing more on that a little later…
The following weekend, Fulbright organized a group trip to the Sala Nezahualcoyotl (try saying that ten times fast) in the University City to see the Orquesta Filharmónica de la Universidad Nacional Autónomo de México (OFUNAM). The concert hall is acoustically perfect and very unique, with seating behind the stage so that audience members can watch the conductor from a musician’s perspective. We heard brilliant performances of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto and Ravel’s Bolero among other pieces. I can’t wait to go back for some of the major performances coming up this spring!
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