’Playing for a community that is so passionate and cares so much was so moving and wonderful,’ says the US double bassist
I learnt about the Pacific Music Festival from a double bassist friend of mine who attended it and had a really meaningful experience. So I was excited to apply, and felt very fortunate to be accepted.
It was pretty busy when I was there. We usually had an orchestra rehearsal in the morning and another either in the afternoon or in the evening, as well as chamber music coaching and many guest artists giving concerts. It was a pretty wide age range, from musicians just starting at conservatoire to some who’d been out of school for years, with musicians from all over the world.
My favourite part was getting to perform for such an enthusiastic and supportive audience. One time we did an outdoor concert and it was starting to rain a little bit, and in the US the audience would probably just leave. But as it was drizzling, you could see all these umbrellas start to open up and, for me, playing for a community that is so passionate and cares so much was so moving and wonderful.
One thing that took me by surprise was the outreach concert. I hadn’t done many educational programmes before, and here we had hundreds of children with recorders playing along with us. I thought it’d be strange or difficult, but it was wonderful to play for and with all of them.
I would say just go with an open mind and try to do as many of the cultural activities as you can, like the tea ceremony. It does get busy, but everyone works very diligently to provide all the fellows with an experience that’s enriching both culturally and musically. It’s very beautiful too, as the concert hall is in a park, and it was so lovely outside and with mostly great weather.
Those of us venturing into the professional world for the first time can feel a little disconnected from the ‘great tradition’ of the past, but going to a festival like this with faculty members who were part of that great tradition was very impactful.
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