We’re home! The orchestra is about to start rehearsing before our birthday concert in Bruges tonight.
Saturday’s concert in Brussels was an encouraging highlight. And we’ll have the chance to experience it again when it’s broadcast in September. More good exposure: Anima was an item in Saturday’s late night news on national television.
Yesterday morning we left for Dijon, which is really our second home. A long day of travel took us to the lovely Auditorium for the third concert of the series. After a three-day break it’s always exciting to dive back into the music and this time wasn’t any different, especially since we were performing this wonderful French music on its own turf. An overly enthusiastic part of the audience applauded almost every single movement, but everything went well and it’s always a great pleasure to meet up with our friends in the mustard city. The travel back went just as smoothly, giving everyone the chance to get some deserved rest. Both today’s rehearsal and concert will be recorded for the live cd that we’re releasing in September. The recording will also be broadcast by radio Klara on 28 February.
Tonight’s the last one, so that means also the last chance to get the perfect recording. Everyone’s aware of that, so there’s an even more concentrated buzz than the past few days. We’re expecting the mayor of Bruges tonight, and our friends at the Concertgebouw (who just offered us two full boxes of chocolate on top of the usual baskets of fruit – thank you!) have threatened us with another birthday surprise at our reception after the concert. The night is young and full of promise. Tomorrow the team is taking the guided tour of Maison Erard before attending Jos’ recital with Sandrine Piau – what a treat!
Casualties of the past days: a few kilos on the team members’ bodies and one window at the Auditorium de Dijon: despite the ridiculous cold, a local rebel thought yesterday night was a good moment to throw an egg at the building. Very curious what this action was about. Against culture? Against windows? Or maybe it was an accident.