The BPO Has Landed

WOOOOOOOO!

The BPO has arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

As far as I can tell, the BPO arrived in Fort Lauderdale 100% unscathed and no worse for the wear.  There are so many potential logistical nightmares involved with organizing a trip like this like this, and I think I heard the entire BPO staff give a collective sigh of relief as our plane landed.  It all worked out!  Hooray!

It’s warm and wonderful here!  (I have a small confession to make- I’m a teensy bit annoyed that Buffalo is having such beautiful weather while we’re gone.  Of course I want my fellow Buffalonians to be happy and comfortable, but a warm climate trip is always a little sweeter when you can smugly congratulate yourself for avoiding a blizzard back home.  But, just to be clear, I do NOT wish a blizzard on Buffalo.  No sir.  I’m smug, but I’m not a monster.)

I was a TERRIBLE blogger during the trip down here.  I failed to take any pictures except for this one, which as you can see is one of the worst photos in the history of the earth.

My only defense is that it was 8am.

But actually, upon further inspection this photo did give me a good laugh.  Almost everyone in this picture is in the BPO (there are a few innocent bystanders here, but for the most part these are all musicians), and when I took it, I pleadingly asked everyone to look at the camera.  At first glance it appears that absolutely NO ONE paid any attention to me, but when I pulled this picture up on my computer I saw that I did have two obedient allies.

Janz and Dinesh are team players.

Janz took a ton of pictures during the trip, and hopefully tomorrow I’ll put some good ones up on the blog, but for logistical reasons, this is all you’re gonna get tonight.

When I got to the hotel I promptly took a nap, but a lot of musicians almost immediately swung into action.  One small group of musicians took an airboat tour in the Everglades.  (Again, pictures are coming soon- including an alleged photo of one of our violinists petting a crocodile.  I haven’t seen this picture yet so I cannot actual confirm its actual existence.)

The award for The Most Industrious Musicians goes to the BPO trumpet section, by a mile. All three of our BPO trumpeters (Alex Jokipii, Geoff Hardcastle, and Phil Christner) gave a masterclass class in Miami.  For readers who may not be familiar with this term, a masterclass is essentially a cross between a performance and a music lesson.  A student performs a piece in front of an audience, and then the “master” (or in this case “masters”) offers pointers and suggestions on how the student can improve.

I think almost any professional musician would agree that masterclasses are a vital part of a music education.  Masterclasses are a chance to perform, a chance to be critiqued (in a fairly high pressure situation), and are almost always good for inspiration and invigoration.  Many of these students will be attending the BPO concert tomorrow night!

This particular masterclass was hosted by the University of Miami and the participants were students of the trumpet professor, Craig Morris.

BPO trumpet section Phil Christner, Geoff Hardcastle, Alex Jokipii, University of Miami Trumpet professor Craig Morris, and students.

I myself did not spend my evening doing anything as noble or as professional-minded as teaching a masterclass.

Mostly, I ate a lot of shrimp.

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Stay tuned, dear readers!  Tomorrow (Friday) the tour really begins.  We’ve got an afternoon rehearsal and then we play the first concert of the Florida Friends Tour.

- Kate Holzemer 3/11/10

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