Chamber got up early early early and rehearsed from 7:30 - 8:30am (yes, that's 4:30 - 5:30am Oregon time!). We actually got quite a lot accomplished. We packed up the bus and headed off for the Smithsonian museum - the American History Museum. On the way there we saw monuments, other Smithsonian museums, and the White House, again. We were supposed to see the Stradivarius collection of instruments (a quartet of stringed instruments) but found out that they are deep in storage and not accesible. We had to settle for a Civil War violin and a beautiful single Stradivarius cello (from 1701) - we were able to see the beautiful body style, gut strings, and rough scroll:
We also were treated to other beautiful American History items - Dorothy's slippers, Old Glory (the original flag that flew above Fort Henry - it's HUGE!), Julie Child's kitchen (really!) and more.
We were given what will likely be a once in a life time experience - we went to the 7th floor and then up a crazy length of spiral stair cases to the top of the Cathedral to see the Carillon bells. 53 bells - from humongous to little (the little one was 17 pounds):
After the demonstration, we had the opportunity to hear the rehearsal for Bach's St. John's Passion. At first it seemed a little slow... violas, cellos and basses listened to a low string sectional, violins listened to a violin sectional. But it all came together when we got to hear a run through of a few of the arias. We got to see baroque instruments - including a lute and a theorbo (check this instrument out!), baroque oboes, a baroque bassoon, and a portative organ - and hear a contra tenor singer. This tall man, who's day job is apparently working at the South African Embassy, sang in what seemed to us a woman's voice - gorgeous... hauntingly beautiful! We were all amazed at the beauty of his voice!
Then it was time to finally perform. We drove through town (saw a beautiful bald eagle on our way into town, flying near the Pentagon) and got to the Martin Luther King Memorial. In the somewhat cold (only about 50 degrees) and wind (tape and clothespins kept our music kind of on the stands!) we performed for about an hour. In the middle of our set there was apparently a red fox that ran up the side of the memorial behind us. Lots of tour groups walked through and got to hear us. After we performed, we got to tour the memorial and then it was time to go to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The haiku for the day is: "The wind was blowing. What the heck was that red fox?! Martin Luther King." (haiku in honor of the Cherry blossom festival in DC right now).
The Kennedy Center is astounding - grand and formal... beautiful! We entered in the Hall of Nations - flags a plenty! We got to hear some beautiful jazz, while relaxing in a beautiful environment - huge red carpeted hallways, ornate chandeliers, and lots of people roaming around. Here's more info about this amazing cultural hub: http://www.kennedy-center.org/index.cfm
But, here's the fun part of the story... I'll make this quick. A few of our kids saw some sketchy men talking about pick pocketing - and one of those men approached one of our kids. Our kids talked to us about this wrongness and asked to speak to security. With Mr. Winkler's approval they talked to security about what they saw, and about 45 minutes later the result was an apprehension of the thieves... our kids helped to catch some bad guys. Very exciting... police (actually, they were United State Park Police as it was on National Park land) and all around good stuff! A proud day for our Titans!
After all that, we were hungry - dinner at Fuddruckers right next to Chinatown, and a quick stop at a DC sweatshirt vendor (lots of sweatshirts and hats purchased). Then it was time to return to the hotel. We're off at 6:30am tomorrow for NY.
Quote of the day might be: "Nolan, where's your violin?"
What an amazing day. What a wonderful performance by our group. What amazing musical experiences. And, there's more to come...
~Ms S
