Heading home to Hawaii

Wow. What a great trip! Every performance was an exciting experience and an opportunity to meet new people. We made many friends, saw a few old ones and generally had a great time sharing our music and love of Hawaii with anyone we encountered.

Now it's time to head home. It's a long trip, but thanks to the Hilton Newark Airport (arranged by Hilton Hawaiian Village) we have a comfortable place to rest along the way. We arrive back in Honolulu on Tuesday evening. The next day we begin rehearsals for the next Honolulu Symphony Masterworks concerts. It will be hard to believe that the trip happened at all, but the proof is right here.

Thanks for checking out our Tour Blog. Stay tuned for more exciting adventures in chamber music!!

Siljustol

Our last concert was at Siljustol, the home of Harald Saeverud. It was such an honor to perform in his lovely home, especially with two of his sons in attendance. Sven and Trond were very friendly and seemed to receive our version of their father's wind quintet with delight. The audience was also very enthusiastic and were very appreciative of our Hawaiian set.






The SWQ with Saeverud family members

Norway in a Nutshell

At the recommendation of the BWQ we traveled the scenic route back to Bergen today. A flight is only 50 minutes, like flying between Honolulu and Kailua-Kona maybe, but our trip today took over 12 hours! A train to a train to a boat to a bus to another train. We left Oslo at 8am on the Bergen train, climbing to the mountain plateau that bisects the country. It was a winter wonderland! What incredible scenery we saw! Dramatic snow-covered mountains, quaint houses, and a few cross country skiers. We changed trains in Myrdal boarding the Flam railway which descends to the fjord town of Flam. It is a steep descent for about 10 miles during which the train slows or stops for scenic views. We stopped at one enormous waterfall for a photo opportunity. It was a lot like the wonderful waterfalls in Hawaii, except surrounded by snow rather than bamboo and rainforest.

In Flam we had a quick lunch of grilled Salmon and Moose Burgers before boarding a boat for a two hour fjord cruise. We passed through the narrowest fjord in Norway and by many little villages. Some of the villages had no access by road, only by water. The steep sides of the fjord make it very difficult to traverse any other way. We arrived in Gudvangen and connected with a bus for a short ride to Voss. The road was a narrow, windy climb back up the mountains. Over twenty switchbacks that would be a challenge in a sports car. The road was not much wider than the bus itself, but we made the very tight turns easily and made it to the train in Voss. This last train returned us to Bergen where we were met by our Bergen friends who delivered us to our new hotel near the Bergen airport. We will stay here our remaining two nights since we have a very early departure Monday morning. Also, our venue tomorrow, Siljustol, is very close by.



An afjordable view



A dramatic waterfall, just like home... sort of.

US Embassy Norway

Today we finally met our friends in the Public Affairs Office at the US Embassy in Oslo. They have been terrific in arranging for our performance at Ambassador Ong's residence and providing support for our travel and accomodations in Oslo. We stopped in at the embassy to meet them and give them a few tokens of appreciation from Hawaii. After a brief visit Monica Figueroa, our primary contact there, walked us across the street to see the Royal Palace. A very impressive building and grounds overlooking much of the city and one of the most popular shopping areas in Oslo. We arrived just in time to see a changing of the guard.

The Ambassador's residence is a beautiful old mansion with enormous rooms and handsome furnishings. Ambassador Ong and his wife invited a small group of Americans and foreign diplomatic counterparts to attend the evening. There were about 50 all together, including our friends Bastiaan and Trinet Blomhert.

We began with an arrangement by Marsha of the Norwegian national anthem, a very lovely piece, followed by the Star Spangled Banner and Hawaii Ponoi. The rest of the program was selected by Ambassador Ong from our tour repertoire. He chose the Klughardt Quintet to begin and then the Reicha Adagio. We concluded with a set of Hawaiian selections. Marsha explained each song in regard to its history and meaning, especially Aloha Oe which was our final piece. We then presented the Ambassador with a lovely koa box that was provided by the Hawaii Visitor and Convention Bureau. We had a brass plaque placed inside with an engraved message commemorating our performance. We also presented the official greetings of Governor Linda Lingle and Mayor Mufi Hanneman.

A reception followed where we met many of the guests. At least 10 other ambassadors were there from Chile, Poland, Spain and other countries. Several were very interested in inviting us to perform in their home countries, so we may have to begin more tour plans soon. Everyone was very friendly and the food was excellent. We really felt special being presented to such a distinguished group of people and to have an chance to discuss music and travels with them. It was an evening we won't soon forget.



Arriving at the Ambassador's Residence



With Ambassador Ong after our concert

Troldhaugen

Today we checked out of our modest hotel and drove directly to Troldhaugen for a brief rehearsal with the BWQ before our concert there. We had just enough time to visit Grieg's tomb and house before starting the concert at 1PM. The concert was in the afternoon because it is a holiday and many people are off work. We received a very warm reception from the crowd who were especially delighted when we presented our Bergen friends with kukui nut leis before our final piece together. The ovation at the end of the concert lasted over five minutes! While we appreciated the applause we had only one hour to get to the airport for our flight to Oslo. Everything went smoothly and we arrived in Oslo in time for dinner.

After dinner we walked around the wharf exploring the area and getting some excercise. All of a sudden we saw our great friend Bastiaan Blomhert and his wife, Trinet, who have traveled here from The Hague to hear our concert tomorrow at the American Ambassador's residence. It was great to see him and we caught up on many things including discussing our plans to tour Japan with Mozart's wind octet version of The Abduction from the Seraglio next year. There is much to do to make that happen, but we are hopeful it can come together soon.

The Youth of Bergen

Today we met some very bright young Bergen school children. We performed two concerts at a local school, telling the students about where we are from and what it's like in Hawaii. They were very attentive and asked very good questions in English. One young lady even knew the word "ohana". It was a lot of fun performing for such a enthusiastic audience.

Later in the evening we had our final rehearsal for our concert tomorrow at Siljustol. We also did some laundry, but that wasn't especially interesting other than a few unique challenges involved with getting it done at all.

Elvis has been sighted!

Well, the big news in Bergen today is that Elvis is alive and well! We were planning a relaxed and healthy lunch at a vegetarian cafe called Viva Las Vegis. The theme of the place is a tribute to the King of Rock and Roll. After we ordered our sandwiches Jim Moffitt disappeared and all of a sudden there he was, Elvis Presley, in the flesh! After all these years looking pretty well. He's lost weight, no doubt due to the vegetarian diet and the amount of walking one can do in Bergen, but he's still the coolest. Sadly, Jim missed the entire thing. I'm not sure where he was, but we were able to show him this photo.



The rest of the day was pretty much a blur after that encounter. We rehearsed with the BWQ at the concert hall to prepare for our concert on Thursday at Troldhaugen. We will perform a piece by Jean Franciax together along with a few selections from each quintet.



Tomorrow we will perform two school concerts for children in grades 5-7. We will play some of our Hawaiian selections for them along with a movement of the Trubitt. We're looking forward to it.

More Jet Lag

Today we were invited to have lunch at Gro's house. Gro is the flutist in the BWQ and she and her husband Rolf have a lovely old home on a narrow cobblestone street. They have done a beautiful restoration on almost the entire house. They sang the Song of Bergen for us and toasted our arrival and friendship. We gave them some Hawaiian coffee and some cute aloha shirt magnets as a greeting. We then sat down to something akin to a Thanksgiving dinner. We had goat, lamb sausage, all sorts of cheeses and butters, and some terrific wines and liqueurs made by Rolf. It was a meal of traditional Norwegian holiday food which we enjoyed thoroughly.

After lunch we walked to the Bergenhallen concert hall which is just a block from our hotel. Per, the bassoonist, gave us a little tour where we saw the dressing rooms, break room, rehearsal rooms and main hall. We were a bit envious of the dressing rooms and lockers since we don't have such facilities in Honolulu, but the hall itself was the most impressive sight. The seating is fairly steep providing the audience with excellent sight lines and the acoustics seemed very fine. The front row of seats is on the same level as the orchestra, so no one has to look up to see the performance or has the sound travel over their heads. I imagine sitting in the front row would be very exciting- almost like sitting in the orchestra itself!

After another quick nap we returned to the hall to rehearse for our programs later this week. It was good to play through some of our repertoire in our new surroundings. The reeds always change due to the different temperature and humidity, and lips need a bit of adapting to the change of time zones and weather. After rehearsal we had dinner at a very nice Indian restaurant around the corner. We hope to sleep through the night and wake up rested. Four nights of sleep in the last six days has left us in need of a long and restful night.



Rolf and Gro, our wonderful hosts for a traditional holiday meal


Gro after a spirited rendition of the Song of Bergen


A beautiful table set for a terrific meal


Sue playing a giant flute sculpture


Jim walking through a neighborhood of historic wooden houses


SWQ posing with a statue of Bergen's most
famous violinist Ole Bull


Jim checking out the timpani section. Stu?

Bergen at Last

Well, at last we are in Bergen. The trip was long, but we arrived to find a sunny Sunday afternoon in this beautiful city. Our Bergen Wind Quintet friends met us at the airport wearing the aloha shirts they had purchased during their visit to Honolulu in February 2004. They were kind enough to drive us to our hotel in town. It's in an interesting historic building very close to the center of town. The rooms are small and spartan, but it's clean and fits our budget. www.city-aparment.no


After checking in we were immediately taken on an adventure to the top of one of the seven mountains that surround Bergen. We took the Floibanen, an inclined railway, to a scenic vista overlooking Bergen and the harbor area. After enjoying our first meal in the visitor house there we made the descent on foot. Down may be easier than up, but it still took a toll on us considering the jet lag and lack of sleep since New York many hours before. We all took much needed naps before heading out for dinner.

By the way, a funny thing happened to us as we came off the plane in Bergen. Right at the gate, where we were gathering our things, we met a couple waiting to board the next flight. They were from San Francisco, but one of them was originally from Honolulu! The first person we met in Norway was born at Queens Hospital! The world seemed a little bit smaller for a moment and that's one of the things we hoped to accomplish with this tour. Mission accomplished.



A terrific view of Bergen with BWQ hornist Ilene Chanon


Another great view


A quaint cobblestone street in Bergen


Our first dinner in Norway at Angelo's Italian Restaurant

NYC Debut

Well, our first appearance in New York City was a success. The staff at Symphony Space treated us very well and looked great in the leis we brought them. The Leonard Nemoy Thalia is an intimate venue and the acoustics were very nice, allowing our audience to hear everything with clarity and detail. We saw some old friends, former Honolulu Symphony members, Hawaii residents and others. Afterwards a good friend took us to Carmine's for a terrific dinner.

Despite the jet lag and the weather adjustment (chapped lips) we played well and the audience seemed to enjoy all the selections, especially the Hawaiian tunes. Now we have another day and a half to adjust to the time difference before we add 6 more hours to it in Norway. Everyone is catching up with NY friends and planning to see a concert tonight. I have to shop for a jacket for Norway. The Hawaii wardrobe won't quite do it there.

Here are some photos from our Symphony Space debut.

Symphony Space on the corner of 95th and Broadway.

Scott backstage at Symphony Space

Sue and Jonathan backstage

Our set-up on stage at Symphony Space

After the concert at Carmine's with Lenny and Peg Leibowitz. Lenny is the Honolulu Symphony Musicians' attorney and represents many other orchestras as well.

Honolulu Concert

Our final concert before departing Hawaii for New York was a success! The audience was enthusiastic and excited about our upcoming debuts and we received many generous gifts in support of the tour. It would be nice if we didn't have to make an appeal for help, but we are grateful that our community recognizes the value and significance of what we are doing. We really hope that this will open the door to future tours by Chamber Music Hawaii's musicians. If you would like to help please consider making a gift to Chamber Music Hawaii for the SWQ Aloha Tour 2005. You may send it to CMH, PO Box 61939, Honolulu, HI 96839. Our thanks to everyone who has helped us so far.

We presented the same program in Honolulu as in Kaneohe last week. The challenge was to stay focused on the music while thinking of the many details that we each need to take care of before heading to the airport less that 24 hours later. Once we are on our way things should calm down a bit and we will be able to concentrate on staying rested, being in the right place at the right time, having a good time and putting on some great concerts. And spreading some Aloha. We will travel with one entire suitcase full of gifts for our friends and people we will meet along the way. ABC Stores Hawaii has given us a generous supply of coffee and Kukui Nut Leis and we also have a few pounds of Macnuts packed. The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau gave us a bunch of Hawaii lapel pins, refrigerator magnets and, best of all, a lovely gift for Ambassador Ong in Oslo. More about that when we are in Oslo.

Last night, we also unveiled our new aloha look– beautiful "engineered print" shirts made by Kalaheo from Bailey's Antiques and Aloha Shirts on Kapahulu Avenue. Each shirt features one full scene, like a wearable postcard. Diamondhead, palm trees, and the King Kamehameha statue draped with leis. We made the quick change just before performing our set of traditional Hawaiian tunes. We'll post a photo later. We don't want to ruin the surprise for our audiences in New York and Norway. By the way, if you mention the Spring Wind Quintet when you go to Bailey's you will receive a 10% discount on your aloha wear purchase. The selection is terrific.



Well, it's time to finish packing and practice a bit before our departure tonight. Stay tuned for news from New York City!

The Tour Begins

Two nights ago we began our first International Tour at the Paliku Theatre in Kaneohe, Hawaii. On the campus of Windward Community College, the Paliku is a beautiful new facility where we have been presenting concerts for the past two seasons.

The concert was very well received by an enthusiastic Windward Oahu audience. We thank all our Windward listeners for their support and generosity toward Chamber Music Hawaii and our tour.

Next up- our Honolulu concert on the eve of our departure for New York. In the meantime there are a many details and tasks to take care of in preparation for the trip. We also have to practice individually and rehearse together to keep our repertoire sharp. In fact I'm off to practice right now.

Welcome to the SWQ's Weblog!

The Spring Wind Quintet – James Moffitt, Marsha Schweitzer, J.Scott Janusch, Susan McGinn, and Jonathan Parrish

Aloha! And welcome to the Spring Wind Quintet's weblog. This blog will keep you informed about our activities, especially our tour to New York and Norway.

The tour really starts on Monday, April 18 here in Hawaii, with a concert at the beautiful Paliku Theatre at Windward Community College in Kaneohe. The concert begins at 7:30pm and will include music by Bach, Ligeti, Hindemith, D’Rivera and some very special arrangements of traditional Hawaiian music.

Then on Monday, April 25 we will repeat the same program at the Honolulu Academy of Arts’ Doris Duke Theatre where we are Artists in Residence along with our Chamber Music Hawaii colleagues.

Please join us for one of these concerts and wish us well on our travels. And make a point of visiting us frequently over the next few weeks as we share our music and aloha with friends in New York and Norway. Our performance itinerary is as follows:

Thursday, April 28 – 8pm – NEW YORK DEBUT
Peter Norton Symphony Space (Leonard Nimoy Thalia)
2537 Broadway and 95th Street
Program will feature Ligeti, Reicha, Klughardt, Hawaii composer Allen Trubitt and traditional Hawaiian selections

Wednesday, May 5 – EUROPEAN DEBUT
Troldhaugen, the historic home and museum of Edvard Grieg
Bergen, Norway
Program will feature Ligeti, Bach and Reicha. We will also join our friends, the Bergen Wind Quintet, to perform a work by Françaix for 10 winds!

Friday, May 6 – Performance for US Ambassador John Doyle Ong and guests
U.S. Embassy Norway
Oslo, Norway
Program will feature Reicha, Klughardt and our Hawaiian selections

Sunday, May 8 – Final Concert
Siljustøl, the historic home and museum of Harald Saeverud
Program will feature D’Rivera, Saeverud, Trubbitt and Hawaiian selections