Can't really think of a cool, dramatic way to start this post, so I guess there won't be one. The morning was pretty normal, except for the fact that Ryan and I awoke at more normal times, showing signs that we are finally adapting to the time change. After breakfast, we had to pack our concert clothes and instruments because we were spending the day in Plovdiv, a city about two and a half hours away. During the ride, I was able to show Ryan the movie Mr. Bean's Holiday (which, if you haven't seen, I highly recommend, especially if you need a good laugh) which he heartily enjoyed. About an hour and a half into the bus ride, we made a quick stop at a gas station/snack shop. Several people bought drinks, ice cream, or chips to help satisfy their culinary cravings.
After arriving in Plovdiv, out first order of business was to visit the uncovered remains of an ancient Roman city and a recently uncovered Roman amphitheater. The amphitheater, which we visited first, was huge and quite awe0inspiring. Our trusty brass section performed a few pieces they had worked up while several of us non-brass players were momentarily employed as human stand clips (used to keep music from blowing away in windy conditions). The group played admirably, utilizing the natural acoustics of the amphitheater, which is situated between two large hills. After the amphitheater, we headed to lunch, which was held in a lavish house from the 19 th century. The food was pretty much the same as I've described each day, with the exception that there was more meat than usual. The people at the table I was at tried to create a chromatic scale using glass bottles and varying amounts of water inside of them. Although the project was uncompleted, it was pretty fun to be a part of (there should be a video of this on Picasa).
The conclusion of lunch marked the beginning of our tour of the Roman ruins. The tour lead us through a commercial district of Plovdiv all the way to the concert hall where we would be performing in a few hours. Upon arrival at the hall, we snagged our instruments and concert clothes and had another quick rehearsal. Fortunately, the acoustics of this hall were much easier to adapt to and the group sounded even better than in Bulgaria Hall (in my opinion). After rehearsing, we were directed across the street to the building where we would be eating dinner. What we weren’t expecting, however, was a sizable amount of rain. Without ponchos, our little band of musicians quickly made out way across the street, attempting to stay as dry as possible. Dinner was also fortunately more meat heavy than previous meals, though some of the meat tasted strangely spiced or over salted. We headed back to the hotel with happy stomachs and, after changing into concert attire, headed out into the hall. Unfortunately, the humidity seemed to have spiked when the rain hit earlier, so everything was uncomfortably moist and extra sweaty.
The space in which we performed was very small for a concert hall, seating only around five-hundred or so. Regardless, we had another full house with more people standing on the sidelines to watch and listen. The actual performance was just as good as, if not better, than last evening's performance and, after three encores, the crowd was still chanting for more, even after half the orchestra had left the stage (much like last night). With a successful second performance down, we headed back to our buses to begin the drive back to Sophia. We're currently about thirty minutes into the ride, and all but around three of us are fast asleep. Some remnants o jet lag, bad sleep habits, and just plain exhaustion have taken their toll, though I guess that that's not necessarily such a bad thing. Well, that's all for today, hopefully I'll be able to track down Meri's camera soon, there are a ton of pictures from today, including a ton from the amphitheater.
-Philip
