Wednesday Update

Hola my friends

A good day again today. taught class this morning from 9-11 to some students interested in learning about conducting. See Picture. We covered basic patterns, styles, dynamics, left hand coordination, etc. Basically a quick overview of basic conducting class. We will meet again tomorrow from 9-10 before my chamber music rehearsal. Then again on Friday where we will talk about score study and score preparation. They were great to work with.

Then off to rehearsal. Had a quick quatro queso chipa on my way. Yummy. Rehearsal went really well today. Got through Candide, Jim's solo, all of Copland, Hanson first movement and then October with the strings. Tomorrow we just run the concert and take care of final issues. they are really starting to take ownership of the music. This is good.

the pics are of some of the orchestra members during break today. they are such nice folks.

Stopped for a snack after rehearsal. Media luna with dulce le leche has become my best friend. It is a croissant filled with this very sweet filling which is made with sweet milk. REALLY goood.

Going to dinner tonight for asado with Gustavo and Rosanna. Will write more when I get home.

Ciao

Tuesday wrap up

What a great day and relaxing evening I had.

Started the day with a nice breakfast and then off to watch the world cup match at the rehearsal facility. Nothing quite like sitting in a room full of Paraguayans when their national team defeats Japan in the world cup in overtime. It was AMAZING!!!!! See video.

Then we had to try to calm everyone down to have a productive rehearsal. I was very proud of the orchestra in that they were able to constrain their enthusiasm and have what was the best rehearsal so far. We really go alot done and the group is starting to gel. Only two more rehearsals until concert time.

After rehearsal, Gustavo walked me back to the hotel as he was worried about me being out in the streets with all of the celebrations. It was NUTS!!! People everywhere and lots of partying. It was still going on at 6pm tonight!!!

Gustavo picked me up around 7 to go to his family's house for dinner. I was really looking forward to this. We had pizza, possibly the best pizza I have ever had, and just hung out with his family and talked. It was a great time. I just love hanging out at his house and with his family.

His dad talked to me alot about establishing an official partnership to create a private conservatory here in Paraguay that I would be a part of. I am excited to pursue this as we move into the future. I think Edgar believes in me and wants me to be a part of this.

Back at the hotel now getting ready for bed. I am going to teach a 2 hour conducting class the next three mornings to some students from area conservatories. It should be fun. I knew things were going to get busy here at the end.

A good day in Paraguay and I am getting very excited about the concert.

Ciao

Monday half over

Hello
It has been a good day so far. I got a wonderful night's sleep last night so I feel very refreshed after the long weekend. I got up and had a light breakfast this morning. Ate too much this weekend. Walked to rehearsal around 930 and had a coffee before it started. Had a chamber music rehearsal from 1030-1145. It is so nice of the players to volunteer their time like they are. Got through 2 of the pieces all the way and I think they are just about ready. Only did two movements of the Gounod as I really needed to get to the Haydn. Only got one movement of the Haydn done. they agreed to come in at 10am on thursday to rehearse again as the concert is Thursday night. It will be fine. I trust them as players.

The full rehearsal went ok today as well. Diana Barboza is going to sing the US National Anthem and the Paraguayan National Anthem with the orchestra on the concert, so she was there today. Sounded great. then we started into the Copland. Hoedown really sounds pretty good. no major issues. Just consistency. Corral Nocturne also went pretty well. Then there is Buckaroo Holiday. It is just darn hard and we are really struggling with it. Alot of counting and unison lines to tune up. this piece is much harder than it looks or sounds.

After break and I had to actually come back to buckaroo again as I did not get it all done. then we did Jim's concerto and it is really starting to sound cool. I think the players understand it more now as it is a bit contemporary. Candide is still a bit sloppy but I am trying to push them on tempo so it is just hard to play it that fast. October sounded pretty nice with just the strings.

All in all, we are making progress but we now only have 3 rehearsals left so I think the concert will be on the edge. That usually makes for a great performance tho as everyone is on the edge of their seat with full concentration.

Had a couple of empanadas after rehearsal and came back to the room to work on the computer for awhile. Gustavo is picking us up at 640 to go to Maestro dos Santos house for snacks and a visit tonight. Should be a relaxed and easy night. Not sure what tomorrow holds just yet.

Will probably blog again tonight. Pics are of the various players in the orchestra.

Ciao, Ciao

alot of catching up to do

hello all
I have alot of catching up to do on the blog as I did not get a chance to write yesterday. A full day indeed.

We left the hotel at 830am for a day trip into the surrounding towns outside of Asuncion. I was really looking forward to seeing what the Paraguayan life was like outside of the big city. I was not to be disappointed. We drove through many little towns on our trip, usually stopping at each one briefly to look at stuff and shop a bit. Each town is kind of known for something. The first town for their stitch work, the second for their clay pottery, the third for their strawberries. We were making our way up to a very nice lake area called San Bernadino where alot of more wealthy Paraguayans have summer homes and where people like to vacation. Reminded me alot of the Lake of the Ozarks, Paraguayan style. Very beautiful. See pics posted. We had a great lunch and then started our way back towards Asuncion, again stopping at various points along the way. I really appreciate Gustavo and his dad giving up that time to take me on the trip. It was fun to just spend time with them and learning about the countryside and their practices.

In the afternoon, Gustavo, Rosanna and Patricia took Jim and I shopping to an area called Villa Mora. The shopping mall was very much like an Oak Park Mall inside. Multi level with lots of very nice shops. The outside area was very much like the plaza-many nice shops, boutiques, pubs, and restaurants along the sidewalks. It was a great time, very relaxing and tranquillo.

Then we went to an asado (cookout) at one of the percussionists homes. We cooked out beef ribs and sausage, as well as having sides and bread, and ALOT of beer. We stayed out until 230AM partying and just hanging out. It was great, but I was really tired this morning. I slept in until 1115.

We then went over to Rosanna's parents home to celebrate her father's 72nd birthday. Lots of family there and we had pasta. Very good. Just hung out with her family for awhile. It is so nice of them to make us feel so at home and part of their family.

Came back and took a two hour nap this afternoon, had dinner with Jim here in the hotel and have been working on the computer for a few hours now trying to get the blog, facebook, and skyping caught up.

A great two days for sure. Hope you enjoy the pics and the blog. Busy day tomorrow. I think things are going to heat up quite a bit this week since it is concert week. I am supposed to teach some conducting masterclasses at the National University this week, and I know I will have some newspaper interviews to do.

I will do my best to keep this updated.

Later

An excellent evening

Hello all
I just got back to the hotel after a very nice evening with Paraguayan friends. The percussionists (Alvere, Fabio, Asuncion) picked us up at the hotel around 715 and we went to a corner of a road up by Luque, a neighborhood outside of Asuncion just a bit. There was a bunch of lomito stands, probably 10 or so. All outside seating on what was basically just a trampled down area on the side of the road. Sure wish I would have taken my camera.

We had more traditional la mitos here than what we had at the hotel restaurant the other night. Messy, greasy, huge, and really good (and cheap). We also had some papa frites (french fries) and a cerveza. While we were eating, three very old native Paraguayans came to our table and played a couple of traditional songs. A harpist and two guitar players. Really made me feel like I was imbedded in the culture. that is kind of my goal this time is to experience the inside of the culture rather than just the surface.

After that, we went to a pub call Astoria and met Gustavo and Rosanna for some beers. Rosanna's sister Patty came by as well. We met her last year and it was great to see her again.

Tomorrow, Gustavo and his dad will pick me up at 8ish and we will travel to some smaller towns and villages. We are then going to meet Patty around 3 and she wants to take us for some shopping. Then back to the hotel and pick up at 730 for the asado at Asuncion's house. A full day for sure.

I think sunday will be a light day and get some laundry done. What a nice evening.

Hope you are well.


Manana

Hello from Paraguay

greetings to you all. another great day in paraguay. slept really well last night and actually slept in until 9am this morning. didn't have anything on my schedule so thought i would catch up on sleep a bit. went down and had breakfast at 930 or so and jim came in as i was finishing up. we talked a bit and got caught up from the night before. it is kind of weird. we came down together and stay in the same hotel, but we rarely see each other as the percussionist in the orchestra pretty much take him to themselves, which is very cool. he teaches lessons and rehearses the percussion ensemble all day, and then they party all night. he didn't go to bed until 2am last night. i am too old for that.

i went shopping a bit more today and bought some stuff for Jill, Ashleigh, and Don and Jana. then i went on over to rehearsal to meet diana barboza who will be singing with us on the concert. i played the mp3 of the banner for her and she recorded it onto a handheld recorder. then to make sure she had the right melody, she had me sing in acapella into her recorder. now that was special.

the highlight of my day was the volunteer chamber music rehearsal we had from 1215 until 215. the players did not have to be there, but the really like to play and they were all willing to come to a rehearsal on friday when they didn't have to. I really appreciate that. we worked hard on the persichetti, the jacob, and the gounod. all three are sounding almost concert ready. we didn't have time for the haydn so we will hit that hard next time. i asked about when we would be able to rehearse again next week thinking it would be hard to get 12 players together, but lo and behold, they had already talked amongst themselves somehow and they have a rehearsal scheduled for 1030am on monday. how cool is that. they really sounded very good and i know they are really enjoying playing the music. we are planning on giving the concert on thursday night next week.

after that, i went for merianda (late afternoon snack) with aldo. you may remember that he was my translator last summer and really took good care of me. it was great to visit with him and catch up on what has been going on in his life. he has an 18 month old daughter. he had come to the states for 3 1/2 weeks this spring so he told me all about his trips to chicago, st. louis, new york, and salt lake city. He is mormon. somehow, it was worked out that he got to play with the mormon tabernacle orchestra on a concert while he was there. he was so excited about that opportunity. he is a fine oboist.

now i am back in my room hanging out until jim comes back. the percussion section, jim, myself and gustavo are all going out to a bar/pub tonight. should be fun. my trip to the fall today got cancelled as the brazilian government is being jerks to americans and i would have to pay 300 bucks for a visa to get into brazil to see the falls as they are on their side of the border. not worth it. i am very disappointed about this, but that is life. so instead, tomorrow gustavo and his dad are going to pick me up at 8am and we are going to drive out into the countryside and see some smaller towns and villages. I really want to see the non-downtown part of paraguay. i am sure that will be interesting. when we get back, gustavo's wife rosanna and her sister patty are going to take jim and i around to some places, then we are going to attend an asado and one of the percussionist's home. An asado is a big cook out with lots of various meats, snacks, and evidently alot of cerveza.

The picture i have posted is from the other night when we were just hanging out at the hotel for awhile.

Well, hope you enjoyed today's entry. a good day indeed.

Cioa, Cioa

thursday report

Hola!!

Been a great day today. Started with breakfast at 830 with some score study along with it. Met Jim at 945 to prepare to watch the World Cup game. Game started at 10am and we watched the first half from our 2nd floor hotel balcony overlooking the park which was full of Paraguayans cheering their team on. During halftime, we walked down into the park and through all the people just to get a vibe for what it was like. Too hot to stay there, tho. We went back to the hotel restaurant and watched the rest of the match inside where it was cool. We went back up to the balcony for the last few minutes of the match to watch the celebration. Horns honking, fireworks, whistles and lots of people cheering. It was darn cool

We then came and got our stuff and walked over to rehearsal. Streets were packed with people and cars honking horns.

needless to say, the orchestra members were in a good mood today since the team is advancing to the next round. They really like the fact that Jim and I had on our team shirts.

We did some great work on Candide today and it is coming along nicely. Then we did some nice work on Jim's Vibes concerto and it is almost there, with the exception of some brass licks that are inconsistent and the fact that we haven't had a piano player yet. After break, we spent the remainder of the rehearsal on the 1st movement of the Hanson Symphony. some good work and it is getting closer. So many transitions in tempo that they have to understand and react to. The good news is that they REALLY like the music we are playing. They say it is so different than anything else they ever play. That is good to know that I can bring them some new sounds that they aren't used to.

The next cool thing is that I brought along four chamber music pieces that I hoped we might be able to put some players together to rehearse. I didn't know if they would be able to give up the time or not. I had all the players i need volunteer to stay around and play and they were willing to rehearse all the way until 5pm if needed. WOW. So, we read the Persichetti Serenade No. 10, the Jacob Old Wine in New Bottles, the Gounod Petite Symphonie (my favorite), and the Haydn Octet in F Major. They liked all of the pieces and they are volunteering their time to come back tomorrow for a 2 hour rehearsal to actually work on the stuff. jim is doing percussion ensemble pieces as well, so we will give an OSN Chamber Music concert sometime next week. That is so cool. I asked them if they ever got to play music like this and they said no. I told them one of my dreams is to come down to Paraguay and put together a wind ensemble and play some of the great wind band music with them someday. They really liked that idea.

On the way back to the hotel, I stopped and got a carne empanada (meat/boiled egg) and a Jamon y queso (ham and cheese) empanada for my merianda (a late afternoon snack to hold you over until dinner, which is at 9 or 930. Heck, that is bedtime for me!!!

Now I am just working on my computer stuff with no plans for the evening. Jim has percussion ensemble rehearsal from 6-9 so we are on our own for the evening. I am meeting my singer at noon tomorrow to go over the national anthem, then the chamber rehearsal, then off to the falls for a little weekend sight seeing excursion, which I did not get to do last year when I came.

I will probably write a bit more tonight before bed. Things are going great and I hope you enjoy hearing about my days.

Ciao, Ciao

Day two-add on

Hola
Well, we had a great night tonight. We met Gustavo and Rosanna downstairs and sat outside on the patio and had some beers (see picture). Then, we got a bit hungry so we all ordered lomitas (see picture). A lomita is a traditional sandwich of steak, cheese, ham, fried egg (yes fried egg) on a bun with lettuce, tomato. It was really quite good. Then Maestro dos Santos joined us around 8pm. Maestro dos Santos is the Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the OSN and one of the people who invites me down to guest conduct. It was great to see him again and spend some time talking.

Around 930 we went across the street to the event they are having. It is an annual holiday called St. John day. There was live music, lots of vendors, and LOTS of people. We listened to some traditional Paraguayan music for awhile. Then Gustavo wanted to take us for ice cream and we drove probably 20 minutes to get to the ice cream shop. I kept thinking, this better be darn good ice cream to drive this far. IT WAS!!!!! It was some of the best ice cream I have ever had. Amazing. Then we made the 20 minute drive back and called it a night.

Holy Cow!!! They just started shooting off fireworks across the street. Sounds like a war zone. Geez!!!!

Talked to the kids and Kel on skype for awhile and now I am ready to hit the hey so I can be up to cheer on Paraguay in the World Cup tomorrow. I decided I would go watch it in one of the local restaurant/snack shops so I am amongst the "natives" for the game. Should be fun.

Good Night.

Wednesday Update

Hola
Good day today in Paraguay. Got a great night sleep last night. Got up around 8am and went down and had breakfast and did some score prep for rehearsal today. Went out on a walk around town and did some shopping. Really nice morning for a walk. Came back and got my bag and walked to rehearsal. Had a juice and croissant at a German Bakerai before rehearsal.

Rehearsal went much, much better today, or at least most of it. the last 30 minutes were a bit tough as they were tired again. Started the rehearsal with the 1st and 2nd movement of the Hanson Symphony and we just read those two movements down. they really liked the pieces so I think they will be ready and willing to work on that tomorrow. Then we read through the Star Spangled Banner and America the Beautiful. Really nice arrangements and they played down just fine. Then we went back and played the Hoedown movement from the Rodeo Suite and the librarian had passed out new parts that matched my score. No problems this time. they will really play that well. Then we took our break. I have to give them a 30 minute break in the middle of rehearsal. Then we came back and Gustavo conducted his piece. It is a very nice piece and he did an excellent job. I think they were impressed with his presence on the podium. then we read through the John Williams Summon the Heroes. It went OK, but I don't really care much for the piece so I will probably pull it from the program. Then we finished out rehearsal with going back to rework the Buckaroo Holiday movement from the Rodeo Suite. It is the hardest movement and it probably wasn't that smart of me to do that at the end of rehearsal as they were tired and didn't want to stop that much to fix things. I need to keep that in mind for the rest of the rehearsal schedule. I just need to do easier pieces and just play during the last 30 minutes or so.

Gustavo and I went to the Bolci which is a little coffee/snack shop after rehearsal and had an empanada and coke light. I had another traditional snack but I can't remember what it was called. I think a croquette. Ground meat inside some sort of fried shell. Pretty good. Then we went to another little shop to have a chipa, the most common snack in Paraguay. A corn flour breading is traditional. I had one with four cheeses in it and it was really yummy. I also tried cocio which is a drink made by taking the herbs they use for terrera and mixing them with milk. Very "grassy" tasting to me. didn't care for it much, but at least I can say I tried it.

Then we came back to the hotel and I have been skyping, facebooking, checking email, and blogging for a couple of hours now. There is a big festival going on across the street in the park tonight with live bands, vendors, games, etc. Should be a great time so we are going to go over there and hangout tonight. Probably will go really late so not sure if I will be able to sleep or not due to the noise.

Tomorrow morning at 10am, the Paraguayan soccer team plays in the World Cup, so we moved rehearsal an hour later so everyone could stay home to watch the entire game before rehearsal. The percussionist bought Jim and I Paraguayan soccer jerseys so we will wear those to rehearsal tomorrow if they win. I think the group will enjoy that. Sure hope they win or I could have a pretty depressed group of musicians on my hands.

Going to start rehearsing the chamber music I brought along tomorrow after rehearsal. I have three pieces and Jim has 3 percussion ensemble pieces. We are hoping to do a little chamber music concert next week just for fun. I hope it works but we have to try to get everyone's schedules to work to rehearse the music. That is hard as they all have various things they do before and after rehearsal. We will see how that goes.

Things are good here in Pguay and I hope you are well back in the states. I miss my family mucho, mucho. I certainly enjoy coming down here to do this, but the downside is that I miss my family. Thank god for Skype!!

That is all for now. Have a great day and I will write again tomorrow. Ciao, Ciao

Day one over

Hello all-
I had a decent night sleep last night, except when I got here, my brand new digital alarm clock I bought to bring along would not work, so I went to bed with an alarm set. Kinda scary after not sleeping last night very much. Afraid I would not get up on time this morning. Woke up around 8 on my own and then laid around and dozed until 10am. Got ready, went down and had a light breakfast, and then Gustavo came by at 11 to head out. Breakfast was great-omelet, bacon, fruit, muffin, and REAL orange juice. Tasted like I was squeezing a fresh orange right into my glass. The juices here are wonderful.

Gustavo and I walked to the Pantheon de Heroes just a few blocks away. This is their memorial to soldiers of past wars. Small, but very nice. I will go back and take some pics to post in the morning. Then we went to some shops to get me a new alarm clock and a mike for my headset. Should be good to go for skyping tonight-I hope.

Then went and had a cup of coffee before rehearsal. Ok, so rehearsal....

Many new faces in the group this year. they just came off of a big concert last Thursday night with Luca Testa, an Italian conductor. Then, yesterday, they had a 3 1/2 recording session to record the Pines of Rome which they played on the concert last week. Then today, they pass out all new music and here we go again. I think the orchestra was very tired from yesterday and of course we were just sight reading the music so we had to stop alot and just regroup at times.

I opened with Candide and it is pretty hard for them. they got much better as we went and I think they like it. Can you believe that no one in the group had played the piece before.

Then we read the Buckaroo Holiday movement from the Rodeo Suite. Wow, they didn't read that very well. Lots of work to do on that one. Then we went on with the second movement and it was fine. Not very hard at all. then I went onto the Hoedown movement and things were going along ok. Then we started running into problems where things just weren't lining up. After much discussion, we determined that the version they were playing from is different than the score I am conducting from. ARGH!!! We stopped that movement and they are going to have the right score from their library of the version we are doing for tomorrow so we can finish it out. It will be fine and playable, just wrong rehearsal marks, etc.

then we took our break. We then read the 3rd mvt. of the Hanson Symphony and it went OK. It is the easy movement and I think they will do well with it. then we read Jim Clanton's vibraphone concerto and it actually went pretty well. I was worried about this one as it is a bit contemporary and has lots of coming and going by the players. I think it will be fine. Then I let the winds and brass go and we read Eric Whitacre's October. They will do great with that.

So, believe it or not, we did NOT get through the entire program today. I still have three pieces, plus the other two movements of the symphony to get through. that will be tomorrow's rehearsal. Lots to do.

After rehearsal, I met Gustavo and two of his sisters for a glass of juice at a snack shop, then came back to the hotel to prepare for tomorrow's rehearsal. Jim is resting for awhile and I am doing this, then we are going to meet at 7pm to go to dinner together. Should be an early night.

No early plans for me tomorrow. Just rehearsal again from 1215-315. so far, my schedule is much less hectic than last year, but I bet it will pick up next week.

I have tried to post a picture, but will see if it works. You may remember from last year I took some photos from my breakfast table of some construction work going on across the street from my hotel. Very slow progress and antiquated equipment. Well if the pic works, here is what the construction job created. Pretty amazing.

I think that is all for now. Hope all is well with you and I will write again tomorrow.

Ciao, Ciao

end of long day

Well, I am now in my hotel room in Asuncion after a very long day of travel. We arrived exactly on time, but our ride did not pick us up until an hour late because our flight schedule said we arrived at 510, but that was BA time, not Paraguay time. We are an hour ahead of BA. No big deal, just stood outside for an hour and were confused as to what we should do.

Upon pick up, we went to Gustavo's in-laws house to drop off the two suitcases we brought home for him. Had a glass of peach juice. Wow, was that good. Just like orange juice but made from fresh squeezed peaches. Then we came to the hotel and got checked in. Same hotel as last year and it is very nice. I am on the 7th floor and Jim is upstairs on the 11th floor.

After a much needed shower and change of clothes, we met some of the percussionists from the OSN and Gustavo and we went down the street to a place to get dinner. I had a piece of steak with grilled onions and fried eggs on it. They put fried eggs on just about anything down here!!! Then I had a ham and cheese empanada-yummy. And of course, a few Beveria beers. Came back and tried to skype Kelly and the kids. My end worked ok, but I had a hard time hearing them. Will have to work that out. Video skype is really cool though. I could see them and they could see me and it is all free. Cool.

Ready for bed. It is 1130 here and tomorrow is my first day of rehearsal. Hope to read through and do some basic rehearsing on the first half of the concert tomorrow. They will be reading as they have not seen the music yet. Ought to be interesting.

I will write again tomorrow and I hope you are all well.

Until then

Craig

Buenos Aires

We have safely arrived in Buenos Aires. Tight schedule getting from one terminal to another in Houston. Basically went straight to our new gate and reboarded. Only had time to go to the bathroom. Flight was full out of Houston. Had a light dinner, watched a movie and then tried to go to sleep around 1130. Hard to sleep on the plane tho. I think I got some rest between numerous wake ups. Feel OK right now but we will see how I feel tonight.

Jim and I are sitting in a coffee shop in the airport working on our computers. Thankfully there is free wifi here. Was going to skype and when I tried to plug in my headset, the input jack is the wrong size. Argh!!! I will have to figure that out soon.

It is 10am here (they are two hours ahead of home) and our flight leaves at 330. We aren't sure which gate it leaves from as it isn't listed on the departure board yet-too early. We will figure it out. It is 34 degrees here in BA today so I am glad we didn't have to leave the airport for anything. That shows how much further south BA is than Asuncion as it will be 81 in Asuncion later today. It is winter time here.

I guess that is all for now. I will blog again tonight when we arrive at the hotel. Take care all.

Ciao

Departure

Well, tomorrow is our departure for Paraguay. My good friend and colleague Jim Clanton is going on the trip as well to be the featured soloist on the concert and to do some teaching while he is there. We will have a great time together. Sure going to miss the family. This is the longest I have ever been away from them.

We will leave Pburg at 1230 to head to KC. Mom and Dad are taking us to the airport around 330. We won't get into Asuncion until 430 on Monday, so a very long travel period. Taking alot to do on the plane.

I think I have my stuff together. Feel pretty prepared on the scores, although I have never conducted most of the music so that is a little scary. I would rather do music I have already done in these situations, but I simply haven't conducted that much orchestral music. I am sure it will go fine.

Also going to be teaching some conducting master classes at the National Conservatory while there. Also be doing some work at the Asuncion Conservatory where my former student Gustavo is now the head band conductor. Looking forward to helping him get his stuff organized.

I hope you will enjoy reading the blog and I will try to enter each day.

Ciao

My Upcoming Trip

Well, I am very excited that I have once again been invited by the US Embassy and the OSN to conduct a concert this July. It is a great experience. I will be leaving KCI on Sunday, June 20 and arriving in Asuncion on Monday, June 21-yes, a very long flight through Houston, Buenos Aires, and eventually to Asuncion.

I will have rehearsals on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I will then have Friday through Sunday off to do some excursions which I did not have time to do last time I was there. My good friend and GTA Gustavo Aquino and his wife Rosanna will be there this time so I am really looking forward to them giving me the inside view of Paraguay this time.

I will then have a week of rehearsals Monday through Thursday, with the concert on Friday, July 2nd in the evening. I fly out on Saturday the 3rd and will arrive back in Kansas City on July 4th.

My good friend and colleague Jim Clanton will be traveling with me and performing part of a vibraphone concerto on the concert as guest soloist. Jim and I are good friends and it will be great to spend two weeks with him.

I will try to blog everyday if possible so everyone knows what is going on. Hope you enjoy reading about my trip.

See you in about a week.

Craig