El Condor Pasa

Before my concert in Tacna, the guitar professor at a local preparatory school, Randhi Hurtado Sandoval, performed, as well as his student ensemble group. They all did an excellent job. The students were extremely well organized, they all dressed the same, had a well thought out seating arrangement, and played flawlessly. The seating arrangement worked out nicely; we'll have to try that at the next student recital. It looked very clean without stands or sheet music. I don't know if my students would go for dressing exactly the same, or maybe they would, it might them feel more like a team. Here is an excerpt of the group playing the popular Peruvian folk song, El Condor Pasa.

Gracias a Todos

My tour of Southern Perú with the US Embassy is over, and I'm back in Lima, looking forward to tonight's grand finale, Noche de Guitarras del Mundo! I am so grateful to everyone who organized this tour so smoothly and successfully. Gracias con todo mi corazón.

Bahia en Perú

My good concert guitar (not the one I use for teaching:)) was made for me by Dake Traphagen. This is my second Traphagen guitar. Dake doesn't use numbers when he builds guitars, he gives them names. This guitar is named Bahia, by the bay, after a north east coastal city in Brazil. Bahia was born in October 2011, and she has her own passport (papers to prove that her materials, like Brazilian Rosewood, are legal) and her own water bottle (humidifier for dry climates so she doesn't crack). When I play her in South America, especially in the coastal city of Ilo Perú, I feel like she is coming home to her birth land. I'm very happy that I was able to take Bahia on board the plane with me for 6 out of the 6 flights! My secret: try to board early, and just keep walking on the plane. Once on board, the flight attendants are usually pretty helpful in finding a spot above or in a closet. Bahia has a very heavy duty flight case, but she will never go in baggage. At the very least, she'll need to be hand carried on and off, and placed where they put the pets.
Bahia received many many compliments at the festival (thanks Dake!) about her clear and beautiful sound.

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Back to the Festival!

After my tour I went back to the festival for the last two days. I felt sad to have missed the concerts and activities at the festival, but the U S Embassy tour was definitely worth it, and it really enriched my experience here. It was nice to go back and catch up with the other guitarists for the last two concerts.

The Final Night of the Festival

On the final night of the festival, all the international guitarists played 1 or 2 solo pieces, and then all the teachers and all the students played an ensemble piece together. I missed all the rehearsals because of my tour, but I sat in with everyone the best I could (I didn't want to miss an event like that!)

Noche de la Guitarras del Mundo

On the last night of the Festival, all of the teachers and students played together in one large ensemble!

Home!

I'm home! What an amazing week! Really, the experience of a lifetime. I had a fantastic time in Chile last October, but this tour in Perú offered even more, because I had a chance to meet everyone at the concerts. It is a chance reach across cultures and continents with music. The glow on the faces of the people, especially the children and the youth, will live in my heart forever.