| Saturday was a very packed day for all
of us. The original plan was to have breakfast at 8:30 A.M. at the
King's Academy and then leave for the National Music Conservatory (NMC) at 9 A.M. sharp. Just after 8:30 A.M., we got a call
from the Royal Jordanian Airline that our lost luggage had been
found! We were ecstatic to hear that! The musicians with lost
luggage were going to have to perform in the clothing they had worn
upon arrival. The musicians were now able to change into their
concert attire. The departure was pushed back half an hour to
accommodate this necessity. Upon our arrival at the NMC, we
started our scheduled children's concert. The brass quintet
performed first. They were followed by two percussion pieces. The
woodwind trio performed next. The string quartet closed the concert.
It was an hour's worth of music for the children of Jordan.
Immediately after the performance, we
had a sectional performance that included some members of the Amman
Symphony Orchestra. Many of the members have day jobs (just like the
musicians of the FSO) and some were not able to join us. You see,
Sunday is a work day in Jordan. Since Friday is an important prayer
day, the Jordanian weekend is actually Friday and Saturday, unlike
many parts of the world.
Lunch was served after the sectional
performance. Maestro Fakhouri then took us to a popular shopping
area near where he lived. Unfortunately, a tour of his family's home
was not part of the itinerary! Many of us took advantage of the
fantastic Jordan weather while shopping. About 3:15 P.M., we began our journey back to
the NMC. The children's concert program was repeated at the conservatory, this time for students of the NMC itself. It was a
slightly longer concert with a Q&A session following the
performance. Many of the NMC students were very enthusiastic and
inquisitive. We had a good time performing and answering their
questions. After dinner, we had our first full orchestra
rehearsal at 8:30 P.M. It was a good rehearsal, with players from
the two Symphonies (Fayetteville's & Amman's) learning to play
together. The Amman Symphony Orchestra tunes to A442, while the
Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra tunes to A440, so there was some
adjustment required by our FSO players. Rehearsal ended at 9:30 P.M. and
we returned to the King's Academy.
Overall, it was a very full day and
many of us were exhausted and ready for rest. Tomorrow promises to a
combination of sight seeing, performance, and rehearsal. Check back
to see what we
did!
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