I am writing to you from beautiful Cartagena, Colombia, where I am in residence for two weeks at the Cartagena International Music Festival, conducting the City of London Sinfonia, one of the finer orchestras in the U.K., in six separate programs. 
 
Many Americans are not aware that, unlike top U.S. orchestras, playing in a British orchestra is often only a part-time job for its musicians. The CLS, English Chamber Orchestra, Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the BBC, the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic and the Philharmonia orchestras all share a 'pool' of musicians in London. Because of this arrangement, these musicians are all impeccable sight-readers, meaning they can play almost anything at a high level without a great deal of practice. It also means they are extremely overworked and they are enjoying themselves immensely in this beautiful tropical place. Many will return to London after more than 24 hours of travel, and go straight to rehearsals, or in one case, straight to a concert.
 
British orchestras often have one only rehearsal for a concert, so when they have three (as is the case in Cartagena and most orchestras in the U.S., including the Festival Orchestra), the law of diminishing returns sometimes applies. Our best concert so far resulted from a logistical problem that eliminated most of our rehearsal time, yet the concert - a rendition of Haydn's 104th Symphony - was arguably our finest.
 
Festival officials estimated crowds of 3,000-4,000 people at our concerts, which start at 11 p.m. There is an almost constant TV presence here at the Festival -- everything is televised nationally, so it's impossible for me to walk outside without being accosted by autograph or photograph-seekers! This is probably as close as I will come to what it must have felt like to be Franz Liszt, who was a music superstar in his day.

 
There is a wonderful educational aspect to this festival: at least 100 highly motivated Colombian music students attend rehearsal and receive lessons from the orchestra members. I have been giving 6-7 lessons a day here and am struck in particular by one very talented young girl, who explained that she hadn't had a lesson in over two years because her parents simply cannot afford them. If your Spanish is good, take a look at this short video of TV coverage of the Festival's education programs for young musicians. (For those of you who want to read about this in English, check out The Guardian UK article.)
 
I am lodging at a magical hotel in the old city of Cartagena, which houses many strange creatures (excluding the musicians and myself): sloths lounging about in the trees and a toucan that greets me noisily each morning. And I must share with you another favorite experience here: the food. I have gorged myself on all manner of Columbian delicacies: cocadas, lumps of coconut and sugar fried with slivers of nuts; and Mojarra, a type of fish, grilled and served whole is a taste I cannot live without, to name a few. Hoping to find this exquisite fish back in New York. I asked everyone what it is called in English, but disappointingly, this delectable creature only exists off the coasts of South America and has no English analogue. 
 
A beautiful quality of the Colombians I have met is their ability to be happy in all things simple. Food, enjoying the natural world, and music and dancing are deeply rooted in the culture. Despite the many lessons I have received here in Salsa dancing, I will forever remain upstaged by the young children who have learned this from the age of four - Mozarts of the Salsa they all are!
 
Nothing could have prepared me for the many unexpected pleasures of my trip in this beautiful country. In that vein, I have been thinking about how I can better prepare you for the musical landscapes we will be exploring together this summer in San Luis Obispo. These recommended recordings are excellent 'gateways' into a deeper appreciation of the related music and will set the stage for your greater appreciation of other works from these composers.
 
Hasta Luego and enjoy!