Catch Up Post

It's been a bit busy here lately and instead of trying to do individual posts about everything, I'm throwing it all in here.

Working our way backwards, today we had a concert at an Old Folks' Home.  These are sometimes in a rather sorry state with residents (usually all white) whose families have left the country.  But the one we visited was seemingly in good shape and had a nice chapel where we performed for the residents.  We did a variety of group pieces, solos and finished off with Christmas Carols.  Followed, of course, by tea.

Last night, the girls and I joined the church band to play Christmas Carols for Light Up night at Sam Levy's village.  I blogged about this event last year but there was no parade this year so we opted to play our instruments instead of sing in the "choir" as many other church members did.  John missed the event due to a trip to Ethiopia.

Monday night was decorating night.  The girls have been doing it on Thanksgiving weekend the past few years, but that was so busy this year that it was postponed to a week night.

Weekend business due to our:

Featured Soloist!

Hanging out in the violin section before the concert

Flowers for the soloist

So, Thanksgiving weekend was busy because we had a Harare Chamber Orchestra concert which featured Abigail Macy as the soloist!  She played the first movement of Mozart Concerto No. 4 and did a great job!  She was really well prepared, but even so I couldn't help but be a bit nervous for her.  Sitting in the orchestra while she performed did help a bit - I could focus on my own music.  The Arundel Chapel was packed and the audience loved the performance!  I got a kick out of the text I received from an HIS mom who couldn't come to the concert because she was at a retreat.  She said, 'At this retreat I just overheard the following '...apparently there is a 13 year old girl who is playing a concerto.'"  Fun to be the mom of a kid who is the talk of the town!  It was a great opportunity for her and I'm thrilled that she took advantage of it.  

 Tables set up in the garden

Girls hanging out after dinner

Boys hanging out after dinner

So, a few days before the big concert, we hosted Thanksgiving dinner.  It was the most eclectic American crowd that we've had so far.  African Americans (as in, families from Africa and the US) of various descents (black and Indian) and Asian Americans of Japanese/Chinese descent.  All in all it was still a pretty traditional dinner (and of course we ate too much!)

Which takes us back to two weeks ago Sunday and the Annual Recital.  Eeesh it's been a busy two weeks.  Exciting (Arianna also had students who performed), but tiring.

Cottage Industries

While our kids undoubtedly think that there is more to do in Zimbabwe than there was in Paraguay, there is still a sense that entertainment is not exactly abundant.  So one thing that occurs frequently are fairs - at schools or various properties here in the northern suburbs - which are mostly for small merchants to show their goods.

At one of these fairs (the one at HIS), I discovered that a woman I know runs one of these cottage industries.  When it came time to buy a gift for some pianists at our recital, I decided to try to patronize her shop.  When I asked her where it was located, it turned out that it wasn't her shop but rather a workshop where they also sell retail.   I went with a friend of mine and it was fun to see where they make the pottery from start to finish.  Here's one of the items I bought:

The funny thing is you can't ever find the info for any of these businesses on the internet.   Since the most recent phone book we have is 2006, I'm not sure where you can find out about the businesses unless you know the owners or go to the fairs.   

Messiah in the Southern Hemisphere

Last weekend was the 38th consecutive performance of Handel's Messiah here in Harare by the Marden Singers (local choir) and my second annual performance.  While the music is of course familiar the setting is a bit different - a beautiful 90 degree day with no air con (as it is called here).  It made for one sweaty performance!

The (mostly white) audience was highly appreciative despite the long first half (an hour and a half) and the firm benches they were sitting on.  Tea of course is served at the "interval" (I was told that drinking hot tea cools you off) and wine and cheese were served afterwards.

I was happy to see some representation from the US Embassy community this year - even the Ambassador and his wife were at the first performance.  Previous musical events have not had any embassy attendance so it was a pleasant change.  Hopefully there will be even more at the next big event - when Abigail will be a soloist with the Harare Chamber Orchestra!

UN Day

I've been falling a little behind here on the blog - in part because I'm starting to think that if I don't start publishing my photos in a different way the blog is going to be full.  The last post I wanted to do was all full of pictures, so instead I'm reporting on an event from yesterday while I sort out the photo issue.

The UN day celebration this year was special for me because it featured a lot of music.  Here are two of the violinists in their country dress:

Not only did the celebration feature music, but it was started off by a solo in the spotlight by Abigail, soon joined by two of the other violinists as they came down through the auditorium.  After they reached the stage, the curtain went up and showed the orchestra ready and waiting to join the soloists.  It was a great moment and Abigail did a great job.

Later in the performance I joined the girls in their string quartet since their cellist is on leave from school this semester.  I was especially happy about that performance because Arianna had a rather serious concussion the previous Saturday (after falling off a horse while jumping) and had been on doctor's orders to rest for a week.  The UN Day performance was the first real "back to normal" thing she did and I am incredibly thankful that she is recovering well.

The ceremony ended with the flag parade - which is always an impressive display of the many countries represented at HIS - and the national anthem (of Zimbabwe, of course) .  After the ceremony we once again enjoyed food from the many nations - a great end to a good day!

Two Firsts

This month I've had two firsts here in Zimbabwe - First visit to a mall - an actual mall that is.  Usually if we shop we go to Sam Levy's Village which is a series of shops (it was built in several phases) with outside access to all of them.  So I ended up at the mall downtown for Arianna's PSAT exam!  The Embassy's office of Educate USA is located there and that was where she had her exam.  When we got there I realized it was the first time I'd been in a mall here.  It's a pretty funky building - you can read about it here:  http://inhabitat.com/building-modelled-on-termites-eastgate-centre-in-zimbabwe/.  Or search on Eastgate Centre Harare.

So, my other first was at the Westgate Shopping Centre where we went to see a movie.  John and I went with Abigail and one of her friends to see Gravity last night.  It wasn't my favorite movie but I enjoyed seeing the Westgate Centre - it looked pretty nice though it was hard to tell at night.  We went to an 8 pm show - and it was almost empty.  No late shows here!

Jacaranda Trees

Posting here for those who don't have Facebook - I posted a lot there.

Tree in front of our house on a sunny day!

Trees going in town (Harare).  Some streets have complete canopies.

Combined Schools Concert

About a dozen schools participate in a big event here that usually happens every September.  It was a bit late this year (October 1st) and happily, our girls both participated.  They were part of the orchestra (which was directed by HIS music teacher Roz Whaley) and the string orchestra (which was directed by Arianna's viola teacher and the teacher at a nearby school called Hellenic Academy).

A bit blurry because I turned off the flash to get a decent photo - but it's a pretty good size orchestra, isn't it?

One of my favorite parts of the concert was the marimbas.  I counted them and there were 45!!  You can see some up on the jumbo screens.

If you think that it was a lot of marimba players, the choir had over 500 in it!  You can see all the different school uniforms here, as well as special jackets that the prefects wear.  I think the choir students were mostly from the last two years of high school (form 6) - they had to be selective in order to fit everyone on stage.

The evening was rounded out with a Wind Ensemble (aka band), an a capella vocal group, a Big Band, and a Pipe and Drum Corps.  Yes, that's bagpipes!  One of the local schools has a strong tradition in bagpipes and the students had traveled to Scotland on the last term break.  They were joined by some players from another school that I think is a government school (most, if not all of the schools that participated are private schools).  They were my second favorite part of the night even though I'm not usually a big bagpipe fan.  The drummers were great and it was just impressive to have them all march in playing.