Cold in Italy... not as good.

Buono Sera!

We finally started rehearsing on Wednesday! I began rehearsals for Mahler No. 1, and the chamber work I'm in, the Dvorak Wind Serenade. It was really nice to have few days to get oriented with the city (and get into a more regular sleeping schedule), but by Wednesday, I was definitely ready to finally start the music festival. We've only had sectionals so for for the Mahler, but it's been going really well! We have a great brass group... brass members from CCM, Rice, San Franscisco Conservatory, Eastman, and others. It be getting loud. The Dvorak Serenade is incredible... I'm playing 3rd horn on it, which has been a great challenge...amazing music.

So the last three days I've been working on a head cold... not so good. I think my sinuses are just acclimating themselves maybe? Not so sure... all I know is that yesterday I couldn't hear out of my left ear...fantastic. BUT so many great things have happened the last few days...

We met a incredibly friendly and amazing family that are friends (or possibly related) to woman that own this one gelateria in one of the squares close to where we rehearse. We have run into them multiple times, and they have kept inviting us back for free gelato at the store! They are hilarious...and very eager to speak with us, despite our knowledge of Italian is the same as their knowledge of English...but it's great. They found out we were musicians and invited us back to play for them. I haven't uploaded us playing for them yet, but here is a picture of us with the family:

I have some really amazing pictures from last night with the family... we got several other spoleto-ers to come and sing (the woman in the center is a vocalist as well!) and all of us played/sang with the family. It was incredible... they also invited Pam and I out with their family to visit a lake outside of the town, but we had a rehearsal and couldn't make it. There is a chamber concert tonight (Strauss Serenade!) and afterwards we are going back to the gelateria to say goodbye to them... the family goes home tomorrow :(

So, a few changes in our trip this weekend... Pamcakes needs to kick ass in Memphis/Ottawa/Milwaukee, so we are postponing our trip this weekend. However, I'm tagging along with Mario, Tiffany, Jeremy, and Austin to Florence! Mario had wanted to make a trip to Pompeii later in the festival, so we plan on doing that then. I have many afternoons/Sundays off, so I plan on doing Rome during that time. I think I might even do it on my own. It's probably best to split up The Vatican and the rest of Rome into several trips, so that will be my plan. As Toritown says, gotta have a plan.

Well, my battery is almost dead, and we're getting ready to head to FLORENCE! I will update when I get back!