Frankfurt after a lot

I don't even know how long it's been since I've written. I traveled through Finland for three weeks and the India for another three, so I'd imagine that this posting is the first after approximately 6 weeks. A lot has happened, and honestly, I'm too tired to write about it all. You should look at my photo website to catch up: www.geetaabad.shutterfly.com. Finland + India pictures will be up sometime later this week (Finland is already up). Posting and updating that site has been a feat in itself. I left Mumbai early this morning for Frankfurt via Kuwait, and am staying in a youth hostel just for a night. My flight to Chicago via London is tomorrow at 11:20 AM. At this point, all I can think is the sooner I get home, the better. I had such an amazing summer but now need some time to reflect and just stare at the sky, not to mention the fact that my violin hasn't been properly practiced in some time... I hope you've all had good summers too!

Kuhmo

I have been in Finland since July 13 and am currently in Kuhmo, a small town that is about 100 km from the Russian border. I am playing in the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, which is comparable to something like the Aspen Music Festival in terms of its great artist-faculty and concert series, and how it is so revered in this little town. There are 120 concerts in two weeks, 120 music students, and a full faculty of maybe 50-60 world class musicians from around the world, so you can see how much organization this festival requires. It is incredible out here - full of nature & wilderness, delicious Arctic berries, and shy but friendly Finnish people. Finnish is a strange and difficult sounding language that I cannot understand at all, but most Finns speak great English, and I have been speaking German, too, with some German musicians here. I spent from July 13-15 in Helsinki, sightseeing on my own, and then headed to Tampere, a city about 2 hours north of Helsinki (and the headquarters of Nokia) where I visited a cousin of a cousin and his wife - Amit and Payal. They were great hosts, and I felt so at home, especially with all the tasty Indian food. Food has been somewhat of an issue here. We eat at the festival cafeteria, and after many years of music festivals, I know to expect that food will probably be sub-par. However, in one instance here, I took a bite of the vegeterian entree (paella) and ended up spitting out clam. Attention to all: fish is not considered vegetarian. Therefore, if something has fish in it, or if you eat fish, the food and you both are NOT vegetarian. Needless to say, I was not happy with that experience. Masanori, my old BoCo cellist colleague, is also here, and he lives in a beautiful fully equipped apartment, so I have resorted to cooking there. It makes everyone happy because I can cook (I would hope) better than the cafeteria and so we all get to spare our stomachs. I have to go now, but perhaps I can write more later. Moi moi! (Goodbye - and actually hello, too - in Finnish)

Empty Room

I'm sitting on the floor and taping editions of violin parts from Brahms Trios together. Our trio coach, Frau Kilcher, lent me her Henle editions and I figured, hey, might as well copy all 4 trio parts - well, 3 but 2 different editions from Brahms himself of the B Major Trio. It's empty enough here for the doors to echo when they shut, for the cold to seep into my body when I sit on the floor, and for me to hear the old fridge buzzing away in the middle of the night. I'm noticing the parts of my room where mold is growing and also the fact that the daddy-long-legs have now been replaced by giant mutant-like flies. I cannot deny that in some ways I'm thrilled to leave this house. But let it be said that we enjoy a truly beautiful German garden, and this was my first time living in a house that's at least 150 years old. The end of one year/officially half a school year has come. After performances galore, the Brahms Chamber Music Competition of last week, and four different parties (including the surprise goodbye party Maaike and I gave Frederika & Mathilde last Friday), things are winding down. At this time in three days, I'll be sleeping in a hostel in the Olympic Village in Helsinki. Where has the time gone? I came here on September 19, 2006. It's been almost 10 months. During this time, I have learned German & can understand a lot of French, adapted to life without a clothes dryer, have seen one film in the movie theaters, traveled, lived alone, dated a French guy, acquired a set of German parents aka my old landlords, lived with less than half of my normal wardrobe, ate breakfast every day, gained weight, had a constant case of sniffles due to the immense moisture here, lost weight, stopped wearing makeup and drying my hair, became completely ok with spider inhabitants, cooked more than I ever have in my life, learned to truly drink and enjoy beer, taught English, wore (am wearing!) sweatshirts in July, and made friends from literally around the world. I played Ysaye, Prokofiev, Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, new music from student composers, Bach, Lutoslawski, Gershwin, Faure, Bloch, Ravel, cheesy wedding tunes, Handel (and Halverson), Vivaldi, Nick Tolle, Harbison, Beethoven, the viola, and of course Sevcik. I've had 2 German teachers, a string quartet + a piano trio/duo teacher, 2 private violin teachers, and 2 master class experiences with guest professors. I cried because I felt completely alone when Virginia Tech occurred. I cheered when Democrats beat out Republicans in elections. I discovered Simon Fischer's Basics and am a changed violinist. I learned to count out in euros as comfortably as dollars and nickels. I danced to Turkish music and to atonal chords. I watched all three Shrek films in Spanish. I ate in Parisian boulangeries and Antwerpen chocolateries and Turkish donor stands and the Musik Hochschule Mensa (cafeteria)...and of course there were pretzels. I saw the Berliner Philharmoniker. I experienced the World Cup in Germany. I learned to never sign up with Deutsche Telecomm again. I played musical chairs but in German. That's not even scratching the surface. What a year it's been here. I can't wait for what comes next.

India

I am going to India from August 1 - 22 with my parents and brother, Neil. We haven't traveled together to India since 2002, and so I'm especially excited that this trip will be shared as a nearly complete family (Neetu will be greatly missed). I felt an especially deep calling to India this year, and I don't know why. I think being in Germany and therefore away from my two homelands has made me reflect even more on my identity and what it consists of. It's easy to hop from Indian to American culture and back and not even have to think about it...when I'm in India or America, that is. Germany is a bit different. I now live in a neutral third party where I can't cling to former identities. I had a hard time with this at first, but after thinking about it and sorting things out with Neetu (my brilliant sister whose main research deals with cultural/immigrant identity issues), I realized that 1). I don't have to define myself based on anyone else's definitions or expectations (aka "you speak broken Hindi and therefore you aren't Indian" - I say BS to that, and won't prescribe to what someone tells me about who I am) and 2). being Indian-American and therefore having a 'mixed idenitity' is beautiful for just that reason - it's not the former or the latter, but rather something that can be defined based on what values one chooses to preserve from both cultures. For example, my cousin in Germany is raising Ahren, my nephew, to speak Marwari and Marathi fluently. At the age of 4, he has a wonderful command of Marwari. Contras this with my Indian tongue, which is somewhat functional but is more or less a mess of three different languages awkwardly strung together. It's something that I will sort out via Hindi classes once I move back to the States, or rather, once my German is fluent enough to my liking. Didi, however, allows Ahren to eat meat, something that our Marwari culture does not support. I personally do not desire to ever eat meat nor will I raise children who do. The question here is not over who is wrong or right, but rather, which values we've both chosen to uphold. It's all relative from person to person, family to family. Being someone who is very interested in languages and cultures in the world at large, I'm sure that I'll always have identity issues. And in the end, they're good for us - they build character. Understanding comes, however, when I realize that I am who I am and that's all that matters.

Imagine

Hi! I know I've not written for awhile, and I will later when I have more time. However, I just listened to John Lennon's "Imagine" and as cliche as it is, I have to put the lyrics up because they really speak truth. Enjoy :) Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living for today... Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people Living life in peace... You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people Sharing all the world... You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one

save the world? Hm.

...or at least the Fjords in Norway. A friend sent me an interesting email concerning a discussion she had with someone else. They were talking about the planet and its doom etc. etc. and this person said, "I think we need to work from a more love-based perspective rather than from a fear-driven one." I know, that sounds all yoga-y and New Age but that comment taps into something that underlies the basic reason for discord on the planet. Fear. I prefer to not define it as "good" or "bad" but rather a powerful emotion & instinct that influences everyone in some way or another. Fear has its place, but when problem solving in general, it's probably not the best stance to work from. I've never had kids, but from what I understand, the best parents work from love and not fear. The earth is like a child for all of us in that we have to take care of it and do the best we can to ensure for a safe future. I understand that not everyone can go out and afford a hybrid car, but such drastic changes aren't required on everyone's behalf (cracking down on overfishing in the oceans - see an earlier entry - = drastic change that should happen.). It's all about the greatness in small things. Since living in Europe, I feel as though my lifestyle is very different and much more aware. For example, I can't think of the last time I used a dryer for my clothes, I use candles all the time when serving dinner and in other instances in order to save electricity, and I take a shower for about 7 minutes during which most of the time the water is turned off. I have yet to see one garbage disposal in a sink here (everyone composts) and the German system of recycling is one of the most efficient and well organized I've ever come across. Europeans keep their heating on an absolute minimum, and while the chilly temperature does initially take some getting used to, there is much more sense in the end in putting on an extra sweater than upping the thermostat. Europeans have had to adapt to the conservationist lifestyle early on simply because their natural resources are so limited. It's as though America's greatest strength (our abundance of natural resources) fuels and provokes our greatest weakness (our need for excessive luxury and comfort - I mean, large Italian restaurants who require tomato paste aside, do we really need electronic can openers?). Our ability to change and innovate as a collective group is perhaps the most amazing aspect of human civilization. It has gotten us this far in our survival on this planet, and I don't see why it can't take us even further.

I have the memory of a goldfish...

...meaning I forget everything every 5 minutes. Please read this and help accordingly. Pass it along to anyone who can contribute something. Thanks! Dear Friends and Collective Wisdom, Most of you know me from my stream of press releases and information about the artists I represent. Today, I'm writing to ask for your help in connection with a unique event: the Iraq Summer Performing Arts Academy in Erbil, Northern Iraq, July 14 - 22, 2007. American Voices (http://www.americanvoices.org/), a not-for-profit organization based in Houston, is partnering with the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and the Iraqi Ministries of Culture in Baghdad and Kurdistan to create a Summer study program for Iraq's young musicians and dancers and its established cultural institutions. including the School of Music and Dance in Baghdad, the Iraq National Symphony Orchestras and the Orchestras of Erbil and Suleimaniya, the Iraq National Folk Dancing Ensemble and the Institutes of Fine Arts of Erbil, Kirkuk and Suleimaniya. This will reach approximately 250 Iraqis, with the emphasis on young people aged 14 to 25. A faculty of ten cultural specialists from the U.S. will introduce music and dance students from throughout the country to Jazz, Broadway, Hip Hop and other uniquely American performing arts. In addition to the educational elements of this program, three gala concert evenings on July 17, 21 and 22 will culminate in all of Iraq’s three orchestras united for the first time on one stage. This is where I'm asking for your help. Would any of you be able to donate or give us some ideas of where we could get donations of the following scores and parts for Mozart, Schubert or Haydn quartets and any standard rep quintets or trios (especially Haydn & Mozart)? If you can help with any of these items, please contact me at jamesarts@worldnet.att.net. Your help is greatly appreciated and will be a tremendous gesture of good will toward the people of Iraq. Many thanks and all good wishes, Jeffrey James -- Jeffrey James Arts Consulting 45 Grant Avenue Farmingdale, NY 11735 USA Tel: 516-586-3433 E-mail: jamesarts@worldnet.att.net Website: http://www.jamesarts.com