The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra is on tour in China, where they will perform concerts in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Ningbo. WCLV has signed up three orchestra members as "field reporters" to send back pictures, video, audio, and text of their experiences.
Day 1 update from David Burnett, Tuba
As you now by know, we've successfully settled in for the night at our hotel in Beijing.
The trip over was actually quite comfortable, with a small delay in the Chicago flight making our China connection a bit of a brisk-paced affair. We never saw darkness in our journey over, leaving many of us feeling like this whole trip has been a one day affair.
Morale is very high in the orchestra, with a vast majority chomping at the bit to even get some practice time on their instruments!
Tomorrow we will tour the Great Wall and hold our first full rehearsal later in the evening.
Plenty of time is allotted between sights due to the seemingly impossible (and impassible) traffic congestion. A 30km drive from the airport to the hotel took 90 minutes.
They say that no news is good news, and it certainly was the case today. The organization of this tour has been so well done that everything was seamless.
With high hopes and one clear vision, the orchestra will get much-needed rest tonight in preparation for our 8 days on the ground.
Photos by David Burnett.