A Mediterranean Masterclass
The 5:30am alarm wasn’t nearly as brutal as expected! Hopping into the taxi immediately brought that wave of excitement of travel and the anticipation of a new adventure!
The flight was smooth and on time. Although my partner, Norman and I found ourselves in the middle of a hen party, it was relatively tame and we quite enjoyed the buzz of festivities around us! Barcelona Airport was busy but we sailed through passport control and as we were travelling light with only hand luggage, were outside looking for our bus stop in no time!
Our final destination was Girona. I was very grateful to my lovely friend, Ruth, a resident of said city, who had helped me navigate through the travel options online the previous night. My Spanish is OK but my Catalan…not so much!
Having found our stop, judged timings to allow for a quick lunch, we grabbed a sandwich and some water and were on our way! The bus journey was as long as the flight but it was easy and we got a wonderful unexpected tour of Barcelona as we headed to the bus and train stations to collect other passengers. This was a lovely bonus and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing some of the sights, especially a very quick glimpse of the Sagrada de la Familia!
We arrived exactly on time at Girona bus Station and as it was such a beautiful day, we decided to walk to our accommodation. It was only then that the reality of 29º became apparent! However, with the assistance of online maps (how did we manage before!) we found our lovely wee studio apartment within the 20 minutes that had been predicted!
Our apartment was in the old town and couldn’t have been in a more convenient location. Bakeries, cafe’s restaurants, ice cream shops and bars were all just a few moments walk away and the labyrinth of winding streets led us up to the wonders of the cathedral, Jardins de la Francesa and the Banys Àrabs.
The reason for this trip was to lead a workshop and masterclass with the young double bass students of the Conservatori de Música Isaac Albeniz de la Diputació de Girona. At the time of the invitation, the exact date was either to be the Saturday or the Monday! To allow flights to be purchased well in advance, we decided the best option would be to allow for either possibility…and have a cheeky wee mini break…which is exactly what we did!
After unpacking, we took a stroll though the old town, stopping for an aperfetif before meeting up with our lovely friend Ruth and her young sons for dinner. We made plans for the weekend and then settled into our apartment for a good night’s sleep.
The following day, Josep, Ruth’s husband and their sons (the elder being a wonderful young double bassist) came to collect us in Ruth’s brand new car! The 7 seater was perfect for us all…and all our stuff! We picked up Ruth who had been finishing up some work at home and drove into the countryside. Our first stop was to see Ruth and Josep’s house project. It’s going to be one beautiful house, with the most amazing views, drenched in the strong Catalonian sun and wrapped in tangible tranquility. We can’t wait to see the next stages!
As we were all melting in the 29°+ sun, we drove on over to the coast, with the air conditioning and music turned up high…the Spotify playlist even included some Bessy tunes!
We arrived at Palafrugell just in time for a lazy lunch and a dip in the sea! What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday! The sea was so refreshing and the salty water felt like a tonic. I could feel the stresses and strains of a crazy year melt away. I hadn’t been this relaxed in a very long time! After a while, we dried off and drove up a steep winding road to an amazing view point where we took in the breathtaking scenery bathed in the late afternoon sun.
We headed back to Girona as there was an important football match between Girona and Madrid that our hosts were excited to watch. We had actually seen the Madrid team arrive in their fleet of buses that morning!
Back in the old town, Norman and I headed for some dinner and then took in the old town by night. We stumbled on a street party with live band and found ourselves joining in with some of the dancing! We then took the long route back to our apartment via the cathedral. Girona really is a beautiful city and one I would highly recommend a visit if you have the opportunity! We briefly looked into the jazz bar about 30 seconds walk from our apartment before crashing out!
The next day was a gentle day of exploring the old town in the sunshine and eating tapas and ice-cream, rounded off with an extra special dinner with Ruth and family consisting of themed burgers and mystical desserts!
Making use of every minute of our time away, we joined Ruth’s walk and talk tour the next morning. This was a lovely way to see more of the city and we had a lovely time chatting with the members of the group who were all residents of the city, united in their desire to improve their English.
Following the tour, we had some lunch and then it was time to do some work!!
Stanislava Stoyanova is the double bass teacher at the Conservatori and it was she who had invited me to deliver the masterclass and workshop. Stani is Bulgarian and speaks good Catalan and German and her English was much better than she gave herself credit! Having spent 3.5 years in Mallorca with Orquestra Simfonica de Balears, my Spanish is not too bad, albeit a bit rusty! Although Mallorca has its own dialect of Catalan, due to there being over 20 nationalities in the orchestra, Spanish was our uniting language. I can understand a little bit of Catalan but am not able to speak it, so was very grateful to Ruth being on hand to translate! The accompanist for the day, Maria spoke excellent English… so between us we used Spanish, English, Catalan and German words to unite us in the international language of music!
The masterclass sessions with the senior students were great fun. It was a real privilege exploring ways to help them tackle their new repertoire for the term. Stani had set them up well and I am grateful to her for allowing me to work with them.
The juniors were also a fabulous group of young musicians. Some of them had literally just started learning the month before! They were excited to meet Bessy and we had a great session learning to play Frère Jacques and Principal Bass’ solo. We rounded off their session jamming along to a 12 bar blues!
After some refreshments with pastries, we got back to work with both juniors and seniors together. This session began with an extremely poignant performance by the whole group. Very sadly, one of the young double bassists had been seriously ill and had passed away on the day we had arrived. It was a very moving tribute from the young students. We continued this session with an exploration of the world of harmonics using David Heyes’ arrangement of of Kum-ba -ya. It seemed a fitting transition and all rose to the challenge brilliantly.
The group then had a surprise for me and Bessy! They had been working on Bessy’s Theme, Fairy Dance from her first story, “Part One - Europe,” and performed it for us! They had only been working on it for a couple of weeks but gave a wonderful, enthusiastic performance…what a treat! An extra solo rendition of it by Ruth’s son, Andreu Marti agedf 9 was an added bonus!
The final session was the continuation of the masterclass sessions for the seniors who still had to play. These young musicians are so talented and dedicated. They have a long day at school and then attend the Conservatori afterwards for various classes throughout the week.
The day was rounded off with a lovely meal with Stani, Maria and Ruth. It was great to spend time with them and we chatted about the possibility of future collaborations!
Thank you Stani!
The journey home went smoothly and as we touched down in Edinburgh, I felt refreshed physically and mentally and was excited to see my own students!
It was a fantastic trip all round! I loved meeting the double bassists of the Conservatori, getting to use my Spanish again, spending time with Ruth and her lovley family and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the city with Norman. I had visited Girona with my good pal Hazel 13 years ago but certainly hope my next visit back will be sooner than that!
