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The Rudolfinum, the Home of the Czech Philharmonic |
CYMO rehearses for the evening concert. |
Tonight we played in the Rudolfinum, the home of the Czech Philharmonic! There were over 800 people in the audience: some Americans, some tourists, and lots of Czechs. The Cultural Attache' to the American Embassy was even there. This was the first time on the tour that we played The Moldau. And when we played it the Czechs cheered and applauded. The stage was very beautiful. It had hydraulic risers. So when you need risers, you just push the appropriate button and a section of the stage rises. The Rudolfinum was originally a Parliament House. It was converted to a concert hall. As we were getting on the bus after the concert, Robert didn't want to get on the bus. Prague Castle was lighted up on the hill. It was a spectacular sight.
The percussionists have been doing work above and beyond their duties. They have been absolutely great. Not only do they have to carry and set up the timpani, but they also have been doing to setting up and tearing down the staging area. We really appreciate them.
Thanks to Wan-Chin Chang for alerting us to the possible phone problem. Here is another number for the hotel in Prague. Perhaps it will work better.
011 420 2 6613-1111
Today was a real working day. We took CD cover pictures in front of the Rudolfinum. We rehearsed in the morning and again in the afternoon. But we did have a very nice break at lunch time to eat, browse in the shops, and explore the city with our groups. We visited the Old Town Square. Some students purchased CD's, toys, and puppets. Some were busy at the hotel re-organizing their luggage. There were reports that many students had lunch at McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken. I had coffee and strudel. We got to listen to a Swiss concert band playing typical music in their lederhosen in the town square. This is so great!
The kids are really taking things in. They're interested in everything - shops, buildings, countryside. They're getting a chance to eat a lot of Czech food. The hotel has a buffet so the students are eating lots. The food has real interesting flavors. They use lots of pepper and soy sauce.
Ethan Brown has been the life of his bus, #3. The owner/operator is named Heine (high-nee). So Ethan refers to it as the Heine bus. He says things are "really tight" on the Heine bus.
This has been a glorious day in Prague. Our many thanks to our wonderful supporters.
See a live scene on a street in Prague. The picture is updated every 10 seconds. To see an updated picture click on the <<Reload>> button of your browser. If you would like to save the picture, place your cursor over the picture, click and hold. You will get a menu. Select, "Save this image as." Release the mouse. Then save as you would any other document.
The orchestra is going to try to be in front of the webcam on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. and/or 2:00 p.m. Czech time. That will be 4:00 a.m. or 5:00 a.m. Pacific. If you would like to see the group, click on street in Prague at 4:00 a.m. or 5:00 a.m. You can check the page out now if you'd like. If you'd rather use the URL, it is
http://www.firstnet.cz/Prvni/Prodejna.eng.html
The webcam is in the window of the Apple Computer Store, Prvni.
Additional information on Prague
Go on to Day Eight - Touring Prague
This page is maintained by Lewis Johnson. For questions or comments please write to lewis_johnson@eee.org.