Out West with the BSO: Marin Alsop provides end-of-tour blog post
The final guest post from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's West Coast tour comes right form the top -- music director Marin Alsop:
With the tour barely over (I'm writing this as we wend our way homeward), I'm still on a high from our thrilling final concert last night! (And feeling a bit exhausted from no sleep and too many hours in the plane, too!)
Ending our first tour together in Eugene, Oregon—where I served as Music Director from 1989-1996—was a real treat for me. Eugene is an ...
Many of the BSO musicians joined me in expressing their appreciation to our amazing donors in person at the beautiful reception they held for all of us after the concert.
Walking out onstage last night to that sold out, whooping audience felt like the perfect way to end a wonderful tour! And finishing with Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony felt refreshing and fun. We played two encores and the crowd was still shouting.
The details of the tour were flawless. BSO Director of Operations and Facilities Alicia Lin and her team handled every minute detail with precision and seamlessness.
The presenters couldn't have been more welcoming and appreciative everywhere we went. And the weather was perfect! (It had been raining all month in Eugene but the clouds parted and the sun came out for the BSO's one day visit—right on cue.)
But, most importantly, the musicians played their hearts out. Whether it was the concert for 1,600 school children in Berkeley, or Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony in Orange County, I felt the musicians pushing their artistic bar higher than ever before in a great display of impeccable ensemble, orchestral warmth and true virtuosity. I couldn't have been more proud.
As you can see from the photo below, absolutely everyone seemed to be having fun! Pianist Lura Johnson and stage manager Ennis Seibert working on the stage set-up (or their choreography?) before the final concert in Eugene.
I'm already looking forward to our next BSO tour.
-- Marin Alsop
