Iāve just returned from an epic tour of Asia with Break of Reality, through American Music Abroad, a program of the US State Department. As musical ambassadors, we performed 40 concerts and outreach activities across 5 countries. It is not lost on me that I was abroad on a government-sponsored program engaging in beautiful, human-to-human cultural exchange at the precise time that my home country was taking a very dark turn, but thatās all Iām going to say about that. I never want to forget the experiences I had on this trip, and I figure that a surefire way to make sure something doesnāt disappear is to publish it on the internet. PART 1: Japan Our first stop was the Japanese island of Okinawa, a few hours on a plane from Tokyo. Having only been to Osaka and Kyoto before, I was struck by the comparative calm of Okinawa. We stayed on a quiet street with a beautiful view of the sea. Directly across the street was a humble, traditional izakaya where we took many of our meals. I loved the rustic, wooden aesthetic and the display at the front of fresh fish. We performed four outreach concerts and one big public concert over three days. The first outreach was extremely touching: we played at a school for special-needs children. We didn't talk too much about the music, we just played. The kids loved to clap along to the more rhythmic tunes, some of them jumping up and dancing along. The principal of the school had spent the evening before personally handpainting a banner with our names, faces and instruments on it that hung behind us in the auditorium/gym as we played. It was at this school that we first realized the seriousness of the "shoes-off" policy in Japan. We entered one part of the school, to visit with the principal in his office, and we took off our shoes and put on a pair of provided slippers. Patrick, at 6'7", was only able to get his toes into the slippers and the other teachers at the school found this hilarious. Once we'd had our visit, we went back outside, changed out of the slippers and back into shoes, and then walked to the gym where it was shoes off again. All of our workshops were performed either in slippers or socked feet! We also played for and with a young orchestra, an orphanage full of sweet and affectionate children, and a college music conservatory. The cool thing is that, when we do these workshops, no matter where in the world we are, the questions are similar everywhere. People want to know about our carbon fiber cellos, how old we were when we started playing, how the band got together, etc. Our fearless leader, Shina, was organizing such a visit for the very first time, and she did an incredible job. The success of these visits is very much contingent upon the organizers, and she really stepped up. Our first big concert took place in a grand concert hall in a modest suburb. It was very well-attended, and having performed already in Japan was prepared for the fact that audiences there are not extremely effusive. The applause is generally polite, but this crowd did get excited when we played the Game of Thrones Theme! We also collaborated with a lovely shamisen player named Yui, in a traditional Japanese song. The shamisen is a plucked, 3-string instrument with a round body a bit smaller than a banjo. We felt bad, because she had to tune her strings up a fourth to match our key, and accidentally broke a string as she was tuning! But she was a wonderful musician, and the collaboration was very natural. Food-wise, Okinawa is very different from mainland Japan, and one night we went to a traditional Okinawan restaurant to sample the local cuisine. We removed our shoes and sat at a low table on tatami mats, but Patrickās long legs did not fit and his feet went out the other side of the table! The boys had a vast array of colorful dishes, most of them pork-based. I had a piece of paper with me explaining in Japanese that I am a gluten-free vegetarian, and when I gave it to our waitress she laughed at me! A pity laugh, Iām sure. It was hilarious. She was kind enough to have the chef prepare a bowl of a unique vegetable to Okinawaābitter melon. It was way too bitter for me, but Iām glad I tried it anyway. My favorite dining experience was actually kaiten-sushi, or conveyer-belt sushi. This has made it to the US, but in Japan it is so unbelievably efficient. You just order whatever you want from a touch screen at your table, and your freshly-prepared dish comes round the belt in 5 minutes. At the end of the meal someone comes over with a ruler to measure how high your stack of empty plates is, and you pay per plate. Simple and delicious! On our last night there, we visited āAmerican Village,ā a complex of restaurants, shopping and entertainment that is popular with the American troops stationed at the military base there. While wandering around deciding where to have dinner, we happened into an arcade. We stopped dead in our tracks when we saw a man playing an interactive dancing game similar to Dance Dance Revolution. This guy was seriousāhe was dressed in gym clothes and had special shoes and gloves, as well as his own personal fan for cooling off. And his feet were moving faster and with more precision than any human Iāve ever seen! We stared at him for a while, until we thought, of course, to film him. We put a video of him, as well as our amazed faces, on Facebook, and it got 17 million views, more than any music video weāve ever put up! We also visited the US Conculate in Naha, the biggest city in Okinawa, to meet with the people who organized our residency. It was a small team, but everyone was so warm and welcoming. Most importantly, at the consulate we met Washin-Tan, official mascot of the Naha Consulate, who was giving the mascot of the US Embassy in Tokyo, a run for its money. Washin-tan exemplifies Japanese ākawaiiā (cute) culture. Dolores, the wonderful woman responsible for our visit and also responsible for the creation of Washin-tan, explained that the Japanese were the first to figure out that round things are cute. So, everything is round: Pikachu, Hello Kitty, etc etc. Washin-tan is an eagle with a round face and big eyes. Heās adorable! I even got a stuffed Washin-Tan to take with me on my travels. Thanks so much to Shina, Dolores, and everyone else who made our first stop on tour such a delight. PART 2: Malaysia After an extremely long travel day from Japan, including a 7-hour layover in Taipei, we checked into our hotel in Kuala Lumpur around 2am. The next morning, we had a live performance and interview at a local radio station at 8am. We were exhausted but so excited to be in a new country! Also, the radio host was so energetic that it brought up our energy levels vicariously. After the radio, we headed straight to soundcheck and rehearsal for our concert that night. We knew we were to be collaborating with a local musician, Alena Murang, but we didnāt know much else about her other than that she played the sape (a traditional Malaysian instrument). It turns out that Alena not only plays the sape beautifully, she also sings, and is committed to preserving the traditional pagan music from her home state of Sarawak, on the island of Borneo. She taught us two beautiful songs by ear, and we filled in Break of Reality-style accompaniments around the tunes, and she also improvised beautifully with one of our songs, Star. The collaboration was smooth, natural, and fun! We were able to prepare all 3 songs together in about an hour. The concert that evening, which was preceded by a press conference, was a lovely welcome to Malaysia. It was packed with a few hundred enthusiastic people, and in greeting the crowd afterwards for signatures and selfies, we realized that many of them were young people. Iām always thrilled to perform for a younger audienceāmust nurture future supporters of live music! After the concert, we headed to a breathtaking spot: Helipad Lounge. Itās a real former helipad on top of an extremely tall building, that has been turned into a bar/lounge. There is not a railing around the top, only a ribbon and a few feet of space (this would of course NEVER exist in the US), so the 360 views are uncompromised. We took a LOT of pictures. The highlight of our second and final day in KL was performing at the residence of the US Ambassador to Malaysia, Kamala Lakhdir. She had moved into her home and begun work there exactly one week prior to our concert. But she was extremely gracious, and seemed settled and comfortable as far as we could tell. We played an acoustic mini-concert, and since things had gone so well with Alena the previous night, she joined us again for two songs. It was a beautiful evening, and they set up food trucks (a true American tradition) outside. There were about 120 guests; Iām not sure who they all were but most were connected to the Embassy in some way. We had another early departure the next morning (6am) to catch a flight to Kota Kinabalu. KK is the biggest city in Sabah, a state on the island of Borneo. Borneo is a huge island, partly occupied by Malaysia and partly by Indonesia. Itās a couple of hours by plane from KL. We touched down, grabbed lunch, and headed to a University to give a class/workshop to music students. They were extremely shy to ask questions (sometimes itās like pulling teeth), but after the class they all came up on stage and wanted selfies and to talk with us individually and ask questions. Maybe they were all afraid to ask in front of each other! We then headed to the library for another mini-concert/ Q&A session. By the time that ended, we were thoroughly exhausted and happy to get back to the hotel. One thing I know about myself, that was reinforced on this trip, was that early morning call times, and especially early morning flights, do not agree with my body, and tend to make me suffer throughout the day. But, playing music and interacting with new people is such an energizing thing that I was always able to get through it. Though itās a big city, KK feels much more like a beach town than KL. We were staying right on the water, and every night walked along the waterfront through a massive market selling fish, produce, and countless other things day and night. We ended up eating delicious Thai food overlooking the ocean, followed by a visit to a bar that serves drinks and foot massages (really!). We frequented both these establishments more than once during our time in KK. Our day off in KK was one of the most memorable on the tour. We started by taking a boat out to Sapi island (about 20 minutes away), through a bright blue, sunny bay. There, we all strapped on some gear and ziplined between it and another island. I had ziplined once before, probably 25 years ago at summer camp, before I was old enough to fear anything. I was a bit nervous to jump off the platform, but once I did, it was a thrilling one-minute ride above the water. We were with our whole Malaysian āteamā: Spencer from American Music Abroad who accompanied us to Japan and Malaysia and then headed home, and Mike, Shannon and Hisham from the embassy. Everyone went through with the ride and loved it! In the afternoon, we got special permission to visit some animals in a wildlife reserve on the edge of the city. We met Joe, an adorable baby elephant, and played some cello for him. Joe was much more interested in eating carrots, consuming about 15 during the course of our 3-minute performance. We also played for some orangutans, and fared slightly better, at least drawing them to the front of their area where they sat and listened and regarded us quizzically. Borneo does have a lot of amazing wildlife. Iād love to explore it more if I ever get a chance to return. The next day began with an interview at KupiKupiFM radio, a name I will remember forever because it was so fun to say., then a soundcheck and rehearsal for our big concert that night. Our collaborations in KK were wonderful: we did āYesterdayā with a guitarist named Roger Wang, which came together really quickly because heās so amazing, and two songs with a group called Bamboo Woods. They are just incredible! Itās a group of students who play traditional bamboo instruments: flutes, percussion instruments, etc. Their energy and passion for the music is infectious. When we played with them, we didnāt add much to what they were doing because they didnāt need it. There were another couple hundred people in this audience, also young! Thn something bad happened. After the concert, it was pretty late so we went to the only restaurant that was open, a diner style place that was still bustling at 11pm. We were starving, so we were all bent over our menus for a few minutes. After we ordered, I realized my bag was missing. It was hung over the back of my chair, and must have been swiped by someone very quickly. The people at the restaurant said they saw someone running down the stairs, but couldnāt identify him on the surveillance camera. I still have no idea what happened, and was surprised at the brazenness of it. But, much to my relief, my passport was in my hotel room at the time and my phone was in my hand, so I didnāt lose either of these things, and I only lost about $70 in cash. The rest of the night was spent cancelling my credit cards and doing all the other fun things you do when you get robbed. The embassy people, Mike and Shannon, were amazing and helped me every step of the way. I did feel very light for the next few days, only carrying my phone and hotel key wherever I went! Our last day was really special; we started it with an outreach/workshop at an art institute, and then visited a hospital, where we passed out gift bags to sick children and their families, and then performed in the atrium where people could sit and listen to us or look out the window from any floor. I know it sounds clichĆ©, but seeing what those families are going through really put my own problems, such as losing some material possessions, in perspective. It was nice to be able to brighten their days a little with music. Our final evening was spent watching the sunset and toasting a beautiful week in Malaysia. PART 3: Korea The travel to Seoul, South Korea, was another long slog: we left Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia on a 4am flight (weād all gotten a few hours of confused sleep in the hotel prior to our departure at 1:45am), and we had a 3-hour layover in Guangzhou, China, before reaching Seoul in the late afternoon. The drive to the hotel was also very long, but it was lovely to see a good amount of the city at the magic hour just before sunset. Seoul felt the most like New York, which was comforting to me at this point in the tour, feeling like weād been gone for a long time but also knowing we were still to be traveling for several more weeks. Though Seoul is a huge, bustling metropolis, it has an austere elegance. Large, streamlined buildings dominate the city, or at least where we went. The first night we just wandered around groggily, and looked up a lot. The next day our first stop was the US Embassy, where we had a jam session with two musicians who play traditional Korean instruments. Kyungso played the gayageum, a visually stunning plucked string instrument, with 12 strings over 12 different bridges attached to a board like a zither. She performed a piece for usāin addition to her masterful playing, we were struck by the fact that we couldnāt totally tell how much was improvised and how much was pre-composed (we learned it was much more of the latter), but the whole thing had a dream-like, improvisatory feel. The Yeo-Joo played on a traditional Korean double-headed drum, and he sang a bit as well. His performance was incredibly visceral, but also complicated rhythmically! He taught Ivan one of the rhythmsāthey do not fit into Western organizations of duple, triple, etc. The one he taught Ivan had 36 small beats that had to be played before the pattern repeated. Ivan taught it to all the rest of us later, but it took us 3 times as long to learn. Once we learned it, though, we all got obsessed with it, tapping it on our laps in the car rides and trying to play it on our cellos. Anyway, after we heard them play individually and they heard us play a tune or two, we jammed out, and then went for bibimbap (YUM) and artisanal coffee all together. One thing that became apparent on this tour is that Break of Realityās sound meshes well with almost any plucked instrument! Maybe we should tour with a sape, a shamisen, and a gayageum in the future. That evening was our first concert in Korea, in an art gallery. The venue wins for best backdrop of the tour: they actually painted our logo onto the back wall of the space. The sound guys were amazing as well. We had a great time performing for the enthusiastic audience of around 200 people. There werenāt as many young people in the audience as there had been in Malaysia, but I assume thatās just a function of how the concert was advertised. Itās cool that all of the Embassy-organized concerts we gave (thatās all the concerts on this tour) were totally free and open to the public! The idea is to reach as many people from all walks of life as possible, and I think every country really stepped up to this challenge and brought in healthy, diverse audiences. After the concert, on Kyungsoās recommendation, we headed out to the Hongdae area to get some dinner. We had a lot of fun walking around there, but unfortunately Patrickās 6ā7ā body was defeated by some steps and he ended up with a broken foot! We traveled to Busan, Koreaās second largest city, the next day by high-speed train. Train travel is so pleasant compared to air travel, especially considering that an Embassy vehicle picked up our luggage and our cellos and drove them to Busan, so we werenāt schlepping the huge cases on the train. This was a HUGE help for Patrick in particular. Mark from the Embassy got him crutches so he could move around, but carrying things was out of the question. Busan is a large port city, with beautiful beaches and lots of water views. Our hotel was right on the beach, and though it was fairly cold, there was an outdoor spa with a series of hottubs of different temperatures. Korea is spa heaven, I realized. No complaints. We had a wonderful, full program day in Busan. In the morning we worked with a truly inspiring organization: the Dreaming Tree Orchestra. The director explained to us that the orchestra is designed as a welcoming community for the children of immigrants to Korea (many from China and central Asia) who unfortunately face discrimination. The orchestra performed for us in a masterclass setting, and then we played for them. When we got to the improv portion of our presentation, where we improvise a song and then break it down for discussion, one little girlās hand shot up, and her friend explained that she wanted to come up on stage and improvise with us. She was fearless, and had no problem making up a solo. Her bravery inspired several other kids to join us as well. In the afternoon, we did a pop-up concert at a very cool shared workspace for tech entrepreneurs, and a local radio interview/performance. That evening we headed out to explore Busan a bit. We wandered around the fish market for a bit, but my vegetarian self got freaked out by the many tanks full of eels, so we got a drink at a speakeasy-type bar and some ice cream at an artisanal ice cream place that served their cones with chunks of honeycomb. On our way back into the hotel, we heard what sounded like a Beyonce song being played loudly in the bar in the basement. Now, I love all things Beyonce, so we all headed down to check it out. Turns out it was a live band with a lead singer who sounded EXACTLY like Beyonce! She was so amazing that we stayed listening for hours, through 3 sets, until after 1 in the morning. This singer sang with mind-blowing intensity and passion, even at the end of the night when there were no more than 10 people in the bar. We learned that the band is from the Philippines, and we got great recommendations from them for our upcoming trip there! We said goodbye to Busan the next morning, and headed back in the direction of Seoul, stopping for one day in Daegu (Koreaās third-largest city) for a concert at a beautiful new hall there. We collaborated with a well-known opera singer on two songs, including the well-known āArirang.ā She sounded amazing, and wore the most incredible dress. Somehow I managed not to get a picture of itāoops. Our last day, we ended up back near Seoul, in a suburb called Pangyo, where we played a concert in a HUGE mall. The show was in a real auditorium, and there were tons of kids there. We even had time to do a little shopping beforehand! Outside the hall was a station where they were serving huge globes of cotton candy with cute bear faces on them, apparently free with a certain purchase amount anywhere in the mall. This is the type of adorable and wonderful thing that we saw all over Korea. Back at the hotel, we said goodbye to our team. Mark and Maria from the Embassy, their intern Jay, and Markās son Alex who joined us in Busan, all went above and beyond to make us comfortable and happy the whole time. We are so grateful to them for organizing and facilitating a packed week in Korea so seamlessly. PART 4: Mongolia Of all the countries we visited on the tour, I was most curious about Mongolia. I didnāt know anyone who was from there, or had even been there, so I had no firsthand information going into the experience. All I knew was to prepare for extreme cold and extreme pollution. So, leaving Korea, I bundled up into my warmest jacket, hat, scarf, ski gloves, and air filtering mask. When we arrived at the airport in Ulaanbaatar, we were greeted not so kindly by the guys at customs as we tried to get into an expedited line for the sake of Patrickās injury, and then we waited an extremely long time for our bags. And yes, when we stepped out of the airport, it was FREEZING cold and the air smelled strongly of smoke. By the time we started off toward the hotel, it was already dark out so we didnāt get to see too much of the city driving in. So it was a little intense at the beginning, but once we checked in and met up with Erika from the Embassy who would be our host for the week, everything brightened up. Erika was so sweet and helpful, explaining to us the plan for the week. They had organized our visit to coincide with the 30th anniversary of US-Mongolia relations, and it would culminate in a big concert featuring us and the cultural pride of Mongolia, the Morin-Khuur ensemble. More on this astounding group a little later. The first day was a day off, and though Andrew powered through with some sightseeing outside the city, the rest of us stayed behind to rest. We hadnāt had a full day off in Korea, and had gone to 4 cities in 6 days, so we were exhausted! Ivan and I ventured out on a walk to get lunch, about a half-mile walk away. He was a good sport and agreed to let me drag him to a vegan restaurant, where we were rewarded for our efforts with delicious, warming soups and stews. By the time we got back to the hotel, my extremities were going numb even with all the outerwear, tights under my jeans, and double socks! Even in the sunniest part of the day, the temperature hovered around 0 degrees Fahrenheit, got down to -20 at night. Our first program day started with a big press conference with media. We felt bad when they asked us questions about our experience in Mongolia, or what had surprised us about the country, because we really hadnāt seen or done much by that point! We had to just keep saying that we were excited about the upcoming events, which we really were! That afternoon we performed a concert for about 700 children at the Childrenās Palace. Itās an amazing placeākind of an extracurricular one-stop shop, where kids can do all sorts of activities after school. Many of the children were brought in from the ger districts around the periphery of the city. Ger is the Mongolian term for what we know as a yurt, and many people live in them, not just out in the more remote areas but right in the city. Apparently they are very warm and cozy during the winter. Anyway, the audience of children was extremely spirited, but they were also very attentive. They had great questions, especially one little kid in the front row whose hand shot up every time we asked for questions. The next morning was our first rehearsal for the collaboration with the Morin Khuur Ensemble. MKE is an orchestra made up of 12 Morin Khuur (āhorsehead fiddleā) players, two horsehead bass players, two western cello players, a pianist, and about 10-15 wind, brass and percussion players. The Morin Khuur is an astoundingly beautiful instrument, and every single person in the ensemble is a virtuoso (we didnāt ask but I imagine its extremely competitive to win a spot in the group). It has two strings, tuned to B-flat and F, a scroll carved like a horseās head, and is placed in the lap and bowed underhanded like a Chinese erhu. The strings are made of tiny silk fibers, and the sound is dark, mournful, and expressive. The intonation and precision of the group on par with, say, the violin sections in top orchestras in the US. As part of the concert, their concertmaster was to play a mini-concerto with the orchestra, and they performed it for us in the rehearsal as a special treat. Iām not exaggerating when I say we just stared, jaws agape, while they played. It was such sweeping, beautifully music, played with absolute mastery. Altogether we collaborated with them on four pieces: the American and Mongolian national anthems; a piece of theirs, and a piece of ours (Solid Ground.). The piece of theirs is a musical depiction of two white horses of Chinggis Kahn, and it is fast and furious. We were nervous about what we played fitting in with what they were already doing, but it came together very smoothly. The rehearsal was over within 30 minutes, mostly because the group and conductor are so good and everything sounded polished right away. That evening, we played for a Game of Thrones themed happy hour event at Ulaanbaatarās only jazz bad, which was hilarious. They even had an iron throne set up in the entry so people could take pictures. Before we performed, we got to hear a throat singing performance, which blew me away. I have no idea how they can control the pitch of the overtones, but itās astounding. After that a contortionist gave a performance. She was standing on one hand, atop a precarious-looking thin silver pipe she had placed on the floor minutes before. It was terrifying. Apparently a huge amount of all the contortionists in companies like Cirque du Soleil originally come from Mongolia. Who knew? Later on, Erika told us that those opening acts were scheduled mostly for our benefit, so we could see these traditional Mongolian things when we had so much to pack into a short visit. Thatās how caring and thoughtful everyone who planned our visit was! The following day consisted of another rehearsal with MKE, another media interview and one more outreach at a public library, and the day after that came the big concert. It took place at the stunning, grand state opera house and ballet theatre. One of the things that had made scheduling the event so complicated was that we had to share the space with a production of āSwan Lakeā that was being put up the same weekend. When we went to drop off our cellos before the soundcheck we had to be careful not to run into the ballerinas. We knew the US Ambassador to Mongolia was going to be there, but we didnāt know that it would be a totally full house or that the former president of the country would be there! We had a meet and greet with both of them just before the concert, and they were so nice and appreciative that we were there. Some of the concert organizers expressed concern our casual concert attire, given how formal and important this event was, and also given that the MKE members were absolutely decked out in gorgeous white robes and fancy turreted hats, but we stayed on brand, mostly out of necessity (our suitcases were overflowing as it was) but a little out of principle as well: we try not to alter our dress too much based on venue. It keeps things consistent! Plus, there was no way we could begin to compete with those amazing white outfits. The concert went seamlessly, and afterwards we took lots of pictures with the ensemble and audience members. We were so proud of Erika, who handled the many cooks in the kitchen putting this event together with such elegance and grace, and didnāt let the stress get to her. After the concert was over, at the request of the Ambassador, we agreed to go perform a few songs at a big reception she was throwing, also for the 30th Anniversary. Some of the several hundred guests had been at the concert, but some hadnāt, and she wanted everyone to hear us. She did a great job of getting everyoneās attention for us to begin playing, but once one person started talking to their neighbor during our performance, the room became an echo chamber and suddenly there was a huge din. We werenāt amplified, so we didnāt have a chance of being heard, but we shredded a couple of songs for fun anyway. We made a quick exit after that so we could grab some dinner at a restaurant called Veranda, which had become our favorite and which we visited three times in 6 days, and get some sleep before our 5:15am departure the next day. Our week in Mongolia was probably the biggest surprise of the tourāI am a person who hates being cold more than almost anything, and can now admit that I was nervous about being uncomfortable and therefore cranky the whole time. But the minute we began engaging with its kind, welcoming, and strong people all those apprehensions fell away. Certainly the close engagement with the MKE and the beautiful instrument they play is something Iāll never forget, and indeed hope to experience again someday. Maybeā¦in the summer. PART 5: Philippines We left Mongolia, once again, on a painfully early flight, and returned to Korea on the way for a 7-hour layover in Seoul. We finally arrived at the hotel in Manila around 11:30am and went straight to bed. The next day was a rest day which we used for some much-needed rest. We did make a mid-day excursion and discovered the most delicious dessert in all the land: mango sticky rice. Fresh mangoes in the Philippines are out of this world! I went to bed early that night because our schedule in the Philippines included very early mornings every single day, necessitating an early bedtime every single day! Our first program day included visits to two schools. Both visits included a masterclass component as well as a performance/workshop. In the morning, at University of the Philippines, we heard a young cellist playing āJulie-Oā and a cello quartet doing a Beatles medley. In the afternoon, at University Santo Tomas, we heard two cellists playing solo Bach. It was actually the only time on the whole tour that we really got to work with solo cellists, and we all really enjoyed it (even Ivan, who had excellent comments!). The other thing that I loved about these visits was seeing how supportive the students all were of each other. They cheered for each other when they played, and both sessions were packed. The next day, we checked out of the hotel and headed for Zambales, a coastal city about 3 hours from Manila. Our excellent team from the Embassy: Liz, Pong, and Sheila, all came with us. Our destination was Casa San Miguel, which turned out to be a truly special place. Upon arrival, we met Casaās founder and director, Coke Bolipita. He explained to us that he started it 20 years ago as a place to teach music to the children of fisherman and other working people in the surrounding areas, who otherwise would not have access to this type of education. Since he started the program, he has taught five generations of young musicians (mostly violin but some also play viola and cello). He has it structured so that he personally teaches the 15 most advanced students, who in turn teach more children, so that at any given time there are over 60 young musicians receiving instruction. The Casa has a small recital hall, many guest rooms and dorms, a cafĆ© and an art gallery on the premises. In addition to music instruction, it hosts other creative people like artists and videographers, some of whom live and work there full time. Itās a beautiful, green, idyllic place. We didnāt leave it for the whole two days we were in Zambales. We conducted many classes and workshops: we worked with the students there, as well as a group from a nearby primary school and the members of the Philippine Navy Band. We were so impressed with the level of musicianship we saw in all of these groups. There was so much joy and enthusiasm in their playing. The second night was the big outdoor concertāthey had set up a large stage in the garden, and the Navy band and advanced student ensemble would be opening for us. We soundchecked in the late afternoon and headed back to our rooms to rest and get ready. I walked out of my room an hour later, and it was pouring rain. Hundreds of people had already arrived for the concert, some traveling from as far away as Manila. We waited about 45 minutes, and the rain slowed, so the children went onstage to begin their set. Unfortunately it started raining again during their performance, but they were champs and finished their very impressive rendition of Vivaldiās Summer. Even with the carbon fiber cellos, we couldnāt risk ruining our mics in the rain, so we decided to move our performance into the gallery space, and do it without amplification since there was no sound system in there. We set up right in the middle of the room, and several hundred people crowded in around us. It ended up being my favorite concert of the tour: no mics, no stage, just our instruments, the music, and the beautiful supportive energy of the audience around us. Of course, the rain ended as we played, so we were able to go ahead with the planned floating lantern ceremony in the field after the show. Everyone was given a large paper lantern, into which was inserted a burning candle, and we held onto the lantern until it filled with enough hot air to float away into the sky. The effect was absolutely beautiful, even though Iām sure it was a massive fire hazard! The next morning, we said goodbye to Casa San Miguel and all our new friends there, and traveled back to Manila. I was more awake for that car ride than I was on the way there, so I was able to enjoy some of the absolutely breathtaking countryside. We checked back into our hotel in Manila, and went out to join the Ambassador in a visit to Philippines General Hospital. There, together with the Ambassador, we visited several wards and the on-site school, handing out gift bags to the children and their families. It was hearbreaking to see the suffering that many of them were going through, but the staff were so comforting and loving to them. We played a brief concert in the courtyard, and some of the children from the school were able to attend. Seeing their smiling faces enjoying the music despite their pain brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. After we left the hospital, we visited the Mall of Asia, a mall so huge it has its own tram system to carry people around. It was so overwhelming that we didnāt last long, buying some gifts for our loved ones and pushing Patrick around in a wheelchair for a few minutes before embarking on a one hour Uber ride to go 2 miles (Manila traffic is no joke). On our very last day, we got picked up at 5:15am to film a live TV performance and interview on the Philippines version of āGood Morning America.ā As you can probably guess, I was cranky and tired, but by the time we actually got onto the bustling set for our segment, it was 7:30 and the buzzing energy in the room enlivened me. Like everything on TV, the interview was very quick and we of course played Game of Thrones. The TV spot was intended to promote our final concert in the Philippines (and of the tour), and it must have worked because we had a large crowd that afternoon at Glorietta Mall. There was a designated seating area in front of the stage, filled mostly with invited guests and student groups that had been brought specifically for the concert. The stage was set up in an atrium, with 3 or 4 levels above us that were lined with spectators. It felt like a really large version of the in-the-round concert we had done at Casa San Miguel. Even though the sound system was pretty loud and boomy and we couldnāt hear each other all that well, we had a great time playing this show. Iām sure we all gave it an extra energy boost because it was our last. We always, we spent a good amount of time after the show signing autographs and taking selfies. I loved this about the whole tourāthat we got a chance to connect with our audiences after almost every show, even if my cheeks did start to hurt after a while! We spent our last evening enjoying a meal with the wonderful Liz, and packing our suitcases to head home after a memorable week in the glorious warmth of the Philippines. During the long journey home, I felt a huge amount of gratitude for this opportunity. I think intolerance between differing cultures of the world is largely born from fear and skepticism of the unknown. I've found that becoming immersed in another culture, even for a short time, replaces that potential fear with an empathy and curiosity. Everywhere we went, no matter the language or outward cultural traditions, we met other human beings, seeking and giving kindness, truth, and love.
