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| Serendipity, Small World Stories and Rainbows, oh my! |
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Here’s a continuation of Patrick’s Prague Blog, called Meeting Friends on the Road. I’m calling this one SERENDIPITY, SMALL WORLD STORIES AND RAINBOWS, OH MY!  Voxtet...gotta love the space! Okay, here’s a crazy story of serendipity: Dylan’s brother, Brendan, approximately. 4 years ago, went to Prague and took a beautiful black and white photo of a man playing hurdy-gurdy on the streets. Four years later, Dylan and I, on our last day in Prague, walking the streets, find the same guy. We take the same picture and have yet to send it back to Brendan!  Hurdy Gurdy man! Serendipity x 2: On the same day, moments after we walk away from the hurdy-gurdy guy, we “feel” our way through some side streets and stumble upon some distinctly symphonic sounds. A side door was open, so we slip in and listen from side stage. They’re just finishing a grandiose work. We thought it was a rehearsal, but on the final crash of the cymbals, the place explodes with applause! We realize that we’ve stumbled upon a Czech Symphony concert and got to listen to it from side stage, for free! Hamburg, Sept. 13: Autorickshaw meets with Dylan’s/Suba’s colleagues/friends Martin and Kathrin Carbow (and their kids Titus and Mia) and go for a boat ride on the Alster. The Carbow family as well as friends Rakhee Arora-Hodges (and her family), Chrissi Voss and Britta Hauck all attended our concert that closed the Festival der Kulturen.  Martin and Titus Alkmaar, Holland, Sept. 18: Dylan and I meet Joep Hopstaken and Claudia Appel (from our previous Holland workshops) at our concert. Amsterdam, Sept. 20: Dylan, Ed and I meet Kees Kool (from Dylan and Suba’s previous Europe tour in May/June and member of Improzo vocal group) who has organized all of our concerts and workshops in Holland. Thank you Kees, Jane, Simon (owner of La Vigilantie, Alkmaar) and Nicoline for a wonderful experience in Holland!  Vigilante, outside  ...and inside We were planning on seeing former soprano of the Nathaniel Dett Chorale (and founding member along with Dylan and I) Nicole Jordan, in the Hague where she now resides. Things got crazy and we didn’t manage it, but that just gives us yet another reason to return! Serendipity story #3: As mentioned above, Dylan and I, as the FreePlay Duo, toured Germany and Holland in May -June of this year (supported by the Ontario Arts Council). There was one group that we did a workshop with that we had no contact information for. We knew the were musical theatre gals who lived in Amsterdam, and that was it! So, fast forward to an hour before our workshop on Sept. 20th. We meet with the director of Improzo, Nicoline Snaas, at the nearby university café called CREA (where our workshop is taking place) to discuss the workshop, and lo and behold, we see the group of girls that we worked with back in May! Their group is called De Meisjes Loos and it was great to reconnect with them! Some things are just meant to be, or so I believe. I realize that this blog might not appeal to everyone as it’s a lot of namedropping, but I think it’s important to acknowledge all of the people who have touched our lives, people we really connect with, who leave their imprint on us, who we are blessed to reconnect with, when circumstance (or serendipity) allows. I think every artist will tell you that it’s “who you know” in the business that gets you places. This includes all of the friends you make along the way. To me, this feeling of connectivity is somehow very Canadian.  Hamburg Maple Leaves...leafs..? Rainbows!!! And now, I must explain the rainbow fetish. Actually, the rainbows were thrust upon us – the number of rainbows encountered on this tour outnumbers all of the rainbows I’ve encountered in my life up to this point. Unbelievable. We saw several rainbows (and double rainbows) in Ireland and northern Ireland, which makes sense considering the Irish leprechaun’s hiding place! We also saw some in Prague, and in Hamburg. This speaks to the number of days of rain that we encountered as well, but there’s always a bright side - sometimes even a multi-coloured arch if you’re lucky! This is the kind of optimism one needs when traveling for 6 weeks. Thanks Mama Nature - we appreciate the help!  Leprechaun PARTY!  Czech Leprechauns do it in the sky, man...
 Hamburg
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