Last day and concert

Last concert It is hard to believe this tour is ending. Tonight we have the final concert of this 14 day whirlwind tour. The morning started with an amazing run with all my new friends. Bad Mergentheim is a small town full of parks, fountains, beautiful flowers, large trees that provide tremendous shade, and lovely art. It is a place where people come to get well and I can see why. We had the entire morning free, so some went into town to shop, others went swimming or for a walk, and a few packed for the journey home tomorrow. The hall in which we are performing is literally a hop, skip and a jump from the hotel. You would not know that it is a concert hall because the front is all windows and glass doors. Inside there are what look like chandlers of floating glass. The walls are solid wood and the floor a rough designed concrete. The stage is not very large but an extension was added. It is tight but they fit with room to bow. The percussion is on a narrow upper level on the stage and behind them is a mural of gardens. It is odd. The sound is not bad and you would think it would be bright but the ceiling looks to be made of cork which seems to absorb a lot of the sound. We have a pretty good size audience, looks around 100 or so. I'm not sure what the hall holds around 400, but it is an long shape. It is an older audience. I would say the average age is around 70. But that is the majority of people in this area. The ensemble started with Dvorak, today they will run the entire program. It sounds really nice, the hall is warmer then I was expecting I heard a few bravos at the end of it. Next was the Promise of Living from Copland. Very well played, in fact I think I saw a few tears being wiped away. And then the Fall at the Barnard Cottage. It went well, the audience is still warming up to it. And at the end - Pictures at an Exhibition. GDYO once again did a great job. These guys are running on little sleep, we're at the end of the tour, and yet they are playing at such a high level. Just can't get enough of them. Bravos all round from the audience. And the encore - Overture to Candide. I think that is the perfect way to end the tour concerts. If there is one person who knew how to make a splash it was Bernstein and GDYO does it very well. The evening ended with a dinner cruise down the river Mein. It was a nice boat and dinner was a buffet of roast beef, stuffed chicken, pork, stuffed turkey, potatoes and veggies, pasta and salad, fruits and chocolate mousse for dessert. Very nice. I think everyone had a great time mingling and taking pictures. I found myself in quite a few and didn't know what to think of that. It was a long good-bye and honestly I don't think anyone wanted it to end. But tomorrow we have a very long drive and flight. It's going to be a long Thursday.