After over 24 hours of travel, we made it back home from Greece. After our show closed (which was a success), we had a lot of free time. There was time to go to the beach, drink coffee, have long dinners, spend several days on the island of Kathalonia, and most importantly, extract parts for “Persepolis.” More on that shortly.
On the Monday following the closing of our performance, we took a bus to Patra and then a ferry to the island of Kathalonia. There we spent much leisurely time, shopping, eating, touring, and sleeping. Sleeping is an emphasized activity in Greece, especially during the hottest part of the afternoon. Kat and I were pleased to find wheat bread and chocolate soy milk (a delicacy!) in Kathalonia, and on this we feasted.
Unfortunately, we discovered that our Sony digital camera was randomly broken on the night of our performance. Every time we attempted to turn on the power, it emphatically told us to “Turn the power off and on again.” Note to self: never buy another Sony digital camera. So… I don’t have any more pictures to share at the moment. Our study abroad group will get together shortly for a “picture” party, and once I have more pictures I will post some here.
The big news is that during our leisure time after the show, I finished extracting ALL of the parts for Symphony No. I – “Persepolis.” Whew! Once I returned to the States, I proofed and mailed them to Dr. Joe Brashier, director of Bands at Valdosta State University. I was very pleased to hear him say that his group will read through all four movements this coming week! Provided all goes as planned, the world premiere will be coming up this fall.