(March 22, 2018) Ulcinj, Montenegro

After breakfast at the hotel, three of us went for a walk to explore one of the beach areas.  It was totally deserted, other than local workers fixing it up for the coming season.  It was still interesting to see-- I can imagine this area being a popular, affordable option for tourists from nearby.  Many of the signs are in German and English, as well as Montenegrin and Albanian (the two official languages of this region).

Empty beach below the city

Julia and Ken

Sea fisherman statue

Walking through town in the rain

In the later morning, we joined a guided tour through the old fortress on the cliff in Ulcinj, and had lunch near the beach.  There is lots of delicious pasta here, though I do miss the fresh vegetables we enjoyed every day in Albania.

Ethnographic museum

Child's bed

Looking out to sea

Stone carvings

Traditional costume

Three friends!

After a short afternoon nap at the hotel, we went to the theatre for a short rehearsal, followed by a concert.  The hall had quite good acoustics, though it was not heated (and it was a rather cold, windy day here), and the power went out for a few minutes during our rehearsal.  This was not an uncommon occurrence in the Balkans, as I'd learned from previous visits.  The concert itself went well-- and I sat in the audience for my own piece, "Equinox" (played one day after the spring equinox)-- and was able to get a recording.  After the concert, we had a reception at the theatre, followed by dinner around 11pm back at our hotel.

Another performance of "Equinox"-- one day after the spring equinox

(March 21, 2018) Ancient Village of Antigone

Yesterday, a group of us drove up the narrow, winding mountain road to the ancient archeological Village of Antigone.  It was a gorgeous, sunny day.

Tour guide, showing us around the ancient village

Spectacular views below

Looking down to Gjirokaster

Sheep!

We walked around the ruins of the village, which dates back to around 300 BC.   The views of the mountains and the modern city of Gjirokaster below were spectacular.

Ancient ruins

Enjoying a beautiful day...

More ruins

Mountain hut

Our tour guides

We also stopped by Bujar's brother's house in Antigone (the house where Bujar grew up), and enjoyed a taste of his delicious homemade raki (strong alcoholic drink).  As a generous gift, each member of the orchestra was given a 1.5 L bottle of raki (!) to take along with us on our continued adventures.

Bujar's brother, sharing some of his delicious, strong homemade raki!

Gezuar!  (Cheers!)

After checking out of our hotel, we stopped for lunch along the way, at the seaside resort of Durres.  We arrived in Durres after dark, and checked into a very nice hotel, "2 Kitarrat"-- with some very eccentric, funky decor-- a mix of rockabilly and traditional Albanian arts.  We had dinner next door at the hotel's restaurant, and enjoyed drinks with Music Progressive Quartet.

Our hotel in Durres

WCSO tour bus

Traditional Albanian costumes

Amphitheatre in Durres

Exploring the amphitheatre

Art on the walls

Decorated arch

Exploring the site

Today, after a long bus ride, we crossed the border into Montenegro, where there was some flooding along the river.  It was dark by the time we arrived and checked into our hotels (all on the same block), and enjoyed a buffet dinner at the hotel.  Ulcinj is a resort town with beautiful beaches, right on the ocean, though we are here in low season, and many places are closed.  Tomorrow we plan to tour the old town.

Friends at dinner

Dancing with the Maestro...

Flooding along the road to Ulcinj

(March 20, 2018) Premiere in Gjirokaster!

Music Progressive Quartet with composer, Elizabeth Knudson

Concert programme

Yesterday evening was the premiere of my piece, "Equinox"-- and our first concert of the tour, at a theatre in the town of Gjirokaster.  We performed to a nearly-full house, and the highlight of my evening was seeing a little girl in the audience waving a Canadian flag in time to the Balkan rhythms in my piece.

Music Progressive Quartet, giving the premiere of my piece, "Equinox"

Music Progressive Quartet, our special guests from Macedonia (Vlad, Marko, Paskal, and Vlad) are joining us for the tour, since they are featured soloists in my piece.  It was also a blast to play new compositions by Jim Hopson (a trombonist, also on our tour), and Stefan Hintersteininger, also from Vancouver (though not on our tour).  Music Progressive Quartet also played some of their original music (by violist Marko).  It was a pleasure to see Maestro Bujar so well-received by the crowd in Gjirokaster-- probably many of whom had come over from his nearby hometown of Antigone.

An exciting premiere...

Vlad and Vlad 

Maestro Bujar, Paskal, and Marko

Post-concert, we bussed back to our hotel, and enjoyed a delicious feast to celebrate!  It's now morning, and we are packing up to move on to our next destination (TBD) today.  Apparently some roads were flooded on the coast, so we'll see where we end up enjoying this day off.  It was lovely to wake up to the sun rising over the spectacular snow-tipped mountains.  Here's to new adventures, and a lovely day ahead!

Outside Hotel Çajupi

(March 19, 2018) On to Gjirokaster

Rehearsing my piece "Equinox", with Music Progressive Quartet

I'm sitting in the lobby of Hotel Çajupi, waiting for the bus to take us to our first concert of the tour!  We left Tirana yesterday morning, and enjoyed lunch near a monastery in the mountains, en route to Bujar's village of Antigone.

View from Gjirokaster

Jim & Marissa on the patio

Six years ago, on our first WCSO tour, we had donated a few musical instruments to help start a music school in the village.  Last night, we enjoyed a concert by some students of the new school.  It was really special.  We were treated to performances by some young violinists, flautists, clarinettists, as well as some traditional Albanian singers.

Music room dedicated to Jim DeFina
(West Coast Symphony clarinettist, who passed away shortly after our first WCSO tour, in 2012)

Maestro Bujar, with some young music students

Albanian singers

Afterwards, we enjoyed a delicious feast of local food (and raki!), and mingled with the people from Antigone-- very generous and friendly hosts.  This morning, we woke up to a rainstorm.  Despite the weather, a small group of us hiked up the hill to explore the castle.  We were completely rain-soaked by the time we hiked back down to our hotel, but got some beautiful photos-- even in the wind and rain.

Outside the castle in Gjirokaster

Julia and Ken, exploring near the castle 

David and Elizabeth

Marianne and Julia

Exploring the castle grounds

After changing into dry clothes, a couple of us enjoyed a delicious lunch at a small cafe, followed by some raki!  We also checked out a couple of the small local shops selling handmade souvenirs.  I picked up a beautiful wooden hand-carved bird, and a tiny antique silver coffee urn.

Outside one of the shops in town