Above: Principal Double Bass Robin Kesselman works with a student from Medellín, Colombia during a special masterclass.
Last week, 35 Houston Symphony musicians journeyed to Medellín, Colombia to help the Orquesta Filarmonica de Medellín celebrate the 31st anniversary of the Teatro Metropolitano José Gutiérrez Gómez with a concert featuring music director Andrés Orozco-Estrada and violinist Hilary Hahn. This trip to Andrés’ hometown continues the Houston Symphony’s relationship with the country of Colombia (learn more here, here and here). In this post, Principal Double Bass Robin Kesselman takes us behind the scenes of this special musical event.
Hello everyone! I am writing to take you inside our recent whirlwind trip to Medellín, Colombia. After the Sunday matinee performance of Mahler 2, I went home to pack, practice a bit, and then headed to the airport to catch a redeye to Colombia. I flew a half day ahead of the rest of the tour group in order to teach a group of bass students from various universities of the city on Monday morning. Also on my flight was our music director, Andrés, his mother Nora and Carlos Botero, the symphony’s musical ambassador. We chatted at the gate, all trying to come down from that afternoon’s performance enough to catch a few hours of sleep en route to South America.
After my first foray into the land of melatonin and a short layover in Bogota, we sleepily arrived in Medellín. The Principal Bass of the Orquesta Filharmonica de Medellín, as well as the primary bass teacher of the city, Ilko Russev, picked me up at the airport around 8:00 am. Ilko is a fantastic player and an incredible person. A native of Bulgaria, he moved to Medellín over 20 years ago. It was just under an hour’s drive to the center of town from the airport. You get your first glimpse of Medellín as you enter the bowl of mountains that surround the city—absolutely breathtaking. On our way we stopped for breakfast—desayuno in Spanish—and the typical morning drink of the country: a creamy drinking chocolate. What a civilized country where two grown men can sit down and share steaming mugs of the most delicious hot chocolate you’ve ever tasted to start the day—I could get used to this!
After desayuno, we made our way to the Universidad de Antioquia for the masterclass. Ilko teaches at several universities in town but all of his students coalesced at the U of A for the class. Ilko has done a tremendous job with his studio over the past few decades. The players show a tremendous amount of commitment, poise and musicianship when performing. We spent over four hours together sharing ideas and generally enjoying all things bass. Their English skills are incredible, and if I became too wordy or theoretical there was always someone to translate. After a quick lunch, the redeye began to catch up with me, and I was on my way to the hotel for a nap.
That evening my colleagues from Houston arrived at the hotel. I always love seeing friends in a new place and a new context. Don Howey, the other bass player from Houston who came to Medellín, reunited with me, and we ventured out into the Colombian air for dinner in the neighborhood.
Tuesday morning came early. Another desayuno, this time with black Colombian coffee called “tinto” instead of chocolate, and then to the hall for rehearsal. We rehearsed a side-by-side performance with the Orquesta Filharmonica de Medellín to celebrate the 31st anniversary of the Teatro Metropolitano José Gutiérrez Gómez as well as our shared Colombian connection through Andrés. The Colombian musicians could not have been more welcoming and hospitable. We got to know each other through our playing as well as at rehearsal breaks. The compressed time schedule made for a focused but productive rehearsal while still leaving room for laughs and a fun, festive mood. After rehearsal I made a quick pilgrimage to a famous Colombian coffee spot to grab some beans to bring home, then after a short nap I went back to the hall for the evening performance.
The concert was a blast. Hilary Hahn could not have sounded more glorious. She treated all of us to a magnificent and powerful Sibelius concerto as well as three encores. She is a lovely person to make music with. She really takes time to connect with individual musicians and sections on stage. What a treat!
After thunderous applause and hugs with our Colombian friends, the trip was already coming to a close. Many sections of the two orchestras met for farewell get-togethers near our hotel in the Poblado neighborhood before the first tour group got on a 3:30 am bus back to the airport.
Medellín is a spectacular part of the world that I hope everyone reading this gets a chance to see. I loved every minute of our short time there, and I’m already looking forward to the next. Hopefully I won’t have to wait long!
See Robin and the musicians of the Houston Symphony in action right here in Houston! Get tickets and more information at houstonsymphony.org.
