NHMC in Peru This past June, members of the Master Chorale traveled to Peru for a memorable trip that combined sightseeing, fundraising, and collaborative performances with local choirs. We began our trip by flying into Lima, and set off the next day by bus for Cedro Pampa, where the family of our friend and supporter, Micky Giunta, has a large coffee farm. (You can try their great coffee at Micky's cafe in downtown Plymouth, NH, Cafe Monte Alto!) The bus trip up into the mountains of Peru was almost like spending a day in an Imax theater - every hour the scenery was different, and took our breath away. Of course, so did the altitude, but coca tea and delicious chicken soup at a truck stop kept us going. (And Micky introduced us to the sustaining qualities of "Sublime" chocolate bars.) After an evening wandering the city of Huancayo and enjoying our first pisco sours, we turned in at our grand and spare "Turismo" hotel, to rest up for the next leg of the trip, snuggled under thick wool blankets in rooms with 12 foot ceilings and enormous, dark furniture. The next day brought more ravishing scenery, as we descended from the mountains and got closer to jungle terrain. Bare mountains and brown grass were gradually replaced by steep mountain waterfalls, orange, banana, and papaya trees, and calla lilies crowding small streams. By nightfall we had reached the coffee plantation. We spent the next few days enjoying Cedro Pampa in the excellent care of Micky's extended family and friends. We toured the coffee farm and nearby coffee mill, learning how the coffee bean makes it from plant to cup. Micky's cousins Dieter and Edith trucked us around and showed us the nurseries where the very best plants are selected from the crowds; the hillsides where towering shade trees protect the coffee bushes, while impatiens grows wild underneath; how the workers load up their berry-bags and truck them to the processing machines; the giant Rube Goldberg contraptions that de-pulp and sort the beans; the huge drying platforms and the drums that dry the beans to the last specific level of humidity. We saw the mill in nearby Villa Rica where berries are graded and sorted, and learned how to "cup" samples of coffee (or got an idea how the experts do it, anyway!). We visited the primary school in Cedro Pampa that had been founded by Micky's grandmother. Our visit was quite an event; each class performed for us in the sunny courtyard next to the school - wonderful dances and songs from the region. We sang some songs for them in return, and got a chance the next day to visit their classrooms, meet their teachers, and find out some more about what they're studying. There was plenty of time, too, to wander the village (usually tailed by a few of the smaller kids!), and we toured the medical post for which Micky has been raising money. Dieter and Edith brought us for a short hike into the outskirts of the jungle, where we stopped to admire a gorgeous waterfall, decorated with lush greenery and spectacular butterflies. Carolyn and Elaine even braved the water, swimming in the deep pool under the falls. (We're all still impressed.) Our evening concert at the convent school in nearby Villa Rica was a wonderful experience for us. Audience members kept wandering into the long auditorium until the place was packed, and after we finished, most of those audience members came by and gave each of us kisses. What a sweet end to the performance! We enjoyed the reception they had for us, with cups of Inca Kola and dark chocolates that the students at the school had made themselves and wrapped in twists of white paper. After Kathy had broken the ice with some teenage girls who'd been at the concert, they serenaded us with some Peruvian pop songs, while some of the teenage boys lurking at the edge of the crowd heckled them. It was hard to tear ourselves from the great hospitality, beautiful scenery, and fabulous German-Peruvian fare cooked up by Elsa, Raina, and their fabulous kitchen crew. But one early morning we piled in to the van and headed off to try to make Lima by evening - we had a concert to sing in! The multiple switchbacks and buses and trucks with whom we shared the road slowed us down, so we got to Lima late. We had just time to jump into our concert clothes and get over to the university for a quick rehearsal before folks came in to hear our joint concert with Coro del “Jean Tarnawiecki”. We had a great time, each ensemble singing a program and then joining together for a spiritual at the end. Afterwards, a great reception, more pisco sours, and then a night out at a fantastic Swiss-Peruvian restaurant with Edith, her husband Aldo, and Dieter's wife Andrea. The staff was wise enough to put our rowdy crowd outside, where we tried some fantastic cebiche and more desserts than we really needed, all with a backdrop of Billy Joel videos that were looping on the big screen inside, just on the other side of the restaurant's window. After a day in Lima to catch our breath, nap, and sightsee a little, we flew to the gorgeous mountain city of Cuzco, where we visited the Inca museum and adjusted to the high altitude before taking the train to Machu Picchu the next day. Despite the hordes of tourists, we agreed that it certainly deserves its reputation as one of the wonders of the world - the stunning setting, the history, the precisely fitted stones in the ancient houses and temples. It was a thrill to be there. In Cuzco, the next day, we were brought by Dalia, our wonderful guide and singer in our hosting choir, to the glorious cathedral on the central square in Cuzco, for a morning rehearsal with the choir of Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco. We learned one of their songs (El Condor Pasa, naturally!) and after some intensive work, dispersed to rest, refuel, and throw off the chill of the ancient stone space. That night we had our performance in the same gorgeous gilded cathedral, we women swathed in whatever fancy wool wraps we'd been able to purchase that afternoon. After the performance (in which Dan sang a spectacular soprano duet with Elaine, filling in for our temporarily ill Carolyn), we walked to a restaurant in the home of Dalia's family, where we piled in and were fed, serenaded, and warmed by the hospitality of our host choir and their families and friends. Dalia and her family were so kind to us - it was an evening we won't forget. The next day we said our farewells to Dalia and to Cuzco and flew back to Lima. Our layover before the flight home was long enough to allow one last trip into Lima for the more determined sightseers in the group; those of us with less energy lounged around the airport, spending our last few soles, having ice cream and cocktails and playing vicious rounds of hearts. Finally, those of us from "Perkins University" dragged our tired but happy selves onto the plane back to the U.S., bringing home some fantastic memories. - Meg PS: COOPERU, a non-profit organization to help workers and their families was incorporated in September of 2004, and with donations from Café Monte Alto, the Cedro Pampa school was renovated and two additional teachers were hired. Their current project is the completion of the health clinic we visited, which provides much needed services to local families. For more information about COOPERU, click here.

NHMC in Vietnam In spring of 2005, Dan Perkins conducted three performances with the orchestra and chorus of the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet and members of the Chorale. The concerts were part of the 30-year celebration of the end of the war in Vietnam, and took place in Hanoi and Halong Bay. Perkins traveled to Hanoi at the invitation of the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet and worked for three weeks rehearsing the combined ensembles in works by Brahms, Puccini, Vaughan Williams, Holst, and Mendelssohn. In addition, Perkins worked with a 60-voice Vietnam Children’s Choir, teaching them two American folksongs. Members of Perkins’ New Hampshire Master Chorale stayed in the homes of Vietnamese choir members, rehearsed daily with the orchestra and choir, shared meals with the musicians, and enjoyed the lush tropical climate of Vietnam. (Click here to see some of their pictures from the trip!) The rehearsal process and concerts were publicized generously in the press, and a television documentary on the project is being created. According to Perkins, “the goodwill and understanding that came as a result of this musical collaboration matches the mission of the NH Master Chorale.” The 24-voice ensemble was established two years ago to provide an extraordinary level of choral music to the state of New Hampshire. Outreach and collaboration with other excellent ensembles is a primary goal of the organization, and “this first international collaboration is a good example of what differentiates the Master Chorale from other performing groups,” says Deborah Leonard Kosits, President of the NHMC Board. Plans are already underway for a return trip to Vietnam, since Perkins has been named Principal Guest Conductor of the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet. Bringing the experience of Vietnam back to New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Master Chorale performed several Vietnamese folksongs in their fall 2005 concert series.