Da Capo Classic was awesome. I was in rehearsal four plus hours per day, perfected my ping pong game, shared some tummy-ache-inducing laughs with both old and new friends, and, of course, it was a prime language learning op. It turns out musical jargon isn't quite as universal as I'd previously thought.
 |
| As always, the trumpet section added a bit of pep to the orchestra. |
Monday we arrived in Cochem, a town about 2 hours south of Aachen in Rheinland-Pfalz, and rehearsals began that afternoon. Over the course of Da Capo, my internal Spotify playlist consisted mainly of Bach's Dona nobis pacem, Haydn's Symphony No. 88, Lux Aurumque, and several brass ensemble pieces from old European dances. Ah, and I can't forget the age-old German folk song Hejo, spann den Wagen an, which was spontaneously sung during meals, pre- and post-performances, and on the bus.
 |
| A nice little Verdauungsspaziergang along the Moselle River. |
Cochem's in a valley, so Wednesday during our afternoon break, Sebastian and Benedikt, who both play trumpet, hiked up to the peak of one valley wall and played the opening alphorn melody from the German children's TV show Heidi. Apparently they were keeping up tradition because they did it last year, too. Basti and Beni were also so kind as to wake up everyone Friday morning nice and early by blasting their trumpets through the halls of the youth hostel. Gotta love living amongst other musicians...
 |
| Bruder Jakob, Bruder Jakob, schläfst du noch? |
A big benefit, however, of being surrounded by other musicians is the opportunity to pick up a few new tricks. I got to try my hand at violin, which was pretty fun. Both of my roommates played violin, so we did a musical exchange. I taught them a little trumpet and they taught me a little violin.
 |
| Just chilling with my lovely roomies, Annika and Ann-Sophie. |
Our curfew was eleven, which wasn't bad because we'd stay up late together in our room chatting and giggling about whatever. It definitely brought back fond memories of summer camps throughout the years. The only time the curfew was a bit of a bummer was Monday, the first night, because it meant I couldn't watch the Super Bowl. I'm not a huge fan, but a few of my classmates were also totally down to watch some Americans play "football" and it was being broadcast on a major German channel, SAT1. Apparently over a million Germans tuned in at two in the morning, though, and cheered on their fellow countryman Sebastian Vollmer who played for the Patriots.
 |
| Trumpets-- prepare to dominate! |
Since there were five of us trumpets, a large number for a fairly small orchestra, we split up who played which pieces. That meant we had a bit of down time during rehearsals, but we took full advantage of it! I can now say my ping pong grip technique and smashes are A+.
 |
| Just catching up on my German environmental news between my songs... |
When everyone had free time, we played lots of games (*summer camp flashback take two*). I learned/perfected several German card games, including Doppelkopf, which is pretty ubiquitous here. Scrabble was an interesting experience to say the least, but everyone was very supportive and laughed with (maybe a little at) me during the game.
 |
| The competition got pretty intense. |
Thursday and Friday we performed in two different churches. The first was very traditional and old (as in pre-1400s old), which I found pretty amazing. Our performance space was a bit cramped, but it was a unique and remarkable experience for me to play Bach and Haydn pieces in a place where they themselves would've heard their works come to life.
 |
| Warming up before our first gig in the tiny town of Meisenheim. |
The second church was built in the late 1960s and didn't have quite the charm of the first one. That said, the performance was great and there was a really warm feeling of camaraderie the whole evening. Also akin to summer camp, we were all exchanging contact info and signing each other's Da Capo 2015 posters in the hours leading up to the concert.
 |
Everyone knows the classic, "Hey, will you sign my yearbook poster?" |
I'll definitely be keeping my Da Capo poster somewhere safe and will think back on this week and the people I met whenever I hear the music we played (or Hejo, spann den Wagen an/the Heidi theme song). But for now it's time to head back to school for a strenuous three days... before we're all off to Karneval! I can feel that the next exciting musical opportunity isn't far away.