There is an organization called the Bosnian-Herzegovinan-American Society for the Arts and Sciences (BHAAS) that is a partial sponsor for the cultural exhange program that sent me here. The BHAAS also sponsors concerts in various towns/cities throughout Bosnia-Hecegovina. The Sarajevo Philharmonic played in one such concert last night, in the nearby city of Zenica.
A private bus was hired to take the orchestra from the National Theater in Sarajevo to the concert hall in Zenica. It was a fairly short ride, only about 90 minutes. Although I’d been warned that going to Zenica was “nothing special”, I still found the ride there to be quite scenic. Bosnia is such a beautiful country, with its bright green mountains and wide, winding rivers. The leaves haven’t really started to change much, and I’m sure that the scenery will be even better with late fall foliage.
We arrive in Zenica around 4pm and had a brief rehearsal/sound check so that we could appropriately balance the amplification of the soloists. The concert hall was not very resonant and looked a lot like a high-school auditorium. It was not nearly as beautiful as the one in Sarajevo, but at least it was clean and functional.
After our sound check, the American quartet grabbed a quick bite to eat across the street, and then went to the lobby of the concert hall for a pre-concert reception. The pre-concert reception was quite nice, with wine, cheese, and appetizers. I heard the wine was quite good, but I was about to play a concert and decided to forgo consuming any alcohol. The best part of the reception was that we finally had a chance to meet members of the US embassy and the BHAAS. Although we only talked briefly, I tried to honestly describe the experiences that I’ve had since arriving in Bosnia. I hope that my feedback will help the BHAAS continue to support and improve the cultural exchange program.
You know how at fancy arts events, there’s always a very well-dress, well-intentioned woman who gives an awkward, overly long, speech thanking the sponsers/donors, etc? Well, apparently, this is a universal phenomenon. At the reception last night, there was an attractive, middle-aged, woman in a very low cut dress, who handed out awards thanking notable members of the BHAAS. She also spoke during our concert. On the bus ride home, I had a Bosnian friend translate what she said, and it sounded like it was pretty funny. She said something along the lines of “I guess the orchestra can’t just get up on stage and perform this music, but they actually have to practice before the show!” She also made a very cringe-worthy mistranslation from Bosnian to English. She asked the American quartet to stand, acknowledging that we’re here as part of a cultural exchange supported by the BHAAS. First, she announced my name and instrument, and I stood and smiled as everyone clapped. Then, she said, “also, Sara Lap (her last name is Laupp), on the faggot.” See, “bassoon” in most other languages is something like “fagoto”, “fagot”, etc. Unfortunately, there were quite a few Americans in the audience who couldn’t help but giggle. How embarrassing for Sara. During intermission we had to attempt to explain to our Bosnian/Albanian friends about the complexities of American slang referring to homosexuality.
The concert itself went fine, and the guest soloists played particularly well. I especially enjoyed hearing young Bosnian musicians perform with the orchestra. (A young guitarist and a young accordion player were invited to play short solo pieces with string accompaniment.) By the time we got home, it was 1am, so I’m happy to have the weekend to recover!
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