Last post in Moldova

Had to squeeze in just one more post. The last 32 hours have been incredible. A full description will have to wait for the travelogue I'll type up on return to Indy...I hardly know how to do it justice with the limited computer time I have now. Suffice it to say it was an emotionally drenching (malapropism intended) experience.

I did a children's concert last night in Zgurita, followed by a chaotic book distribution session. This morning, I did a concert in Popesti (also in Drochia county), and this afternoon, I did a concert at a girls' camp in Causeni county where I was greeted like a rock star.

Tomorrow I will give a concert at another girls' camp back in Drochia. Drochia is a long drive from Chisinau, and Nicoleta and I are not sure of the transportation arrangements. For one thing, we are going up with a TV crew. Therefore, this will be my last post in Moldova. You should hear from me again on Friday from Tunisia.

Whirlwind ahead

Tomorrow I have a concert way up in Drochia county, in the village of Zgurita (pronounced Zgoo-REETS-a). This is where Viorica Berdaga was born. After staying overnight there, I head to Ghiocel in Causeni (pronounced Cow-SHEN) county for a children's concert at a camp run by the U.S. Peace Corps. Thursday I will return to Drochia for another concert at a Peace Corps children's camp, before making a late-night four hour drive which should get me back to the Chisinau airport in just enough time to make my 6:45 a.m. flight out of Moldova!

I don't know if I will have time for another post before Tunisia, but I hope so. I can't wait for the next three days, and my time in Moldova so far has been wonderful.

Benefit Event

The kickstart event of the childhood literacy campaign, held today at the Organ Hall in Chisinau and co-sponsored by UNICEF-Moldova, Moldcell, and Pro Noi, was a big success. Six thousand books were donated, which will go towards children in the villages. In addition, a great deal of money was raised through donations and an auction.

The invited politicians, businessmen, philanthropists, UN officials, and other dignitaries seemed to appreciate my playing, but I got even more comments on my speech, delivered in Romanian. I gave three television interviews, one of which was to the national station.

I was honored to be a part of this event, and would like to thank Nicoleta Bodrug for her tireless efforts coordinating the event's schedule down to the minute; managing the itineraries of myself and various children's groups that performed; decorating the Organ Hall with banners, book kiosks, tables, posters, pictures, balloons; coordinating the involvement of McDonald's, which provided activities for the children; dealing with the Organ Hall administration; and much more. Thanks to her efforts and those of everyone at UNICEF, Moldova's families will now have a greater incentive towards literacy and familial/community bonding.

Tunisia: ud player

I just received an e-mail from the ud player with whom I will collaborate when I go to Tunisia next month. His name is Mohamed Foued Rafrafi, and he is a 24-year-old student at the College of Music in Tunis. I look forward to working with him!

Romanian speech

All of us at UNICEF-Moldova are frantically preparing for Friday's big benefit event. The UNICEF folks are plastering Chisinau with all kinds of publicity and planning every aspect of the eight-hour event with a degree of carefulness, precision, and creativity that would put most inaugurations to shame.

I have written a speech which I will deliver in Romanian, thanks to the translating and coaching abilities of my lovely translator Oksana. It's memorized now, but I'm still quite nervous: the first time I deliver a sentence of any complexity in Romanian will be in the presence of the Prime Minister of Moldova!

Post-performance

My recital at the Republican Lyceum of Music "Ciprian Porumbescu" was presented as the opening recital in the International Competition "Eugen Coca," a prestigious competition for musicians under 18. It was not necessarily my best playing ever, but I was touched by the effusive praise of the mother of one of the contestants in the competition. Her most memorable remark, as rendered by my translator, was: "Sometimes harmony comes down from heaven to fill the space between people."

Day of rest

Today was the first day with no scheduled activities for me. I enjoyed practicing and playing with Laura Berdaga, the six-year-old daughter of my hostess, Dr. Viorica Berdaga, who finally arrived today after a conference in New York.

The dinner last night with Mr. Maeda was wonderful, and a potentially invaluable networking opportunity for MFTP.

I remain shaken by yesterday's experience in Farladani. Every time I used the toilet or the sink today, I felt deeply grateful.

Tomorrow is my recital at the Republican Lyceum of Music "Ciprian Porumbescu." The recital opens an international competition that will be held at the lyceum.

Farladani children's concert

Today was the first performance: a school concert in Farladani, a village an hour's drive from Chisinau. The school has no running water or working kitchen equipment or medical supplies or any means of preventing hepatitis from running rampant every time school is in session. Yet the children enjoyed my concert, which was modeled on the children's concerts I did at Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival in Blue Hill. After I played, they did a short concert of their own, with children in traditional Moldovan garb singing as their teacher accompanied them on the accordion.

Sorry, but this brief description doesn't do justice to an experience that was unbelievably affecting at many levels. I promise a more adequate description in the travelogue I'll type upon my return to Indianapolis, but for now, I must be brief, as I have to dash off to dinner with a Katsutoshi Maeda, a Japanese businessman who toured the school with UNICEF and me and is considering rectifying their water problem.

Organ Hall

I toured the Organ Hall, site of the June 24 benefit event. It is every bit as magnificent as the pictures indicated. I also met with Ilian Gernietz, a violinist with whom I will collaborate. As a sign of how small the music world is, he knows Julia Sakharova, a schoolmate of mine at Juilliard who grew up in Chisinau.

Here in Chisinau

At long last, here I am! Nicoleta Bodrug of UNICEF Moldova met me at the airport and whisked me to the UNICEF office downtown. My schedule will be more busy than I anticipated, which is great! I will be judging a music contest, playing at children's camps run by the peace corps, rehearsing and coaching with young violinists, and more. I was a little surprised to learn that I will be playing for five hours straight at the June 24 concert. Fortunately, I will be able to take breaks and repeat repertoire (I only have an hour of music prepared).

Now it's time to go to the home of Viorica Berdaga, whose 14-year-old son will be my guide.

Last post before Moldova

I've got my vaccinations and my visa and I'm ready to go! Sometime today, my mom will drive me to O'Hare to catch the flight to Europe. My next update will hopefully be sometime tomorrow from a computer in Chisinau.

Third MFTP benefit concert

Thank you so much to everyone who came to last night's concert at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis. It was a smashing success! I treasured the presence of every single person who came...the love and support in the room were palpable, and I cannot thank you enough.

I have updated the donors page of my website to reflect all the generous donations. All of the donors have helped make MFTP a reality, not just another idealistic dream.

I would like to mention a couple in-kind donations. My beloved former teacher, Mimi Zweig, gave me a list of French terms that one can use in a violin masterclass situation. This will be invaluable to me in Tunis, where I will give four days of classes to teenagers who may not speak any English. I was also deeply touched by Steve Healey's gift. His 9-year-old daughter Anna is currently fighting neuroblastoma, a rare and deadly childhood cancer. My brother Theodore and I performed for her in 2002 at the Ronald McDonald House in New York City. That same year, a series of wristbands (bearing Anna's name) was created to help find a cure. You can read more about these wristbands here. Mr. Healey gave me one with the request that I wear it abroad. I will wear it with pride.

Dr. Everold Hosein, the man without whom MFTP would simply not exist, gave a fascinating speech about the problems facing Moldova, and how my efforts there will fit into UNICEF's overall campaign. Today, Nicoleta Bodrug sent me an e-mail with even more details about this. You can read about the big concert in Chisinau here.

Karl Zemlin of Cheap Tracks generously volunteered his time to record the concert. You can buy a copy of the CD here. John Cote took some fine pictures, one of which will be used for the CD cover.

Thank you to Barbara Hosein and Susan Ham for helping my mother with the reception.

As always, my mom prepared a fabulous reception, my father's help was invaluable, and my brother Theodore drove all the way from Charlotte, North Carolina, for the recital. I cannot describe how much the support and loyalty of my family means to me.

Details about Chisinau concert

I received an e-mail from Nicoleta Bodrug today with the full plan regarding the June 24 concert in Chisinau...the kickstart event of UNICEF's Early Childhood Development campaign. That description is now available here.

Nicoleta has done a magnificent job preparing an outstanding event. My responsibilities include playing for a half hour as the event begins, improvising an accompaniment to a song sung by a blind orphan, and helping the various orphans' groups prepare their musical numbers.

Second benefit concert

The second benefit concert, at Gobin United Methodist Church in Greencastle, IN, went very well. Thank you to Eric Edberg for organizing it; Rev. Burton for hosting us at the church, which is a beautiful old stone building with excellent acoustics; and the fifty or so people who came. I especially appreciate the audience's generosity, given that none of them had heard of MFTP or myself before tonight. I have updated my donors page to give them the credit they deserve, though since no one left his or her name, I credited the audience as a group.

Now I have to get ready for tomorrow's benefit concert! Thursday, June 2, 2005, 7:30 p.m., at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis, 615 W. 43rd St, Indianapolis, IN. I hope you can make it!

More details about Tunisia

I had a wonderful phone conversation today with Dr. Zied Latiri of the Tunisian Ministry of Health. I learned a lot more about my trip there, so have consequently updated the description of this project, the French version of this description, and the acknowledgments.

Among the things I learned: the trip is coordinated by Dr. Latiri; Dr. Mraihi Lotsi, president of the Association de Défenseurs de la Création Musicale, which will coordinate my performing activities and provide my accommodations at a youth hostel; and Mr. Rachid Ben Slama of the UNESCO Club of Tunis, which will provide my meals. The ud player with whom I will collaborate is Mohammad Mouldi Pouati.

More details will be confirmed soon!