It Feels Like We Never Left

Today we really got back into the groove of being in Aspen.  Yesterday Jamuna and Abe flew from Dallas to Denver then roamed around the airport for a few hours while waiting to meet Mrs. White who flew in from Helena, MT.  They all flew up to Aspen together for a slightly delayed arrival.  We didn't even wait for Jamuna's bag because we wanted to get over to hear Maya's teacher Mr. Paul Kantor play in an ensemble at Harris Hall.  We barely made it, but we did.  Because Maya is an enrolled student Prema and I get "parent" passes and we purchased youth passes for Abe and Jamuna.  These passes allow us to get into a lot of events "free".  Last night we needed an additional ticket for Mrs. White so I went to the box office.  A nice lady asked me in a whisper if I needed a ticket and I said yes and that I would be happy to pay her for it but she insisted on giving it to me.  So, we enjoyed the concert despite Abe and Jamuna being exhausted.  We then drove back to the airport to get Jamuna's bag then back to the Silver King place.

The photo above is at the airport, snapped just as Prema was telling Abe that we were heading to a recital.  Click to zoom in on his expression.

This morning we gave Jamuna some belated birthday presents.  She seems to like her bandanna depicting North American Mammal Scat.




We then headed up to the music school campus for Maya's lesson with Mr. Kantor.  It was nice to see him and Tamara Goldstein, the pianist who works with Mr. Kantor and Maya all summer.  Seeing both of them at the music campus really made it feel like we had never left.  I performed my duty of driving, dropping off, parking, setting up the video camera, and waiting.

Last year I liked to sit on the deck of a building in which the American Academy of Conducting - Aspen (aka AACA) rehearsed.  I enjoyed reading while listening to the music.  Unfortunately that building was condemned and demolished.  It didn't take long to find an alternative waiting area with just about the same view.  I did miss the orchestra but did enjoy a piano student practicing nearby.  Here's my bench. Now that I look at the photo I realize it looks almost exactly like the view I had last year except that it is oriented differently.
                                                                                                                                                                                                 














Below is a shot of Prema holding a 1722 Stradivarius.  They're asking $5,000,000 for it but I could tell there was a bit of wiggle room.  I got to hold it and look at it and it seemed a lot like all the other violins I've handled so I told Prema I thought we should hold tight right now.




This evening we saw Gil Shaham play a solo with the AACA and a group of the student conductors.  Here is a picture Mrs. White took of the girls getting an autograph while I was driving Prema to the airport.  We had to rush out at intermission.  I think Prema is on her way from Denver to RC as I write this.