June in Moldova

It is now truly summer. Days are hot, although we are to have rain for Saturday and Sunday this week. You may suspect that since I am approaching the end of my time in Moldova I am not as active on the blog, but actually I have been busy with everything from monitoring elections to attending my son Colin.s wedding in Denver, to conducting many amazing interviews among the nai players in Moldova.
I know photos add a lot to my blog so here are a few.

This is a photo from my apartment. It is a very large flower that appeared on the plant in my living room. My landlords use the health of the plant to gauge my involvement as a renter, and so far I have done pretty well (except for one time when my landlady scolded me and made quite a show of carrying several large containers of water to rescue the plant). I am very happy to have a big flower in the apartment!

I have been practicing on a large nai, but this week I decided to take a smaller one to my lesson. My professor was very happy and said that this should be my primary instrument now. Here is a photo showing a collage of the two instruments, a flag advertising the current mayor - Dorin Chirtoacă - and some CDs from Dmitru Blajinu - a fantastic Moldovan musician. This is taken in my living room.

Food is the most important thing for many Moldovans. I love to ask people about food because it brings any conversation to a halt while the person describes how to make their village (and family) version of sarmale, mamaligă, zeamă, or other Moldovan favorite dishes. Here is a shot of my favorite dish - crenvurști (Moldovan hot dogs) fried and put on top of fresh tomatoes, rice, and peas. Add balsamic vinegar and it is delightful! (and the Romanian language texts in the background....)

 

One of the reasons I have not posted recently is that Moldova has been having some very close and very crucial elections during the past few weeks. I was honored to serve as an international observer on June 5th for the first election of local officials. The election results were very close and another election took place on the 19th in which the incumbent mayor, Dorin Chirtoacă, a very brave young man, made a strong showing and clearly won by a small margin. I hope the very best for Moldova and am so thrilled that over 60 % of the people eligible to vote came out for the most recent runoff election.

So I will show a photo of Moldovan and Ukrainian chocolate to represent Moldovan desserts. Both very tasty!!! Bucuria is made right here in Chișinău and is my very favorite chocolate.

May Music in Moldova

I have enjoyed music in Moldova this month. It is the month of examinations plus a month of great concerts. Here is a photo of some students performing their folklore examination. They wrote the script and selected songs for acting out a Șezatoarea, a visiting event in Moldovan village life. The songs were quite beautiful with some solos and some group songs accompanied by cobza and violin.

Tonight I bought ten tickets for some American and Moldovan friends to attend a concert by Valy Boghean (in the photo) and his band at the Eminescu Theater. My Russian translator and my Romanian translator were there along with some special musical friends from Cricova.

The concert was extremely interesting and moving. Valy Boghean performed with a band of țimbal, bass, percussion, and electric guitar for the first half. They performed music with a strong basis in Moldovan village and folklore music. Valy himself played alto and soprano saxophones, caval, fluier, tylinka, some kind of reed instrument from central Asia, guitar, and flugelhorn. He sang several doinas (sad songs in rubato style) along with fabulous dance tunes.

In the second part of the concert he brought out a group of backup singers along with electric bass, keyboards, and auxiliary percussion to perform a long set of his popular songs.

The first time I met Valy was in October following a violin competition in Ialoveni, a nearby village. It was late and there were not enough seats in the cars we had used to drive out there so Valy was asked to take me back to Chișinău. Several of us packed into his very small car and chatted on the way to the city. He was friendly and a very happy person who was obviously crazy about music. I had not idea that he was actually quite famous and on his way to being a big star.

My Romanian translator has already planned an interview with him. We hope to catch him sometime next week. The most interesting question in my interviews so far has been about what Moldovan music and musicians can offer to the world. Valy Boghean is certainly one person with a very special set of sounds to offer.

The Day of Europe in Moldova

I am going to post some photos from today. This was The Day of Europe in Moldova and there was plenty of action in the center of the city. It was cold and windy, but everyone was enjoying the sunshine.

 These young people were out in support of Igor Dodon, the Communist Party candidate for mayor of Chișinău. They stood near the statue of Ștefan cel mare.

 Across the street the Romania booth had many visitors.

This booth was set up to promote study of European languages. The poster says - Europa este mai aproape! - Europe is very near!

 There were many police walking through the exhibits. You can see that they were dressed in very fashionable uniforms. Appearance is important!

This photo shows police footwear in Moldova. Very nice shoes!

A week of vacation

I am going to post some photos from the past week and give each a caption. As always, I am never sure what is going to happen day to day in my life in Chișinău. This week was full of delightful surprises.

I attended a paște (Easter) celebration at a Romanian orthodox church that lasted all Saturday night. For me it was a moving and beautiful time of celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This photo was taken at about 4 a.m. and shows families with candles preparing to eat the special foods they have brought to celebrate.

On Sunday, after about three hours of sleep, I took the bus to a nearby village to participate in the music making to celebrate Easter at a Baptist church. The first photo shows the sign at the front of the church that celebrates the Biblical idea that God is Love. One of the wonderful pastors from the church plays a seven stringed Russian style guitar. He was imprisoned for two years under Soviet rule for refusing to close his church and now obviously loves being alive to enjoy every day.

On Tuesday my great friends Bob and Beth and I rented a car to drive to Giurgiulești in the farthest southern tip of Moldova, where the Prut River joins the Danube as it makes its way out into the Danube Delta and eventually the Black Sea. Being a smart American I documented the missing tail light, broken bumper, and other scrapes and scratches with a photo before we left. The rental company never mentioned anything and I think they were just happy to get the car back after our trip on the crazy Moldovan highways. We encountered wonderful families with great home made food and wine, and great music.

I took these two photos in the center of Chișinău today. The first one shows one of my favorite city attractions - the old trolleibuses. The city received a lot of brand new buses this week with assistance from many international agencies from both Russia and Western Europe. This is one of the old buses which I love so much, and you can see that sometimes the doors do not open and need the passengers to give some assistance.
The second photo shows the way many Moldovans read the newspapers. They are posted in these display cases in one of the city parks each day.

Today was a day for remembering lost loved ones. The first photo shows wreaths and flowers for sale at one of the large cemeteries in Chișinău. The second photo shows the main entrance to that cemetery with many thousands of visitors and a police presence to help maintain an orderly process of coming and going.

The last photo shows the front of one of the special buses lined up to take people to the largest cemetery in Chișinău. As I waited for my bus to Cricova I saw dozens of these buses headed for the cimitrul Sf. Lazăr, described by a friend at that stop as the "doina" buses - for remembrance and sadness.

Spring Painting and Cleaning

It is finally springtime in Chișinău and people are very happy. We have had a few days of sunshine already and the week looks pretty good. The students at the Academy of Music are having a hard time staying inside the building because it seems to retain the cold and it is so nice outside. The people who care for the building have done extensive work to clean and prepare the flower beds and we are all awaiting the full show of flowers to come.

Springtime means cleaning and painting.

I am attaching some photos from my day. First of all, I took some photos at about 7:45 this morning of the newly painted benches in the park. "Vopsit" means "painted." There is a lot of fresh green paint on these benches. They are going to need the paint in the good weather ahead since already the park is full of people enjoying the sunshine.

As I made my way up Strada Nicolae Iorga toward the Academy of Music I saw these newly painted trees. Groups of volunteers came out last Saturday to clean up the parks and streets and paint the bottom of the trees. I saw the people doing these trees. They had a truck with a big container of white paint and a sprayer. It looks like the paint got away from them on a few trees! I am told that the paint helps protect the trees from bugs and makes them look good.

The volunteers were meticulously raking and picking up scraps of paper and other garbage. People were chatting and laughing together most of the day.

My local "Orange" box (a small square building along the street that sells candy, pop, cigarettes, and cards to recharge your Orange brand mobile phones) is managed by a very cheerful and energetic woman who was out painting her trees and even digging up some spots for a garden. I stopped by at 10 p.m. to buy some minutes for my phone and she was excited to show me the garden out back and to tell me that she will paint the sidewalk borders tomorrow.

Then, as I was walking home tonight, I saw this advertisement for an upcoming concert. It features some wonderful nai players including the great Vasile Iovu and Marin and Alexandru Gheras. Marin is a professional naiist who performs all over the world. He recently gave me two of his wonderful CDs and I play them all the time in my apartment. His son Alexandru is a student at the Academy of Music and is also quite a good player. I hope to attend some of the rehearsals for this concert. Marin and Alexandru will perform duets with the orchestra.

I hope it is getting to springtime wherever you are! Thanks for reading my blog.

Spring continues.....

Tonight I attended a wonderful concert at the Sala cu orgă put on by students and faculty from the Academy of Music and a music school in Iași, Romania. Following a great performance by the wonderful Academy string orchestra and a visiting percussion ensemble, we stepped out into blasts of cold wind with lots of rain. The heat in my apartment building was turned off early in March so it is now extremely cold and on days like today also quite dark. I am happy to see the end of my very high heating bills and do not like to turn on lights during the day since electricity is quite expensive, but I am looking forward to the promise of spring we have seen for weeks.

I want to acknowledge my wonderful sister-in-law who passed away last Saturday. We will miss her so much. She was a great aunt, sister, and friend to all of us and we loved the way she continued to play (and win!) online word games even in the midst of painful cancer treatment trials.

Moldova is a special place. I gave a presentation about music in Moldova last week at a Fulbright conference in Sofia, Bulgaria. I have attached two photos that accompanied that presentation. The videos cannot be put on the internet since I made a promise to the performers that I would not let them be on YouTube.

I have been especially interested in the lăutar communities (long-time musical families) in Moldova which seem to be a musical model of integrating and enhancing music from many very different communities and families. This may be the special role Moldova has to play in the world community. As I interact with colleagues at my university, I am amazed to realize that some think I am living a wealthy alpine nation, while others assume that Moldova must be in Africa since they have never heard of it. I simply encourage them to Google it.

Nicolae Botgros, conductor of the famed orchestra Lăutarii from Moldova, spoke at the Academy of Music this week. His speech was very well attended and two TV stations recorded it and have already broadcast it in its entirety. He spoke about how Moldova is in a Romanian zone, and does not produce songs or singers with a specific identity.

Maybe this is something special about Moldova. As lăutar families with Roma, Jewish, Russian, Romanian, Gagauz (Turkish), Bulgarian, and Ukrainian backgrounds intermarry and interact in everyday life they share the complexities of language and music in Moldova. Lăutar musicians may be the epitome of this special Moldovan model of working together in complicated economic situations.

Music stands in Moldova

These are Moldovan music stands. They are handmade and maintained by a man who comes to the Academy of Music occasionally to fix them. I love them because they epitomize what I love about Moldova. People take time to care for each other and for their surroundings.

Each music stand is made from slats of wood, held together with small tacks and bits of glue. There are two essential parts in each one that must be hand carved to fit and serve its purpose. The cloth one in the photo is especially good for performing while seated. The others can be adjusted by moving the parts up or down. Any of them can be made taller by being placed on a chair.

There is a set of these stands in the Sala cu orgă and the Filharmonic Hall. Sometimes they use the more expensive folding stands similar to the ones I used to take with me to All-City Band in Denver in the 1960s, but I think the musicians have a special love for the handmade Moldovan ones.

Care and maintenance of these stands is intensive. While there is a tradition of taking a music stand home  after graduation from my university and other places I have studied or taught in the US, no one would ever think of stealing one of these very special Moldovan stands.

People perform quite a lot from xerox copies. These sheets of music have to be put on the stands and kept there using whatever means is possible.

As spring finally comes to Moldova the crews are out in the parks preparing for a good growing season with handmade brooms and tools for digging. And the music stands are being repaired and made available for the many wonderful musical events accompanying the change of seasons.

R&R in Modova - Revisited!!!

I have been thinking a lot about Russian and Romanian language in Moldova, as usual. This is the main topic I find myself engaged in most of every day.

I enjoy speaking English with my Moldovan friends. I know that they want to practice speaking English as much as I want to practice speaking Romanian and a bit of Russian.

I do love the days when I do not spend time with any American English speakers. I especially like the people who just speak Romanian to me as if should understand everything. It is a bit daunting and I get tired quickly, plus I am a bit afraid of when they raise the pitch of their voice for a question I am not liable to understand right away, but it is delightful to try to take part in a conversation.

My nai teacher is the best at this. He is very intelligent and has lived for long periods of time in Romania, so his speech is a little bit more like my Romanian language recordings. Plus he takes time to explain things to me. Early in our work together he told me to ask if I do not understand something, so I do – frequently. He takes time to reword and rephrase things, and I think he really appreciates my efforts to speak good Romanian. He probably has seen more progress than I have in my development as a Romanian speaker. I seem to end every day frustrated and more aware than ever of my limitations, but I know that I am using tenses and subtleties more effectively now than last fall. I sometimes lapse into speaking Romanian with colleagues who are struggling to speak English with me, and I hardly notice.

I have many friends who only speak Russian and some English – almost no Romanian. This is extremely interesting to me. I have had many people tell me that it is easier for them to learn English than Romanian. I am surprised at this, since Romanian and Russian share many sounds as a result of their long years of cohabitation in Romania and Moldova. Many times I have had Russian speakers tell me to simply speak English with them. At first I assumed this was because my Romanian was so poor, but now I realize that it is because they have not learned to speak or understand much Romanian.

Readings from prior to my arrival in Moldova led me to assume that this is because they look down on Romanian as an inferior language and I have encountered this attitude, but I do think that there is something about English that is easier for them to learn than Romanian. As a student of Romanian and Russian I certainly sympathize with the vast number of Moldovans who speak Russian as their primary language for expression and interaction with others. Among my friends there are many great musical composers and performers, doctors, writers, artists, and philosophers.

I have noticed that among many people I meet working here in Chișinău, Russian is very common. Shop clerks, the people cleaning the parks, the city garbage collectors, and the people in charge of public buildings all seem to be Russian speakers. One day I put up a sign at the Academy of Music announcing that a colleague of mine wanted to buy a violin. I wrote it in Romanian. I was surprised when the women in charge of the music building, who I had been speaking Romanian with since October, could not read it. They puzzled and laughed over it for some time since they are Russian speakers and not accustomed to reading Romanian. 

Language carries so many things for us. I struggle with how to express subtleties concerning emotions and interests to my friends and colleagues in Romanian. How can we assume that all people in a “country” will feel the same things related to language? This is absurd in a place like Moldova where almost everyone is fluent in more than one language, and where close friends and loved ones favor either Russian, Romanian, or Gagauz (a Turkic language common in Moldova).

I have appreciated my Fulbright colleagues who have pointed out to me the situation of the many Moldovans who primarily speak Russian. I assumed that Romanian was looked upon as a lower class language, but one of my Fulbright colleagues, an excellent Russian speaker, told me that he had assumed the opposite. He feels like Russian is looked down on by Romanian speakers.

During a time of being ill in February and early March, I made CDs of my music to give to each of the members of my Romanian language class. They are all native Russian speakers. For me it is very gratifying and touching to receive their thanks and praise in Russian, even though I cannot fully understand everything they say. I do understand their love of the music, which means the most to me.

Joe Biden in Chișinău

US vice-president Joe Biden came to Chișinău today.

I knew about this event, but had planned to work the whole day. I practiced at the Academy of Music from 8-9, attended an intense Romanian language class from 9-11, and then was back at the Academy to meet with a student to learn about Moldovan kaval from 11-12.

Following that, as I was walking back to my apartment to practice for the rest of the day, I was happy to see the many pairs of American and Moldovan flags along blvd. Ștefan cel mare and made my way across to the opera house to see how many people were hoping to see Biden. Large and enthusiastic crowds were waiting patiently to get in. Seeing the US and Moldova paired like they were today was quite emotional for me.

At this point I will tell you that anything I say reflects my own views and not those of the US Fulbright Commission or the US government. I am grateful for their support during this year of study in Moldova.

The weather was great - actually the first nice day of spring for us!!! As you can see in the photo, many people were chatting and enjoying the day as they waited for the motorcade to arrive.

The event began with three hours of Moldovan pop music, mostly singers accompanied by backup tracks. The singers and MCs were very enthusiastic and well loved by the audience.

The speaking began with Vlad Filat, prime minister of the Republic of Moldova. He has been truly elected as an outcome of the recent elections, while there is still a deadlock concerning the office of president. Filat was elegant and well-spoken as always.

Biden was quite direct in his speech. He clearly challenged the corruption and human trafficking in the breakaway area of Transdnistria, just 35 miles from here. Friends here tell me that Transdnistria is occupied by Russian military forces. They are ostensibly "peace keepers," but occupy forts and sites with symbolic importance to challenge the existence of the Republic of Moldova itself.

A friend told me that the Russian government announced today that although it raised natural gas prices drastically in February, it is willing to lower them if the Moldovan government will adopt Russian backed policies. This kind of interference in Moldovan politics victimizes all citizens, whether speakers of Russian, Romanian, Roma, Bulgarian, or Gagauz (a Turkic language prevalent in the southern part of Moldova).

Biden's speech was quite a contrast. He announced 262 million dollars of US aid to Moldova over the next five years. People here tell me that this money will be carefully monitored, unlike Russian "gifts" to Moldova that end up in the pockets of cronies and mafia collaborators. Following the riots of April 2009, Russia donated a large amount of money to repair buildings. Those buildings are still blocked off, unrepaired and unfinished.

Biden complimented the people of Moldova on their intense efforts to develop true democratic processes for free, fair, and transparent elections and legal proceedings. He also singled out Belarus as an example of corruption and human rights abuses. Freedom of the press and speech were suppressed under the Russian backed "communist" regime in Moldova during the period of 2001-2009. The recent elections were carefully monitored by outside entities from the EU, the Russian coalition, and other independent groups, and the press seems to be quite active in reporting the activities and views of all political parties.

Not everyone was thrilled to have Biden here. Many Moldovans were killed during the Russian attempt to control Afghanistan. People here tell me that Moldovans were often sent to the front by their Russian army chiefs, and fell victim to weapons provided to the Taliban by the US. Now that the US is attempting to control Afghanistan, sentiments are aroused in Moldova.

I spent quite  bit of time talking with an out of work translator and language teacher who identified himself as a "true Soviet," and who was not happy with Biden's speech. He said the Soviets were actually very nice people who knew nothing about the corruption at the top in Moscow.

I was impressed today with how recent and real the development of democratic processes has been in Moldova. I remember being amazed at the bullying conduct of a partisan observer as I monitored the elections last November. As I left the event today, an older man was quite adamant about being interviewed by the television crews as he told them about the socialist successes of the Soviet era.

I was also impressed with the fragile nature of Moldovan democracy. Although Moldovans were asking me all week why Biden was bothering to come to Moldova, I can now say that he must have known the delicate nature of democratic processes in Moldova. Even as David Letterman made foolish and insensitive statements about Moldova last week, Biden seems to have been aware of the importance of every individual person in this beautiful small country.

Today I was proud to be an American in Moldova.

Springtime in Chișinău

Spring officially came to Moldova on March 1. Here are some photos from around Chișinău I took today. The top photo is a street scene, showing a big pile of snow that should melt in the next few weeks, we hope. The second photo is outside of the Sala cu orgă, scene of many great concerts this week. The Sala cu orgă has a good website, but this is where most people learn about upcoming events. The third photo shows some Marțișor pins.

Marțișor is a great event taking place right now in many Balkan countries. The legend of Marțișor describes the vanquishing of a great dragon who had imprisoned spring in the dungeon of his castle.  A bold youth inspired the people to defeat the dragon, but the youth was mortally wounded in the battle. As his blood seeped into the ground the snow melted and the first flowers of spring began to emerge.

These pins are for sale on the street and it is common for someone to buy pins to give to others. Red symbolizes life and love, and white symbolizes purity and new beginnings. During the first two weeks of March there are concerts and special events taking place all the time. Even though the weather has been very cold, people are feeling optimistic.

I have heard two wonderful sayings about spring in Moldova. One of my friends said that we must remember that, "The wolf has not yet eaten winter." Another told me that they say that springtime is like a giant person shaking off a large winter coat with many layers of snow on it. A little bit of snow keeps falling for many weeks.

In any case, I hear from everyone that spring is a very beautiful time in Moldova. 

The Jazz Mashroutka

Tonight I attended O Seară de Jazz at the Sala cu orgă in Chișinău. It was fantastic.

Mashroutkas are the microbuses that scurry all over the city carrying many, many passengers to their destinations. In Chișinău public transportation relies on mashroutkas and trolleibuses, all of which are always quite crowded. Mashroutkas are constantly stopping to pick up more passengers, while the driver tells everyone to move back until they are as full as possible. And then he stops to pick up more. It is no wonder that we all, including me, have the same cold and flu this week - fever, congestion, coughing, and general miserableness.

Tonight the Sala cu orgă was transformed into a jazz mashroutka. When I arrived for O seară de jazz at 6.30 people were already streaming into the hall. It was a free event, and obviously very popular. They continued to stream in until the hall was extremely full with at least half of the people standing in the aisles, and they kept streaming in until it was like being on a mashroutka bound for jazz heaven. The crowd was extremely varied, speaking Romanian and Russian as well as Gagauz and maybe some English.

The main performers were from former East Bloc countries now in the EU and NATO. They came together to celebrate twenty years past the end of Soviet domination and the cultural ties that they enjoy. The main ensemble consisted of tenor sax (Slovakia), piano (Slovakia), bass (Czech Republic), drums (Poland), and vocals (Hungary). They were fabulous, playing fantastic jazz and solos with beautiful riffs that were well-conceived and performed.They announced that none of them had ever been in Moldova before tonight.

Well, Moldova is not in the EU or NATO and will not be getting in anytime soon. Ongoing problems with the breakaway Transdniester region, political deadlock in the parliament, and a very poor economy make Moldova appear to be caught in an ongoing post-socialist dilemma.

The true wild card was Moldovan performer Anatol Ștefăneț, a violinist and violist from a Lautar and Roma family in the north of Moldova. He was just what the ensemble needed for some extra spice and life in their performance.

When he entered the stage I immediately knew the others were afraid of him. While they all wore very well tailored sports coats and slacks, he was in a wild shirt with wild hair. When he walked on stage he presented the tenor player with a clay jug of homemade wine, which the tenor player did not know what to do with, and immediately put under the piano. Ștefăneț finally made them all take a drink from it during the wild applause at the end.

Ștefăneț played two tunes with the band. The crowd loved him and so did I. He used an odd sounding distortion effect for both tunes, and the Moldovan scales he has used all his life. He played on the Ellington tune Caravan and then took charge of a theme and variations that he directed masterfully. The bass player looked intensely at him (and at the strings on the bass) as he listened and searched for the right rhythms and sounds to accompany him. The drummer was obviously thrilled, the piano player seemed happy to be looking the other direction, and the tenor player left the stage as the tune began. It was a wandering theme with constant changes in modality and sound typical of Moldovan village tunes. The band and Ștefăneț thrilled us all.

So the Jazz Mashroutka at the sometimes stately but always interesting Sala cu orgă was a great evening that I will never forget. While people coughed and sneezed all around me I was happy to be packed into that beautiful hall with Moldovans, enjoying the sounds of EU jazz and the wild card Moldovan, Anatol Ștefăneț.

Nai and the world of instruments in Moldova

These beautiful instruments are in the shop of a very famous nai maker in Durlești, a suburb of Chișinau. This is the instrument I am practicing for many hours every day.

Every music school has a hierarchy of instruments structured by many things that anthropologists love to study. For example, if I am practicing in a room with a piano and  a pianist comes to the door I always say - Vreți pianul? - which means - do you want to use the piano? If they need the piano I am happy to let them have the room. In Moldova, almost no one has the means or the space to have a piano at home, so piano students must practice at the Academy. Piano is the boss of equal tempered tuning around the world, which makes it very important for all of us. Țimbal players (cymbalom - Google it!) have a room all to themselves since their instruments are so large and must be tuned over and over again every day. Cobza players are pretty soft so they can practice almost anywhere.

That puts the rest of us in the practice hall, which can get pretty noisy. On the day the trumpet teacher is at the school the hall is filled with trumpet players warming up on everything from Hummel to Moldovan Roma village brass band tunes. The accordion players get lockers for storing instruments and always need a chair. Last week one of my instructors kept going into the hallway to ask the accordion players to take a break while we had class, but if they left they were replaced immediately by more accordion players. I do love the sound of the accordions in the hall! The fantastic clarinet players and violinists in the Academy are often in the halls, attempting to ignore the sounds of everyone else. On evenings that the nai players gather for lessons they always greet each other sympathetically and wish good health and progress. Everyone likes to wish each other success.

One of the best things about nai is the way that people go on and on about how beautiful it is. Pianists and accordionists often tell me that it has a very beautiful and special sound and that it must be very hard to find the notes, and I agree. Saxophonists and trumpet players like it because they do not have to play soft for it to be heard. Music school administrators have been especially interested in my study of nai and tell me that it is the most beautiful instrument. I have heard some fantastic performances on nai in the four months I have lived here. I meet more and more nai players, each with their own style. My teacher and I sat for an hour today looking at various nai players on the internet.

My own experiences tell me that playing nai is often like the proverbial patting your head while rubbing your stomach. You create vibrato with the left hand or diaphragm, flatten notes by dropping your jaw, and play scales by moving the instrument side to side. The standard pitch at the Academy is A-445 or sometimes even higher, while the standard pitch at the Liceul Porumbescu where I go  for lessons is A-440. The first position notes on the instrument are a G major scale (sol major in Moldova) so creating all twelve chromatic tones means that sometimes I must drop my jaw to play a higher note.

I am happy to say that I now know all twelve major and minor scales and arpeggios, dominant seventh chords, and diminished 7th chords. I have started serious work on some of the elements of folklore playing like double and triple tonguing and ornamenting below each note. And I am constantly working for speed. After weeks of those six hour practice sessions in the dark at the Academy I am finally feeling like I will play in public pretty soon.

The main complaint from my presentation at the American Resource Center was that I did not play the nai, although I showed it. When I present music from the White House I will play nai to commemorate the time that Moldovan musician Lubomir Iorga performed for Bill Clinton. Maybe I will play the Sârba lui Pompieru - dance of the firemen......

Teaching World Music in Moldova

This notice appeared on a bulletin board in the Academy of Music yesterday. It announces my sessions every Tuesday to introduce sounds and musical ideas from many places around the world. The class will combine a  new approach to ethnomusicology in Moldova with a chance for students to practice their English language skills.You can see the announcement of the class along with a short bio for me and the schedule of topics for the next eight weeks - in Romanian.

Each week I will write a short presentation, give it to a student to translate into Romanian language, and prepare it for projecting onto the wall. That way the students can read the English text while I speak, and hear the text repeated in Romanian. In the middle of each presentation the students will see and hear musical events on DVDs. At the end of each session I will present some questions for discussion and ask for questions from them. Music students are very often shy about speaking English with me, although many are very proficient as they gain confidence. Almost all of the students know both Romanian and Russian already, but have had little opportunity to interact with a native English speaker. I enjoy speaking Romanian with them (and a little Russian) quite often, and they are very patient to explain things to me.

The serious and gifted ethnomusicologists I have met in Moldova have confirmed to me that their focus in the discipline has always been on Moldova itself rather than the broader scope of ethnomusicology that includes the whole world. I have enjoyed my colleagues' expertise in documenting, analyzing, and teaching about music from Moldovan traditions. They are thoughtful and insightful and I have learned many things from their intense interest in music in this region. They have all expressed interest in my presentations and we have enjoyed exchanging ideas and experiences.

The wonderful thing about the photo showing the announcement of the class is that everyone already knew about it. Word has traveled fast and I am anticipating a good turnout. It will be different from the classes I teach in Wyoming, but interesting and fun for all of us.

Sunshine and School

Today is the first full day of sunshine in January. I am enjoying it very much even though it is quite cold. Everyone is walking around the city in their furry hats and hoods with strollers, sleds, and even skateboards. I walk past the official residence of the president every day and have enjoyed watching a tussle between some young skateboarders and the security people. There is a nice long ramp leading out of the president's gated and locked parking area and the small street in front. Young boys with big sunglasses are determined to enjoy skateboarding on it. Today there was no opposition.

The sweepers are working hard to clear the park and the area around the Ștefan cel Mare statue with their handmade brooms and other things. Young people are everywhere posing for photos taken by their friends. I have finally decided that the groups of older men debating in the park are not divided into Romanian or Russian language groups. Everyone argues in both languages!

The Academy of Music has started and I have a busy schedule ahead. I will take three classes per week from two different excellent Moldovan ethnomusicologists. I am having three nai lessons per week and practicing as much as possible, although now that the students are back I end up in the hall with the trumpets sometimes. I will teach a class once per week and continue to work with my friend the amazing electronic composer. I look forward to helping with the preservation and digital backup of the 14,000 folklore recordings in the collection at the Academy. We are also planning to use my bass and alto flutes for a tour of Moldova with the Academy flute ensemble.


I will give a presentation every month at the American Resource Center on music in America. These are attended by English language students and their teachers. Yesterday I presented the idea of American Roots Music. In February it will be music at the White House, in March Women in Blues and Gospel, in April American Indian music, and May is yet to be decided. I had fun and enjoyed playing some of my favorite tunes with a very talented guitarist.

And now I must go study for my Romanian language class! Here is a picture of our language school. I have quite a bit to prepare for my next class on Tuesday morning!

Videos!

Thanks to all of you who are reading my blog. Thanks to Liz Lipschultz, a Fulbright ETA living in Comrat, Moldova, I have learned how to add videos to my blog. She recommended two to add to already existing blogs. I think you will enjoy them.

Visit these old blogs from December 2010 to see the videos.

Lautarii and the nai maker

Colinde and school lunch

Enjoy! And thanks Liz!

Photos from a January day

After receiving an enthusiastic response to the photos on my blog, I decided to take a walk on a Saturday afternoon in January, take some photos around my part of Chișinău, and then describe them. Here goes!

1 - I live in a part of the city at the bottom of Bănulescu-Bodoni street that is a combination of some high rise apartment buildings, some smaller and older ones (like mine), a hospital and related training schools and clinics, and parts of the old city that are still pretty simply constructed and quite interesting to walk through. This first photo shows a small park with a walkway in that part of the city. 2 - This old building shows a style of architecture that still exists in some places. This houses a trade school - școală de miserii - and a driving school. Every morning new drivers and their teachers drive on my street very slowly while taxis zoom around them. I have witnessed an event in which the new driver was the middle of the street (we do not have any lines on the street) while three taxis zoomed past making it a four lane road! 3 - Today was the celebration of the birthday of Moldovan and Romanian poet Mihai Eminescu. Here you see his bust in Pushkin Park with flowers. Earlier in the day this was the scene of a commemoration by many officials and some Romanian language enthusiasts. Downtown one of the banking buildings had large loudspeakers broadcasting his poetry over the noise of the traffic. 4 - This is the locked entrance to an underground Russian club where I went to hear and see a Russian jazz quintet last night. There were two rooms - one for smoking and heavy drinking, and one (behind the door with a large WC on it) where the band played. In that room there were no smokers and the drunks were told to be quiet by the other patrons! 5 - This is my apartment building and the ruined building next to it in the twilight. The ruins of the next building are slowly being dismantled using a large crane. One of the neighborhood characters is a large black dog who lives on the site and either barks or begs when I walk past.

Foggy weather and warm hearts

After days of having sidewalks that were literally solid ice, we have had a thaw. Every day has been foggy and cold for a while. It doesn't rain enough to need an umbrella, but everything is wet and cold. The sidewalks are no longer slippery but they are now covered with a kind of brown slime. Chisinau is about 47 degrees north, so even though the days are getting longer it is still dark until 7:30 a.m. and dark by 4:30 p.m. Just as I was getting ready to email my sister in Portland, Oregon to see what she suggests for dealing with the depressing days of winter, I had some great heart warming experiences. On Sunday morning I was walking up the to Academy of Music to practice, just about to cross Stefan cel Mare Blvd, when I heard a voice saying, "Hello - Hello!" It was one of the wonderful young cymbalom players from the Academy who had seen me walking and wanted to say Hi. He was so cheerful and happy to see me that it really warmed my heart! Then when I arrived at the Academy the woman watching the door had her Sunday best on and was so friendly and greeted me with, "La mulți ani" (Happy New Year). Later that day I was walking home and received a phone call (I don't get many calls here in Moldova) from my friend who works at the Azerbaijani embassy. We met for dinner later and enjoyed talking together. This has continued for the past few days with many chance meetings and friendly exchanges that warm my heart in these long days of winter. From the wonderful Skype and instant message sessions with my family to the chance meetings on the street, Chisinau has warmed up in the middle of some days with no sunshine. I was very happy today to see that the accordion player has returned to his morning performances in Pushkin Park, although he is using a small flute on these cold days. I hope I can bring some sunshine to other hearts as well! I did get to say, "Buna seara" (good evening) to Oskar the dog from upstairs tonight (and his owner). O zi buna!

Christmas in Moldova

On January 6 I arrived at the Academy of Music to practice and my friends who are in charge of watching the building informed me that the school is on break until the 22nd. I can still practice each day if I can knock loudly on the front door and wait for someone to let me in. They are very generous with several of us who still want to practice every day. They also informed me that January 6, 7, and 8 are Christmas in Moldova, "Craciun noastra." I made a special trip to the Christmas market by the arch in the center of Chisinau to watch the action. I will attach some photos including one of a large furry polar bear who epitomizes the preference for large furry animals at the market. There were rides for children on horses and a small burro and many of us looked like furry animals as it was quite cold this week. I enjoyed hearing colinde (Christmas carols) being sung in the main cathedral on Friday and Saturday mornings. I saw a colinde parade passing by on one of the large streets with a police escort. About 200 people were walking along, some with bells, followed by a large van with the choir keeping warm inside while their singing was broadcast on loudspeakers. Groups of singers sometimes go door to door and I was a bit afraid they would come to my door and I would not have anything very interesting to give them. It was a beautiful three days and I especially enjoyed the a capella singing. In the Orthodox tradition instruments apart from bells are not allowed in sacred events so the emphasis is on singing. Large backgrounds were set up, as you can see in one of the photos, so that people could take photos with them to wish friends and family a happy new year, "La mulți ani - 2011." So La mulți ani and Craciun fericit from Moldova!