Day 10

Concert and masterclass in Strasbourg today. But first...

Tour of the Kronenbourg Beer Museum! Philippe set up this tour of the museum for us at around 11:00 am. It was very cool to learn how the different varieties of beers were made. We were able to see the underground barrels where the beer was aged before the switch over to stainless steel containers. And of course at the end of the tour, we were able to have samples! My favorite was their version of a "white" beer.

Then, a quick lunch at the conservatory cafeteria (nifty idea, huh?). They serve gormet dishes such as the Risotto that Brianna and I had, steaks and other very yummy meals. Then we headed off to our masterclass. Two pairs of students played for us. The first duo played three of the Braxton Blake etudes, which Cliff and I later played on the concert. The second pair played the Yuyama Divertimento. All of the students were very good. Here are some pics from the masterclass.

Following the class, we had a short rehearsal in our performance space, then the concert. It went quite well, considering I had not touched an instrument in 5 days! There were a few extra nerves for me on this one, as the percussion professor from the school, Emmanuel Sejourne was there. He is quite well known for his performing and percussion compositions.

After the concert, we headed back to Philippe's home and then out to dinner at a Thai restaurant. A little ice cream, wine, and a few games of football and we were off to bed.

Tomorrow we head to Paris!