Seoul Skiing

While on tour with ABT in Asia I had the opportunity to water ski.  It had been over 20 years since I had last skied!  I had rented a bike to ride along the Han river in Seoul, South Korea and spotted several water ski places and finally got up the courage to ask if I could have a go. 

They were highly suspicious of me when I asked but after I got up they were my best friends! One of the ski instructors when along in the boat to take this video with my iPhone.  In fact, I insisted that someone video the event because I didn't think anyone would believe that I actually when skiing down the river in the middle of Seoul.

MAX AT THE MET

July is over half gone and there's been a lot of activity in our household. The big news is that Max made his debut at the MET in ABT's production of The Dream. He played the character of the Changeling and knew his part cold.  He only had 2 of the 4 shows as he was sharing it with another boy but he wanted to do all of them.  And after the last show he asked me if there was anything else he could do next week in another ballet! Click on the video below to see it or check out rileybarker.com for lots of photos and other videos.

The production of the Firebird was exciting for me. The ABT Orchestra played exceptionally well and the audience responded in kind. I hadn't done Firebird in 20 years and it felt just great doing it again. I left immediately after the MET season finished for a week in Taipei and another in Seoul. The rest of July and August will be spent at home enjoying the summer!

The presenter in Taipei was also a photographer and shot one of my rehearsals with the orchestra.

Two Recitals

Max and Riley both had Spring recitals. Max had a ballet recital class, his final class of the year, and Riley played several pieces at a soiree that his teacher organizes at the end of each year.

Max, the leader of his class and is used by the teacher to set the example. Riley plays a Scarlatti Sonata and a Chopin Prelude.

It's been a busy Spring so far.  We still have about 5 weeks of school left.

Loading into the MET!

  The boys helped me take some things down to the MET to get ready for the beginning of the ABT season. Riley played on every piano he saw and gave us a short recital in List Hall.  The concert grand in the orchestra pit was still locked as it had just been moved into place for tomorrow's rehearsal and Gala opening.

It was Mother's Day today and we started off with pancakes and a bike ride in Central Park!

Riley's Charlotte Recital

One of the most amazing things that happened in Charlotte aside from seeing all of the relatives was that Riley got to play on his great-grandmother's 1947 Steinway.  It was the first piano to come to Charlotte from Germany after World War II.  She was very proud of it. It's now with my cousin, Charlie Henley.  They had it tuned and fixed up for Riley's impromptu recital.

My mom and Aunt Tet were there as well and it was amazing to be seated in the midst of the musical atavistic line starting with my grandmother, Shessie, through my mom and me to Riley.  He played 4 pieces, two Mozart sonatas, a Scarlatti sonata and Dr. Gradus ad Parnassum by Debussy.  Here's the video:

Wedding Weekend in Charlotte

We took a very short family trip to Charlotte to go to the wedding of Daniel and Rachel. Most of my family were there and it was wonderful to see everyone and reconnect. There were two camps, the Sims who stayed with Jake and Patricia’s, and the Barkers who stayed at the Hyatt in downtown Charlotte. Friday evening everyone descended on Jake’s house for a cookout and backyard fun for the kids.  There was a large open-pit barbecue over which the kids toasted marshmallows for s’mores! 

We played various sports and had to chase some homeruns over the fence into other people’s yards!  There were some strong hitters.  Mona and Tet were there and seemed to have a good time.

Back at the hotel there were some pool activities and much eating and drinking! The wedding was in a lovely setting in Charlotte and it all went off without a hitch (no pun intended!). Here are two videos from the weekend.