A young violinist out in the world, Part 2
By Turkkan Osman Macías May 16, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

San Miguel violinist Turkkan Osman Macías, who turned 19 on April 12, flew to Ohio and New York in February to audition for music schools. This is the second half of a report on his adventures.

Cincinnati (Feb. 20–23), like Cleveland, was covered with snow. Radiant white.  My audition day went pretty well. In the morning I had the theory test with which I didn’t have any problems. Since it only took about five minutes for the van to get there, I thought it would be good exercise to walk back. It took me 20 minutes. The streets all seemed alike and with the snow covering everything it was hard to see the differences.

At 4:50pm I had my violin audition. This time everything worked out okay. I wasn’t feeling nervous at all; knowing that Patinka Kopec had accepted me as her student took a big weight off my back. The only disadvantage here was that I couldn’t find a warm-up room and the audition took place in the old part of the school, so it was a little bit cold. In sport it is necessary to warm up before a game or a competition to conserve good health and avoid any injuries. In music it’s the same; we work with muscles, ligaments, tendons. To play without warming up is not good; to audition without warming is worse. One of the teachers in the jury called my name. Mr. Won Bin Yim, the teacher I chose in the application, asked me some questions, typical ones:

“How’s Mexico?”

“Nice and warm!” I said.

“Did you fly all the way here for the audition?” he asked.

I thought it would be good idea to say “yes”; maybe it would impress them. I suffered to leave my lovely Mexico to come all the way here just for this audition, where it’s so cold, where nobody speaks Spanish and where there aren’t any tacos. After all the chatter I began playing. It wasn’t perfect, I have to say, but in spite of the mistakes I felt free, liberated, playing for fun. After I finished, they looked at one another and said, “Very good.” Then they turned to me, thanked me and wished me a good and safe trip back to Mexico. I started back to the hotel, but instead of walking I called the van guy, asking him to pick me up. I was done, no more things to worry about, no more places to go except “Home, sweet home.” 

It’s so amazing, well at least to me, to see how things start to fall into place in order to build a life; in this case, my life. I went to Ohio never imagining how things would turn out. I never thought Patinka would accept me with one lesson…that in Cincinnati I would actually feel safe about my playing. You go somewhere with plans in mind and you come back with others in hand. That’s the real magic. It would be a little bit boring if everything you planned out worked as you wished, there is always a surprise! and how you deal with it makes you who you are. You learn from it, whether it’s a nice surprise or an unpleasant one.

Now that I’m embarking on this new adventure I’m eager to find out what new surprises life has waiting for me. In a few years it’s going to be fun to look back and see that things happened at just the exact moment and exact place that they were meant to.

You have wakened me from my dream and started to make it real.

Truly yours,

Turkkan Osman Macías
San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato
April 29, 2008


Friends of Turkkan

This trip and the nine weeks that Turkkan spent at the highly competitive Aspen Music Festival and School in 2007 were made possible financially by donations and grants from a group of 34 Friends of Turkkan and the San Miguel Community Foundation. Turkkan now plans to go to New York City on July 1 to study for two months with Maestro Jonathan Strasser, the well-known director and conductor of the InterSchool Orchestras of New York and faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music, and from September to December with Prof. Patinka Kopec. Strasser also has invited Turkkan to join the ISO Symphony Orchestra, “one of the finest youth orchestras in the metropolitan area” next season. They play their final concert of this season on June 18 in Carnegie Hall.

A fund has been established to partially finance this six-month period in Turkkan’s journey to becoming a professional violinist, as only half of his needed funds will come from his mother’s salary as a nurse in Celaya. You may make a US tax-deductible contribution to this fund by sending your check to the San Miguel Community Foundation (SMCF) at La Conexión, Box 5-K, Aldama 3, San Miguel de Allende, GTO 37700, or from the US to SMCF, La Conexión, 220 N. Zapata Highway, #11A, Box 5-K, Laredo, Texas 78043, with the notation “Suzuki-Turkkan” on the memo line.

If US tax deduction is not needed, please make out your check to Russell Archibald and send it to him at Box 90-A, La Conexión, at either address. For more information on any aspect of this fund, contact Russ at 152-7156 in San Miguel, at his US Vonage number +1-860-318-0646, or at russell_archibald@yahoo.com. Supporters will receive updates via email on Turkkan’s progress.

To read Turkkan’s report on his experience in 2007 at the Aspen Music Festival and School, go to http://www.atencionsanmiguel.org/, click “archives” then “music” and scroll down to Sept. 14, 2007. Then click “Letters from a Young Musician.”

Turkkan and all of his supporters thank each of you for your interest in making it possible for this deserving young man to achieve his life’s ambition.

Thoughtful and sensitive, fiery and brooding
By Dick Avery

Concert
Folklore Harp & Flamenco Guitar
Sergio Basurto
Mon, May 19, 7:30pm
Sala Quetzal
Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50A
150 pesos, limited seating

Sergio Basurto typically starts his set on guitar with several thoughtful, sensitive Latin American tunes to set the mood and open the audience’s ears, then proceeds to the harp (36-string Irish harp) offering a mini-set of music that’s bright, fanticiful, lively and soulful. The audience is totally into what he doing now, some keeping time, some clapping appreciatively and sending up a “bravo” or two. He lifts that emotional setting higher by winding things up with a segment of flamenco music on guitar that hits on feelings that are at once passionate, fiery, brooding and mournful. Basurto crams a lot of music into a one-hour set!

He is a full-time musician, playing at local venues like the Biblioteca, Alfredo’s, Los Faroles (with a pianist) and La Puertecita. The experience of seeing such a versatile musician will give you an unforgettable evening. It’s best to get your tickets in advance at Teatro Santa Ana as the seating is limited.

Great American Songbook

Concert 
San Miguel Jazz Cats 
Thu, May 29, 8pm
Teatro Ángela Peralta
Mesones 82
150/100/80 pesos

In Teatro Ángela Peralta on May 29, one can revisit the melodies that marked a whole period of jazz culture and tradition. The concert features compositions of great musicians such as Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart, Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, Duke Ellington and Jerome Kern.

The “Great American Songbook” (sometimes abbreviated as GAS) refers to the interrelated music of Broadway musical theater, the Hollywood musical and Tin Pan Alley during the period that began roughly in the twenties and tapered off around 1960 with the coming of rock and roll. Aside from the enduring popularity of this music in its original context, it also became, and remains, the central repertoire of jazz musicians. In jazz, such tunes are simply referred to as “standards.” For its devotees, GAS represents a level of musical and lyrical sophistication that has yet to be equaled.

The concert will be presented by the group “San Miguel Jazz Cats”—Robert Kaplan, vocals; Ken Basman, guitar; Antonio Lozoya, bass; and Victor Monterrubio, drums. Cuban pianist Gabriel Hernández is the featured guest. All are distinguished musicians in the national jazz scene so their compositions and interpretations of themes will be delightful.

Tickets are on sale at the Teatro Ángela Peralta box office. .