James Galway Concert

Each day on our way from school we walk through MUST (Macau Univeristy of Science and Technology). As we walk through there is a wall with all of the events going on. Most of the posters are in Chinese so I can't tell what they are saying. However, as we were going past one day this poster caught my eye. 

 As I approached the poster I realized this is James Galaway, a very famous flute player. He is a flutist I have admired since I was in high school. My friend Nikki introduced me to his music. He performs all over the world and has sold thousands of CD's. Him and his wife both teach and hold classes, mainly in Eurpoe where he is from. I knew I had to attend this concert. I sent Eric a text asking him if he would want to go. He sent me one back saying yes. I then sent a message to one of the sisters in our branch and asked her if she was available to watch the boys that night. She was!! I was so excited Eric and I could attend this concert. It is amazing hearing James Galaway perform in person. He seems to be a very kind person with a sense of humor. 

There were two parts to the program. I recognized some of the songs he played from the CD's I had. Then there was a short intermission. After the intermission the first song he started playing I started thinking I had heard the song before. As he played more I remembered it was the song I played for my auditions to be in the UNR band. Of course he played it a million times better than I could ever play it. His double tongue was outstanding. The accompanist was also amazing. They both played most of the songs from memory. Incredible! His wife also played a couple of duets with him. She is also a very exceptional flutist and she was dressed so beautifully. 

It was so enjoyable and relaxing to listen to him play. Afterwards there was a meet and greet. However the line was really long so we decided not to wait. Now I am wishing I had of just waited in line to personally meet him. That would have been a great opportunity! While we were walking out we saw Mrs. Barks, Cam's teacher. She had never heard of him before and was amazed that somebody could play the flute like he did. This was definitely a date night to remember! 

Side note....when we went it was raining. It rains a lot in Macau. Before we went inside the building we had to put our umbrella in a umbrella rack. What is different about this rack is the umbrella is locked in the spot and a key is given to the owner. When the convert was done we took the key to retrieve our umbrella. I had never seen anything like that. It is a good way to make sure the floors don't get wet and the umbrellas aren't stolen. 

Also, the program was written in Cantonese, English, and Portuguese. Everyone, regardless of language, can feel connected to music. The only part some of the audience may have had a difficult time with his when he spoke. There wasn't a translator, but luckily for us he speaks English. :)