Calcutta part 3

With only a week left in this incredible experience Zsofia and I have been looking back over the past few weeks here and wondering where they have gone!! The past month especially has flown past as all the challenges that a new place present have been diluted by the familiarity with our new home.

Most of our students have made obvious improvements and have really taken on board all our advice and guidance. Pedal technique and sightreading had been a particual struggle with the children but they have all transformed their playing which is so encouraging to see.

I have successfully taught the choir at Dolna school Ave Maria which they now sing beautifully and both the adult chamber orchestra and the childrens orchestra have come a long long way!! When I first heard them they weren't listening to each other, moving together and rarely playing in tune! But now they sound like  a real orchestra!! The Calcutta chamber orchestra (made up of some string teachers at Calcutta School of Music) have definitely improved the most, playing Mozart really well! The junior orchestra  too have improved as an ensemble and are having a little concert this saturday (over skype to my sister!) as they very rarely get a chance to perform.

Zsofia and I are throwing a workshop this Tuesday for all the teachers and students we have met in the past 2 months to cover all the reoccuring issues we have come across. We hope to advise them on practice techniques, posture, musicality and phrasing, aural skills and, of course, sight reading.

As well as our work in the school Zsofia and I have explored a lot more of Calcutta as our confidence has grown and we embrace the hectic nature of this city. We have seen the beautiful Victoria Memorial and taken trams over the whole city to try and see as much as possible and understand life here more. Our return home is strangely daunting as London will feel so small and quiet in comparison with the noise and busstle of Calcutta, the sheer number of people here is overwhelming enough - in fact there are more people in this City than there are in all of Hungary, where Zsofia is from.

I know we have both enjoyed this experience and it will be one we always remember, our teaching and playing have both developed massively and we hope we have blessed the people here and encouraged and inspired the children to love music as much as we do.