Part II (06.08.2010)

Before we leave, I thought I'd tell you a bit more about our orchestra. The "Sinfonieorchester Basel" (Symphony Orchestra of Basel) is being represented in China by 90 musicians of 23 different nationalities. No, it's not a tower of Babel - almost everyone speaks at least two languages, some speak up to five or six languages fluently, and a couple of us have even taken a crash course in Chinese to help prepare for this tour. Wô hui shuo yi dianr hanyu. Most of us musicians are highly educated ( reading AND writing), well read and travelled. The majority of us are very aware of social, cultural and political issues and most of us have very definite opinions on a variety of subjects. 
But I wanted to tell you about who we are: in order to do that, I need to tell you what our interests outside of music are. I bet you'll be surprised. We have in our ranks: an actor who performs in (local) theaters, an artist who exhibits in galleries, a sailing instructor and high- sea skipper, a beekeeper, a jeweller, a webmaster, a pilot, a tango dancer, an electrician, a mountaineer, a dog breeder, a fly fisherman, a soon-to-be certified canine psychologist, photographer and music arranger, an ornithologist, a yoga instructor, a lifesaver at a local pool and creator of fabulous handbags and luggage.
We have Moms and Dads who go to MuKi gyms, mountain bikers, inline skaters, swimmers, skiers and couch potatoes.We have folks who do volunteer work in their community and others who belong to local and regional associations. 

There are two qualities that define and bind us: we are passionate about achieving our goals as musicians - second best just isn't good enough. We love our profession and appreciate the privilege of being able to "play" instead of work.

And, we feel privileged to play and live in the city of Basel, which has given us a home. We deserve to have a city that's proud of us and our accomplishments because no city could have better representatives of it's values than this very special Sinfonieorchester Basel. 
For now- goodbye, auf Wiedersehen, zai jiàn.