Sara goes to Sarajevo

About 11 weeks ago, I was accepted as the second bassoonist of the Sarajevo Philharmonic for the 2011-2012 season. This is the story of a 10-month adventure in Bosnia.

My flight leaves in 6 hours, and I have thoroughly messed up my sleep cycle. I got about 5 hours of sleep last night. Maybe that means I'll be able to sleep on the plane for once though. At least I'm packed and ready to go. It's still a little weird for me to know that I'll be in a country I know very little about in 24 hours, but that's what makes life exciting.

The thing that makes me the most nervous isn't the new country, language, and currency, but it's the fact that I'll have to play at A=442 Hz. For you non-musicians, the orchestra tunes to an agreed frequency on the pitch A before every rehearsal and performance. In the United States, most orchestras tune to 440 Hz, but in Europe, they like a little sharper, brighter sound, so they tune even as high as 445 Hz. The Sarajevo Philharmonic tunes to 442 Hz, which is much sharper than I have ever intended to play. Since I have had a history of problems playing even at 441 Hz, I decided to arm myself with shorter bocals. I made the trip to Edmund Nielsen's while I was still in Chicago to pick a No. 1 bocal from the largest selection of Heckel bocals in the world. It turned out to be a good idea, and I finally made my decision of which bocal works best with my instrument this past weekend. I am also armed with a No. 0 bocal for the year, so I should be set. (The lower the bocal number, the shorter and therefore sharper the bocal.) Two days after I arrive in Sarajevo, I have my first rehearsal with the orchestra. Then the next night is my first performance. I hope I can adjust to the new tuning quickly enough.

I am unsure how soon I will be all set up with internet in my new Bosnian apartment, but I should be able to post again in a week.