Departure Day!

A little over an hour ago, two buses pulled out of the Kleinhans parking lot bound for Toronto’s Pearson Airport – the first leg in the lengthy journey from Buffalo to Wroclaw. Most of the musicians and staff were onboard, although some musicians opted to make their own way to Wroclaw.

Custom luggage tags for the tour.	Dedication: Principal Trumpet Alex Jokipii gets in some last-minute practice before boarding the bus.
We are so thankful to Grand Tours/Ridge Road Express for taking us up to Toronto!	Thank you to bus drivers Joseph Kern and Ronald Herkey; also Cindy Jex for handling our reservations.
Robert Webster was eating dinner with his girlfriend when he got the call from the BPO asking him to serve as a substitute double bass. The gig? Our Poland tour!	Principal Tuba Don Harry was on the 1988 European Tour with the BPO. Today, he boarded the bus for the Poland Tour!
Associate Principal Bass Brett Shurtliffe hugged his wife goodbye before leaving for the ten-day Poland tour.	Violinist Diana Sachs and cellist Nancy Anderson posed for this photo before boarding opposite buses. As Diana walked away, Nancy shouted to her, “See you in Prague!’

As I was putting this post together, I got word that the buses have crossed the Canadian border with no trouble. Their flights leave around 7 PM.

Meanwhile in Poland, everything’s coming together. Our stagehands Charlie Gill and Sean Avery have arrived in Wroclaw and will get a chance to rest and enjoy some Polish food and scenery before tomorrow’s load-in at the Wroclaw venue. Our new friend Giuliano of Agility Transport is also in Wroclaw, and is coordinating load-in details with the venue staff. Our instruments and other cargo are on schedule to arrive in Wroclaw for tomorrow’s load-in.

We hope to have an update soon on the wind octet performances and classes in Lusalwice. But Principal Oboe Henry Ward shared some photos last night. The octet all realized that they missed out on Paczki Day in Buffalo last month, but they found a place to make it up!