Nashville entrepreneur David English traveled to Argentina ten years ago on a young person’s business trip sponsored by the Rotary club, and fell in love with the country.
English now lives in Mendoza and wanted to foster a closer relationship between his home city and his adopted one. So this week, he along with four musicians and their conductor have come to Nashville on a cultural exchange. They’ve spent the week rehearsing with the symphony and sightseeing.
While sitting in the café of the symphony hall, Conductor David Handel translated for the musicians who say they’ve found playing here a more formal experience.
“And the way we speak in the United States in the context of the rehearsal, you would never expect a response, a response to something you say on the part of a musician unless something were unclear. On the contrary, a Latin American orchestra there’s a joie de vivre, where if you say something someone might jump in with a humorous remark which he thinks because it is a very clever and witty thing to say, that it’s appropriate.”
The musicians say the members of the symphony have been extremely friendly and they’ve loved playing in the new hall. They’ll be performing with the group in tonight’s concert.
The cultural exchange will be reciprocated when several members of the Nashville Symphony travel to Mendoza, Argentina in September.
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