Monday, November 9, 2009

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

World Harmonica Festival

Our trip to the World Harmonica Festival in Trossingen Germany was memorable for so many different reasons. I went out there with an open mind, not knowing really what to expect, but I have to say the first thrill was hearing so much good music played by excellent musicians from all over the world. Pictured below is one of them ..... Chris played on the open mike to an enthusiastic audience. Watching the Harmonica orchestras was a real treat, and an enormous eye opener. The group below are from a school in Taiwan. They played a movement from a Mozart symphony brilliantly (by memory!)
The next pictured group are from Japan


We did a tour of the Hohner factory to see the harmonicas being made. This is me standing by a ten foot recorder!.

The legacy of the Hohner family in Trossingen is huge, and this was very evident. pictured below if the old Hohner factory in the days when it employed 3000 staff (Bit like Willy Wonka's!)



There were so many high spots, including a trip to the harmonica museum in Trossingen which was really interesting. Pictured is a harmonica with a bullet hole. It was in a soldiers pocket and saved his life.