Symposium Day 1

The Opening Ceremonies for the International Handbell Symposium were held in a grand concert hall at the Osaka Convention Center. This same hall will be the site for all the International Solo Concerts and the two Final Concerts for the event. It is a beautiful theater with amazing acoustics.

As is tradition, the ceremony began with the procession of the flags of the six IHC member countries and the official International Handbell Committee flag. Each member country selected a flag bearer to process with their flag and lead in the representative for that country's guild. As each contingent processed through the aisles of the hall, one the HRJ Adult Handbell Ensembles played that country's national anthem while their delegation stood. It was lovely to hear each anthem - from Oh Canada and Waltzing Matilda to the beautiful anthems of Japan and Korea, to our own Star Spangled Banner - all on handbells. Another great thing to see - in almost all cases, a young person was chosen as the flag bearer for each country.

Following the procession we received greetings from Mr.Shigeaki Hinohara (who is 99 years old and apparently quite a celebrity in Japan), Debbie Rice, and a representative of the Osaka Prefectural Government. Then a wonderful performance of two pieces by the Kobe YMCA Bell Choir under the direction of Nozomu Abe. Finally the ceremony concluded with the ringing of the Opening Chord by the representatives of the IHC. It was quite charming as 7 young volunteers from HRJ each knelt before one member of the committee to hand them crisp white gloves and one bell. Then, all 7 committee members stood as one and rung the chord. A simple representation of the meaning of this event - many countries, cultures and guilds coming together for one single purpose - making music together in peace and harmony.

From the Opening Ceremony we went immediately to our first massed rehearsal with our 7 conductors - one from each country plus one to conduct the composition winner. Each had 20 minutes to take us through their piece for the first time - while waiting for translations between English, Korean and Japanese as they went. The repertoire is an eclectic mix of styles that will make for a wonderful final concert. Conductors are kept on schedule by yellow and red flashing lights at the back of the room.

As usually happens at these events, our rehearsal ran a little long, so we had just enough time for announcements and a very quick stop in out hotel room before boarding buses to KACHOEN, Exotic Flowers and Birds Park. Here we had dinner and the traditional gift exchange. After dinner, all attendees are encouraged to walk the room, meet new people and exchange small gifts that they've brought with them. It is a lot of fun. I have quite a collection of gifts that I need to sort through. While all of this was happening, we were entertained by a great jazz combo and an acapella vocal quartet. This quartet was such fun - very good and neat to watch. I got a video of them singing "I've Been Working on the Railroad" - great stuff. It's posted on the AGEHR Facebook page (see below).

Rather than try to include photos within this post, I have uploaded them to the AGEHR Facebook page. Check them out at www.facebook.com/agehrinc.

I'm exhausted after this full and exhilarating day - to bed! Another full day tomorrow!