GENESIS IN HONDURAS

Travel blog by Denissa Rivas

I. First Rehearsal: Getting Acquainted 

It’s a sunny afternoon in February. The hibiscus and roses are flowering in the garden keeping the bees and the hummingbirds busy. The gentle breeze has brushstrokes of warm and cool air, bringing the promise of a cooler evening. The far away sounds of traffic at the end of a working day mix with the excited greeting among friends. “How are you?” “I’m so glad you could join us!” “Hey! I hadn’t seen you in ages!” “I only see you in gigs!” “OMG look who’s here!” “Come meet our new colleagues.” We are all really excited to be here, under the same roof and after months of planning. It’s our first rehearsal here in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Genesis: A Symphonic Arche by John Hartman, will have its Latin American premiere the coming weekend. This musical event had been in the planning for a little over a year and finally, in a few minutes, the first notes of this extraordinary work will be played here, in my country. 

The rehearsal is taking place in the outdoor auditorium of the Escuela Nacional de Música. I am already in my seat in the flute section warming up surrounded by the typical sounds of an orchestra just before a rehearsal starts. The oboes are checking their reeds; the clarinets are playing scales; and the bassoons, with Rusty Jones as principal, are trying to communicate with a sort of Spanglish and ‘show and tell’ language. In the far back the brass players are buzzing their mouthpieces. And on the stage right and left, the percussionists are carefully placing their instruments in a way that will allow them flawless transitions and efficient changes between their assigned set of instruments. Just behind the violin section, the ladies of the treble vocal ensemble are in their chairs while Carol Cook, the lead soprano, with pencil in hand, is sharing with them her score markings. The cello section is all serious revising a challenging spot; the first stand of violas are turned towards the back double checking bowings with the rest of the section; and the violins are in their own world detangling some intricate passage. Then, Franklin Rodríguez the concertmaster stands up and beckons the first oboe for a tuning note. A sonorous and velvety A floats above us and we all tune our instruments.

At 6:00 o’clock, Raúl Munguía, our conductor, comes to the podium and greets everyone. He thanks the musicians for re-arranging their schedules to be part of the Genesis Symphony and then he introduces Mickey to the orchestra. Mickey is John Hartman's widow. She is fulfilling her husband’s wish to share Genesis’s musical message with the world. She addresses the orchestra in English, pausing every couple of sentences so Raúl can translate. She tells us about the musical significance and profound spiritual meaning embedded in this work. Her words give us a different perspective of the music, intensifying our desire to make this performance an unforgettable experience for our audience. When she finishes, we all clap while she leaves the stage. The conductor then gives the downbeat and the heralding notes of the brass resonate in the balmy evening. Genesis' first movement has begun. 

We worked diligently and intently on this first reading of the music. When we are midway through movement five “Epoch Three: Water”, the scent of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the orchestra…Yes! Break time! Shirley, one of the cellists, has brought coffee from her family company for the whole orchestra. What a thoughtful, nice, and delicious present! During this break, several members of the orchestra gather around Mickey and Carol. In the past, these musicians had travelled to the USA for musical events and had stayed at their homes. They are really happy to see them! I go to greet Honduran friends and colleagues, and meet the newest generations of musicians. It is so lovely to see everyone so excited for this project! 

Break is over and we must continue. Our concertmaster stands in front and calls for another tuning A. We all check our instruments and sit ready to continue the rehearsal. Ethereal arpeggios and a flute solo open movement six “Epoch Four: Earth” Later in this movement, the diaphanous treble voices glided over the whole orchestra leaving us awestruck. The melodies and harmonies from Genesis keep pouring from our fingers. After another hour of rehearsal we are at the end of the last movement, New Dawn. We let the final note float away in tranquility for a few seconds. And then we burst into exclamations of satisfaction. Our first rehearsal was done! Now it was time to go home, but we were still feeling the thrill of working together in this monumental musical project so, while we packed our instruments we kept talking excitedly about the music, the abundance of melodies, the touching harmonies, the combination of colors used, and so on. And that was a great sign that everything would come together nicely, when the orchestra enthusiasm keeps beyond rehearsal. 

Woodwind section: Denissa Rivas -principal flute, Magda Sanchez -assistant principal, Nuzzly Ordóñez -principal oboe,  Leonel López -oboe and English horn

Treble choir ready to roll!

Friends reunited! From left to right, Raúl Munguía -conductor, Yoni Martínez -principal horn, Pablo Alvarado -second violin, Denissa Rivas -principal flute, Fernando Lanza -principal viola

Pre rehearsal talk: Raúl Munguía -conductor, Carol Cook -lead soprano, Mickey Xun, -Executive producer

Mickey Xun welcoming the orchestra just before rehearsal

Hibiscus from the garden

Carlos and Ileana -first violins, greeting Carol.

Rusty Jones -Principal basson, warming up.

II. Visiting the Basilica 

The Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Suyapa is the national Catholic shrine of Honduras. Nuestra Señora de Suyapa (Our Lady of Suyapa) is the patron saint of the country. The story passed down through time tells us that one evening in early February in 1747, a farmhand called Alejandro Colindres was coming back from working on a corn field near a place called Suyapa (Çuyapa in the earliest spellings) Night befell before he could get home so he had to sleep beside a river. In the middle of the night, he realized that he was sleeping on something hard and when he had a closer look, he discovered by his side a small, dark cedar sculpture of the Virgin Mary. He took it home and built a little altar for the Virgin so his family and friends could worship and pray. Through the years, word got around that the Virgen de Suyapa granted many prayers and thus, devout people from all over the region started to come and pray for miracles. In 1925, Pope Pio XI declared the Virgin of Suyapa the Patron Saint of Honduras. In 1954 the construction of the actual basilica started. It was built in stages until its completion and inauguration in 2005. Her long journey from her humble family shrine, to being housed in the basilica, the Virgin had now arrived home. The whole month of February is dedicated to her celebration and pilgrims come from near and far to worship.

Today we are going to visit the Basílica de Suyapa for the first time. We got up early and had a hearty breakfast after which we were ready for action. Except Rusty, who decided to stay behind and work on his bassoon reeds. A taxi came to pick us up from our hotel and took us through the sinuous and ever busy traffic of Tegucigalpa. The basilica, perched on a hilltop, can be seen from almost any point of the city. From far away, its modern façade with clean lines and grey trims gives the impression of a church made of confectioner’s sugar. As we get closer, the streets get busier not only with traffic, but with vendors’ little tents alongside the curbs, and pilgrims traveling on foot. We arrive and climb the stairs to the porch of the church. Its impressive architecture captivates us at once. Inside, the cluster windows with beautiful stained glass let the sunlight illuminate the side aisles in a myriad of colors. The Spanish revival chandeliers hanging from the arches in between the bays echoed the blue and red from the stained glass. White and beige banners with the Keys of Heaven monogrammed on them hang from each column in the central aisle. Our sight follows the architectural rhythm all the way down the nave towards the altar. To the right, encased in a glass and surrounded with a halo of crystals and jewels, the Virgen de Suyapa awaits to hear everyone’s prayers. 

Unlike other depictions of the Virgin Mary, the Virgen de Suyapa is a really small statue standing at six and a half centimetres. She has dark skin and black hair, which has led to her affectionate nickname, “La Morenita” (The little dark skinned one) Her face has indigenous features with eyes gazing up to Heaven while her hands are clasped in prayer. 

You would expect a serene atmosphere amongst so much beauty inside a church but, it is February a month of pilgrimage and the continuous hum of people getting in and out constantly fills the spacious interior. In front of the sanctuary, and across the transept, there is a great number of devoted christians in deep reverence praying on their knees. On the pews, groups of people were sitting on different spots. Some were families praying together, and some were parishioners praying the rosary. In the middle pews of the left aisle, a bunch of teenagers were reading a hymn book, singing very softly. Maybe they would be singing at one of the afternoon masses? The constant flow of people brought in some tourists who wandered along the aisles admiring the religious art. It was admirable how amongst this bustle, everyone who came to worship could turn their personal spaces into a cocoon, tuning out everything else, and bowing their heads in reverence, addressing their prayers to Heavens. People of all ages, all social statuses, from near and far, they all were here to venerate the Virgin de Suyapa.

And then there was us.

Tomorrow we will be performing our first Genesis concert here. After we had walked around the basilica admiring its architecture and sacred art, it was time to check the space for the logistics. Mickey and Raul walked towards the transept to assess the space required by all the musicians: chairs, music stands, space needed by percussion, and so on. When they were satisfied with their calculations, Mickey went to find a spot in the middle of a pew and, like the other congregants, immersed herself in her own moment of private devotion. 

Meanwhile, Carol went to the spot where she estimated the treble choir would be and started vocalizing to test the acoustics. Her clear ascending arpeggios resonated all throughout the interior. Then she sang a passage from Genesis sixth movement, Epoch Four: Earth. Soaring above the rustle caused by the ever flowing pilgrims, her melodious soprano voice travelled all the way through the nave, rose to the clerestory, and echoed up in the vaults. Stunning! Some of the people stopped praying and looked up at her in amazement. Now it was Raul’s turn to try the acoustics. He clapped loudly to measure the reverberation time of the space; first with flat palms, and then with cupped hands. He repeated the test near the altar and the center aisle. Five seconds! That’s a lot! He tried again. The percussive sound was not as pleasant as the singing voice which caused some of the people devoutly praying to open their eyes, look at him with frowned eyebrows, and placing a finger on their lips, shushed him loudly. Oh, well! Time for a coffee break. We decided to go to the Basilica cafeteria to have some refreshments before heading back to the hotel. On our way out, I saw a sign on an iron stand that caught my attention: “Apaga el celular, habla con Dios!” -Turn off your phone; talk to God. And with this spiritual advice, I joined the others for a coffee. 

Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Suyapa. Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Altar of the Basilica

Mickey and Carol at the forecourt of the Basilica

"Turn off your phone; talk to God"

Stained glass cluster windows and Spanish revival chandelier

Raúl and Mickey checking the space at the Basilica's transept.

A view of the nave and altar

The Basilica from a distance

Virgen de Suyapa

III. Genesis International Premiere

Sunday, February 11th… TODAY.  IS. THE. DAY!! I am feeling super energized and just ready to go. But of course, I need to save my energy for the concert. Our daily routine of meeting at breakfast is more than necessary this morning so we can plan our day. There are many important details to take care of so we decided to have a second cup of coffee on the aparthotel terrace and 

create a pre concert checklist. From the terrace we had a lovely view and could see that we had been blessed with a beautiful day, sunny and not too hot. Just perfect! The orchestra’s call time was at 5:00 for a sound check, so we needed to arrive ahead of schedule. We decided that 3:30 is a good time to leave. Raúl calls the taxi company to request two cabs for that time. In the meantime, we return to our rooms to practice and get ready. 

Promptly at half past three, the taxis arrived to pick us up. Mickey, Carol, and I go together in one. We’re so pumped-up that we are just telling silly jokes in the car. Even the driver is asking why we’re so hyped. I’m also excited because my brother Itzel and Raúl’s brother, Mario, will be in the concert today. They live in San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba respectively, which are cities in the north of the country, and it takes a few hours by bus for them to reachTegucigalpa. We’re so looking forward to seeing them!

We arrived at the basilica and noticed other musicians were also arriving, even though it was still two hours before soundcheck. They explained that the traffic would only get worse due to the pilgrimage and the concert, so it was better to be there with plenty of time. Then, Raúl and I spotted Itzel and Mario, and we both rushed over and hugged our little brothers. It was so lovely to see them again! Five years had passed since our last visit to Honduras and seen our families. It brightened our day even more that they managed to travel to join us in this joyful occasion. After introducing them to the group, we let them know that we had some work to do, and that their help would be more than welcome. “Always putting the younger siblings to work!” they joked, but they helped us anyway, while bonding over being siblings to musicians. Mickey and Raúl went straight to the transept to make sure that everything was set up properly, speak to the recording crew, and to check that there were enough programs. Carol double-checked the number of chairs for the treble choir, while Rusty and I checked that all the woodwind chairs and music stands were correctly positioned. Everything is ready now. More members of the orchestra have arrived and the excitement can be felt from everyone. 

Although the concert doesn’t start until 6:00, people have been arriving since 4:30! Several pews in the front are already filled up. We have been promoting the event through both social media and traditional posters, so we anticipated a good turnout. Suyapa Medios, the basilica’s media outlet, also shared the news. The premiere of Genesis caused enormous interest in the musical and cultural world of the country that Canal 8 Honduras, the official government channel, invited Mickey and Raúl for a live interview which took place yesterday afternoon. Ten minutes before five, we are all in our seats, ready for the soundcheck. The recording crew is standing by, waiting to adjust cameras and microphones. The concert will open with Rossini’s overture “L’Italiana in Algeri” and there are certain fast passages that we need to try in this space. For this piece, all the woodwinds are rotating seats, so I’m playing the second flute part while Magda Sánchez plays principal. During her solo parts, when I’m resting, I sneak a few photos of the orchestra. I also notice that the audience has increased and the basilica is almost full! This is amazing! Now it’s time to run through some key passages from Genesis and adjust some tempos to account for the reverberation. After the soundcheck, we have a wee bit of time to relax. Raúl and Mickey sit in the first row, staying alert and keeping an eye on everything. 

6:00 PM Time to start! We’re all ready. Franklin, as concertmaster, rises from his chair, faces the orchestra, and asks for a tuning note. Once we have tuned our instruments, he turns to the audience and delivers a welcome speech. He explains what Genesis is about, and highlights that they're about to hear the international premiere of the piece. Then, he proceeds to introduce the conductor. Raúl, seated in the first pew, stood up, took three firm steps towards the podium. He looked at us, holding the baton horizontally in both hands, then shifted it to his right hand, raised it high, and gave us the downbeat to Rossini. The strings begin the introductory ‘Andante’ with soft, staccato chords. After a few bars, the oboe solo quietly sneaks in and is soon heard above the orchestra. Gradually, the music becomes denser, leading to a fermata and then continuing to an Allegro section with woodwind solos and accented tutti chords. This overture is not long, just seven minutes which gives us, the orchestra, enough time to pay attention to the echo and adjust our playing accordingly. When we finished, the audience clapped somewhat shyly although appreciative. (After the concert, we found out that many people thought that was the first movement to Genesis!) In the woodwind section, we use this wee pause to quickly switch seats for our next piece. 

And now, the main course: Genesis. The bass drum and timpani begin with a tremolo in crescendo, soon joined by the brass playing a majestic fanfare. These opening sounds resonate throughout the basilica, and the effect is absolutely breathtaking! Little by little, more instruments join in, each section adding its own colors to create the mystical character of the first movement. The second movement comes and goes by and soon we are in “Epoch 2: Air.” My flute solo is approaching. I can feel the adrenaline boost which makes me hyper focused, and here we are, a descending passage of the clarinet leads me into my solo. 

Breath … feel … play … 

I listen to the violins shimmer, and the ascending arpeggios of the clarinet.

Sing through your flute … present the melody … shape the melodic phrases …

Now, the second flute joins me in restating the melody, and together we continue with descending and ascending passages, interwoven with melodic motifs from the horns, until the end of the movement. I’ve played this piece twice before and have always enjoyed it, but this time feels different. Today, on a deeply personal level, the music has been healing my spirit. Twelve years ago today, my younger brother Pedrito passed away. Every year is difficult for me and my siblings, and as the eldest, I’m usually the one who comforts them. But today, it was the music comforting me. And after all these years, I finally let go. 

Three more movements pass, each with its own unique character. The next one is “Epoch Four: Earth”. An ethereal introduction by the harp -played by a keyboard this time- is followed by melodies from various instruments which sets the stage for the entrance of the treble voices. The choir rises and sings an ascending leap into a celestial passage that fills the entire space. As I alternate between playing and watching the conductor’s cues, I catch a glimpse of the audience completely enraptured with the lovely melodies surrounding them. This fills my heart with joy, seeing that the audience and the orchestra are in complete harmony not only listening, but also feeling the music together. We continue playing through four more movements and are now reaching the finale of “New Dawn”. A tutti crescendo builds to a thrilling climax, punctuated by  triumphant cymbals. Immediately afterwards, a tranquil, magical coda unfolds: the voices soar with an ethereal melody, echoed by the horn and ornamented with delicate and scintillating notes from the glockenspiel and the harp’s shimmering glissandi. The movement ends with an ascending xylophone arpeggio that gradually fades away. The symphonic arche is complete. The orchestra is silent, but the last note still lingers, echoing through every inch of the basilica. When it dissipated, the audience began to applaud -reverently at first, then with growing excitement, culminating in an energetic standing ovation. Their applause is magnified by the echo resonating through the vaults of the basilica. Raúl gestures towards us, and we stand up to acknowledge the audience’s appreciation. The applause goes on and on… What an amazing audience reception! I look around and see smiles of delight and fulfillment in every musician. So heartwarming! Raúl takes a microphone and addresses the audience, thanking them for being there. Then, he acknowledged the hard work that went into making this concert possible by everyone involved -the orchestra, Mickey, Carol, Rusty, Franklin, Kathia, and me. More applause follows and a sense of accomplishment and joy envelopes us. We did it! PREMIERE ACCOMPLISHED!

The post-concert socializing, photo ops, social media posts, and of course, packing the instruments and clearing the space are finally done. Time for the after-party! Mickey has graciously invited the entire orchestra to a parrillada dinner at the ‘El Patio Restaurant’. After such a long day, we are exhausted and absolutely ravenous! Time to fill our bellies! The food is amazing and the camaraderie shared by everyone makes it even better. And how about some popular music? A mariachi band makes its way around the tables, so we ask them to serenade us. Musicians supporting musicians! After the big, and lively dinner, it’s finally time to head home and rest. Tomorrow, we have another concert to perform. 

Raúl thanking Mickey after the concert at the Basilica

Mickey and Raúl in the front row minutes before the concert

"Smile for the camara, Mickeyyyyyy!"

Post concert dinner at "El Patio Restaurant"	Franklin Rodríguez, the concertmaster, gifting Mickey with a bouquet of flowers after the concert.	Dinner at "El Patio"	Dinner at "El Patio"
Confident smiles from the sopranos and altos.	From left to right: Verónica Alvarado, Esq. Carol Cook, Mickey Xun, and Rusty Jones.	Raúl and Franklin consulting before soundcheck	Flute section selfie!

Genesis in Honduras poster

Raúl at Canal 8 Honduras for an interview

Mickey at Canal 8 Honduras for her TV interview

Genesis Symphony in action

Full house at the Basilica concert!

IV. Second Concert: Escuela Nacional de Música

Good morning, everyone! What a nice day! 

As usual, we all gathered in the dining room. Itzel and Mario joined us for breakfast before heading back to their homes, but not before a second cup of coffee on the terrace. The weather is mild and sunny, which brings to my mind the verse from Psalms: “This is the day that the Lord has made…” We’re still reeling from the success of the Genesis premiere. What an amazing concert! We can’t stop talking about it! Still, we need to start planning for this evening’s performance at the Escuela Nacional de Música. The venue is an open-air auditorium, and the logistics are completely different from the performance at the basilica. So, we put together a new checklist for this evening. The time in between is spent taking it easy, and in my case, practicing a solo for an upcoming concert with the Vivaldi Chamber Orchestra. 

Today’s concert is scheduled for 7:00 PM, with a call time at 6:00. We arrive just before six and begin working through our checklist: making sure there are enough chairs for the audience, confirming the correct number of chairs and music stands for the orchestra, designating dressing rooms for men and women, and so on. At soundcheck, Raúl once again congratulated the orchestra for the outstanding concert at the basilica. He also gave a few indications and reminded everyone to stay alert for the conductor’s cues during crucial moments in the music. At this point, Fernando Lanza, the principal violist, rises from his chair and consults the score with Raúl. He’s noticed some inconsistencies in the viola parts and needs to double-check against the full score. It’s nice to see musicians taking the initiative to make sure their parts are accurate. Then, we played a few passages just to check the acoustics. 

People begin arriving and filling the seats, and soon we have a full house. There are families with children in the audience, which is lovely to see. I recognized some familiar faces in the audience, including several prominent figures from the cultural scene like the composer Jorge Santos and Andrés Hernández, producer at the Honduras National Radio. It’s truly uplifting to see so many people coming out to support this musical event. We are really excited and can already feel that this concert will be incredible. 

Downbeat time! Raúl gives the cues for Rossini. The overture begins with its soft pizzicatos, followed by the solos, and soon arrives to the fast part. We continue into the Allegro section, articulating the staccato notes with joyful energy. And suddenly… Black out! Literally!! A power outage has just happened. OMG SQUARE! LORD HAVE MERCY! What’s going on? I can’t see my music! I don’t think anyone can see their music. But we continue playing…by memory! I can feel my heart beating faster and louder, and I can hear everyone around me playing. I hear Magda playing her solo flawlessly. I can hear the violins answering. I can hear all of us playing the tutti. Muscle memory has taken over! I feel like fainting, but there’s no time; we have to finish this piece. Then, the treble choir and some of the brass -who don’t perform in the overture- turned on their flashlights on their mobiles and pointed them towards our music. Thank you so much! We can see the notes now, though we still need to find the place on our scores. We can just barely make out the silhouette of the conductor in the hazy half-light. Was he conducting throughout the outage? I certainly couldn’t see him earlier, but we’re already at the coda, just a few seconds from the end, and he’s there, baton in hand, beating time. And then, just before our last measure, the power came back on. As soon as we played our final chord, the audience erupted in applause and cheers while we, the orchestra, bursted in nervous laughter and looked at each other with stunned expressions. What had just happened?! We had to take a five-minute break to wait for the audience to settle down, and to collect ourselves. If we had felt a bit relaxed because we had had a successful concert the previous evening, the blackout jolted us into full alert. 

We are now ready for Genesis. I can sense that everyone on stage is intensely focused, fully attentive to the conductor. And here we are, one more time at the beginning of “At the Beginning”. The opening tremolo sweeps over us and soon, we’re immersed in the music. “Epoch One: Fire”...  “Epoch Two: Air”...“Festivity”... This movement begins with a piccolo solo, which I play, so I keep my eyes on the conductor for the cues. At one of those moments, I noticed some of the kids in the audience swinging their little legs and rocking side to side along with the music. That is so cute! 

 “The Great Battle in the Heaven”... “Epoch Three: Water”... “Epoch Four: Earth”... “Epoch Five: Spinning Wheel” Once again, I caught a glimpse of the audience, and it seems the spellbinding character of this movement had completely captivated them. 

“Epoch Six Recapitulation”... “Epoch Seven: Transfiguration”... “New Dawn”. The treble choir’s  exquisite melodies fill the air, enchanting the audience. I could clearly hear Carol’s voice soaring up there in the stratosphere. We have arrived at the finale. The usual echoing effect of the final note is not possible here since it’s an outdoor performance. So Raúl gives a gentle release gesture, but keeps his hands raised to keep the ethereal mood a bit longer. And then, as he lowers his hands, the audience's applause breaks the silence. The applause grows louder and we hear shouts of ‘bravo, bravo’ coming from the crowd. We rise and acknowledge the audience’s  appreciation, and Raúl leans forward to call Mickey to the front to recognize her. The applause swells as a few people surround her to offer their congratulations. And just like that, the international premiere of Genesis was complete. What an extraordinary concert! 

This time, the post-concert socializing lasted a bit longer. Many people wanted to talk with Mickey, with Carol, with Rusty, and of course, take selfies. Some of the children in the audience even came up and hugged them! Raúl and I were also busy greeting friends, colleagues, and even a few of our former students from back in the day. Finally, we all headed home, exhausted but happy, and more than ready for bed. Starting tomorrow we'll have a few days to just be tourists. But for now… good night!

Second concert just a few minutes before the blackout.

Kathia Rivera -violin and Genesis logistics; Carol Cook, Mickey Xun, and Franklin Rodríguez -Genesis concertmaster and the orchestra personnel manager.	Raúl Munguía, Franklin Rodríguez, Denissa Rivas, and Kathia Rivera	A selfie with cellist and music producer Shirley Paz	Raúl and Denissa with the Honduran composer Jorge Santos
Raúl a few seconds before the downbeat	The principal viola, Fernando Lanza, double-checking some notes against the general score.	Fernandita hugging Mickey	Magda and Denissa

A whole family at the concert: Marco Alvarez -principa cello and his wife Keila Henríquez -cello and their kids.	Close up of the oboe section
Mario Munguía and Itzel Rivas enjoying the view from the hotel terrace	Fernandita Lanza patiently waiting for Carol to show her her new game.