Polanco and San Sebastian

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The Choral Festival here has booked us in outreach concerts all around the area. Sadly, two of these are somewhat far flung. Last afternoon, we boarded the bus for a 2.5 hour ride to Polanco, a little hillside town (population 5500) almost directly west of here. On arrival, we had a quick rehearsal. In the church where we were to perform (originally a Roman temple, now restored after a fire during the Spanish Civil War).

From there we walked over to the City Hall, where the vice mayor welcomed us to the town and presented us with some small gifts to commemorate our visit. As it turned out, we were the final performers in their annual choral concert series.

When we got back into the church, the local choir had performed a few pieces, and the place was packed! Typical of our trip thus far, the audience was stupendous. At one point, the applause nearly lead to an actual concert delay!

Toward the end of the concert, they presented the choir with a bust of a locally famous author as a further expression of their gratitude to the performers.

At dinner afterward, I had an opportunity to talk with one of the organizers of our visit. He told me that the region has a strong choral tradition, but that there are only two youth choirs left in the area, and then local church and community choirs. He, like others, hopes that the choral concert series will help inspire the young people in the area to participate in their choirs, and thus revivify and maintain their traditions.

Today, we will spend the morning and early afternoon in San Sebastian, on the Bay of Biscay. From there, we transfer to Aoiz, which is quite near Pamplona (no running of the bulls this time). After that, dinner in Pamplona, and back to Zarautz in anticipation for the competition tomorrow!

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