It's A Small World After All!

Today I discovered just how small (and yet big) a world ours is.

Twelve years ago I attended the 4th World Symposium on Choral Music, in Sydney.  Their system was that for all the big concerts, you were allocated specific seat numbers - and so as a result, you always ended up next to the same people.  I thought they might've done that here, but that didn't.  Anyway, at that Symposium I was sat next to a lovely Canadian lady called Laurie.  We hit it off, and ended up at most of the voluntary concerts and workshops together.  At the end of the Symposium we traded email addresses, and then went our separate ways - me, to Brisbane (and then 2 years later to London), and Laurie, back to Canada.  And we managed to stay pretty well in touch by email for about 2-3 years, until one day, the computer I was using packed it up, and I lost everything - including my address book.  In those days I was using a computer-based mail programme, rather than an online one - so once the computer crashed, that was the end of it.  I lost touch with so many people that I had met on my travels who had become really good friends.  When I got a replacement computer, the email company I'd been using went belly up, and so I had to get a new address.

So anyway, back to the small world thing.  According to Choral Denmark, who organised the thing, there were between 3-4000 participants in WSCM 08, some 40 odd ensembles, and some 200 odd concerts.  So the chances of seeing anyone you knew was pretty slim.  Amazingly though, I ran into several people from Australia that I knew, including Paul Holley, who got me interested in choral conducting in the first place!  So that was really good.   I didn't manage to meet as many new friends this time as last time, because you weren't seeing the same people over and over, the thing was so huge.

Anyway, this afternoon Art had to leave the Symposium early because he couldn't get a flight out that would connect with his Texas flight if he stayed for the final concert this evening.  So this afternoon I attended the 2nd last concert on my own, and then tried to get into the masterclass presentation, but it was sold out.

As I turned away from the workshop ticket desk, a woman approached me with "You probably won't remember me..." but I did!  It was Laurie!

How cool is that?  Someone I haven't seen in 12 years, had lost touch with 10 years ago - and the sad thing is that she had been at the Symposium the whole time!  In fact, we worked out that she saw us on the first day, because she sat in the same row as us at the vocal warm up  - she had to scooch past - and she remembered Art.  And then we found out she had even been in some of the same workshops as me, but we just didn't see each other!

So even though it was almost the very end of the Symposium, it was so lucky that we managed to meet up again - we went and had dinner and then went to the final concert at the Cathedral - Britten's War Requiem.  The piece was absolutely awesome!

The next day Laurie's flight was mid afternoon, and mine in the evening, so we met up for brunch and had a good old natter - and most importantly, swopped emails and numbers again - so here's hoping we can stay in touch this time!

How small a world is it?