The Berlin Fulbright Conference and a Little Musical Diversion...

Quick note: I will be attending the German Fulbright Commission's Annual Conference for all American Fulbrighters studying in Europe. Almost 300 Fulbrighters will attend the event in Berlin, which will feature project presentations, discussion panels, professional development seminars, and several galas that feature the music of Fulbrighters conducting musical research in Europe.

I will be part of a panel called 'European Dimensions' that will discuss my experience as a Fulbright Scholar studying in Europe. Although I do not have a set speech set out, I do have a theme, which is a piece of advice from my headmaster in high school: "live through experience, not abstraction." In other words, the idea of Europe sometimes is merely an idea; the experience is something else entirely and serves as a motivation for the development of this blog. Like with Andorra, I will have some thoughts and photos up within a week and a half to two weeks.

In the meanwhile, enjoy this video of the most prominent Flamenco guitarist in the world, Paco de Lucía and my favorite jazz guitarist, John Mclaughlin, play one of Paco's compositions, Zyryrab at the Sevilla World Expo in 1992. The song is named after Ziryab, one of the most prominent musicians in the Ummayad courts in Cordoba who introduced the instrument that would eventually become the six string guitar to Spain. It is also a nice opportunity to hear some ridiculous guitar playing from two masters. Enjoy!