Chapter 4 - Elynnor
612 Words
Today was supposed to be a day-off for my 10 friends to just relax and put down our instruments - no practice, no rehearsing, no composing, and no talking about practice, rehearsing or composing. But today, I just ordered everyone to pack their bags and prepare to move to Berlin. For what? To (potentially) kick-start our careers as musicians. We’re not doi8ng anything music-related today, but there goes our rest day. All thanks to Robbert and the newspaper he bought from the market.
Ok, ok, diary. Here’s what happened: my friends and I went to the market as planned. We rode there, by carriage, with I and Robbert steering the horses. When we got there, we split up and began looking around the various stalls in the fairly-crowded place. After a while, we joined up back in the cafe to have another breakfast (our mini-meal back in the cottage wasn’t enough). Everyone except Robbert. He entered the cafe last just as Georgia and I were about to help ourselves to a second round of pancakes.
He walked, no, ran, up to the table and laid the newspaper out on it. He pointed to a picture on the front page and announced the news of Maria Lussex-Hubert’s Hubert Opera House (HOH) at risk of rolling the carpet due to the inability to keep up with the changing musical trends and interests of the general public. The article explains how more and more Classical fans are listening to more and more Western contemporary music genres like Rock, Pop, R&B and Hip-Hop, and Mrs. Hubert has expressed a strong dislike for such genres as it threatens her business. She feels as though she is losing touch with her younger audiences as the USA keeps coming up with new things.
I’ve seen and read about Mrs. Hubert in many newspapers before. There rarely are pictures of her smiling, laughing, or shown acting cordially towards anyone. She always looked as though she is carrying all the sadness and seriousness of the world on her shoulders. The former owner of the HOH, Erich Henrik Hubert, Mrs. Hubert’s husband, apparently died when I was just a baby. I can imagine how Mrs. Hubert must feel taking over the HOH and having to do all the work.
I can clearly see she needs something NEW to her music. Something that will attract her customers and fans back to her husband’s legacy (especially the youngsters) but still stay true to her roots in Baroque, Classical and Opera. Which is what my friends and I, the GICM Orchestra, have to offer. Mrs. Hubert is really talented. She is a boss, conductor, singer and composer at the same time. She has no children but has an orchestra of hundreds of musicians. But without external help, her business won’t survive for long. That’s why I’ve decided to take a leap of faith and bring my friends to Berlin, where the HOH is located, and show her what we’ve got. In any case we need to perform in front of Mrs. Hubert (like an audition), I’ve asked everyone to remember our orchestral cover of The Beatles’ “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”. It’s my favourite song from that British group. Mrs. Hubert is sure to like our traditional touch to modern things, and our modern innovation to not-so-strictly standard things!
I’ve just finished packing. Going to turn in early. Have to be refreshed tomorrow for the long, long carriage ride to the city.
Elynnor
- Writer
