Today was the "official" start of the Cleveland Orchestra's Winter 1999 Tour of the Canary Islands, Spain, and Paris. Yesterday morning the orchestra left Cleveland for the first leg of their journey.

Today, those who departed a day or more early were glad they had. The rest of the orchestra sat in the Newark airport an extra three hours before their plane got into the air. By the time they arrived in Madrid, their flight for Las Palmas de Gran Canaria had long since left. To their credit, Spain's Iberia Airlines did some quick reshuffling and found seats for them on the next two flights. Alas, those on the second flight had quite a wait -- they were scheduled to arrive at their hotel at around 8 tonight. Those on the first flight may have had less of a wait in Madrid, but they made up for it here in Las Palmas; their luggage reportedly traveled with the second group.

Fortunately, the players have an extra day to recover. Tomorrow is a free day, so they'll be able to enjoy the sights and take in the local cuisine. Not surprisingly, there's plenty of seafood to enjoy. Those with a taste for Spanish traditions will find paellas of every description. One member of the group told me she'd seen several rabbit dishes on the menu.

The Cleveland Orchestra's itinerary calls for a concert here on Thursday the 21st. They'll play a second program in a second concert the following day, then it's on to the island of Tenerife for two more concerts in as many days.

David Roden
WKSU Assistant Program Director