Last entry from Australia Trip

Well, this is my last post from this relatively short trip to Melbourne, Australia.

Today, I started the trip back taking a taxi from the hotel at 8:00 am Aussie time. That translates to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, east coat time. I shared a ride to the airport with John from Sibelius, Australia. We talked about the conference and how much I was impressed with how well it was run. They included some really neat ideas - a keynote every morning to start the day. The other two keynote speakers were performers. One played bass and had us signing and dancing with technology providing the groove. The other was James Morrison, one of the most famous jazz musicians from Australia. He is a world-class trumpet player. He performed with a HS jazz band, not a tech ensemble as we usually have at the TI:ME conferences. His talk was to focus on the musical goal and then determine what software can help that goal. Actually, the focus throughout the conference was on the musical result, not the technology - a philosophy that I share.

As the Quantas flight 93 started to taxi for take off, the pilot abruptly slammed on the brakes. This was a first for me in all of my flights over the years. Once on a domestic flight, we took off and then circled and came back down, but never an abort in the middle of the take off. Fortunately, it was an easy fix and we were back in the air in about a half hour.

The service on the Quantas flight was spectacular! Their service included free drinks, two excellent meals, great in-flight entertainment that you control on your own screen. I spent most of the time listening to CDs. My favorite was the Beatles album Love that includes a host of Beatles tunes tied together as one long medley with some really cool and inventive transitions. I listed to some jazz CDs as well. One I really enjoyed was a CD with Dizzy and Count Basie with only the two of them and bass and drums called "The Gifted Ones."

I did sleep a couple of hours when it was midnight back in the east. One thing I did figure out on this trip is how to determine the time back east when in Australia: just subtract 12 hours from the time and then subtract 4 more – the east is 16 hours behind.

We got to LA on time and then I got through customs without a hitch. I was awake and stayed up the entire flight from LA to Philly so I could get back on the Eastern clock as I am teaching at Haverford tomorrow. We landed early at 7:00 p.m. The advice I got from composer Jerry Nowak on fighting jet lag really worked (so far). His advice: drink lots of water and stay up and get on the new time clock the very first day even if it means staying up for 24 hours. This worked and I am confident I will avoid the jetlag that I experienced after our trip to Melbourne in 1988 when it took me several months to kick it.

It was a wonderful trip. I enjoyed meeting so many new teachers. I bonded with several teachers and exchanged email addresses with many. Many of the teachers in attendance at the conference were already using technology, so the conversation centered on how to integrate the technology in new and different ways. I was glad that my stories and teacher jokes were as well received here as they are in the states. That helped. I hope to return someday. Oh, another cool thing: My nametag read: Dr. Tom Rudolph, USA. Usually it reads Havertown, PA or Univ. of the Arts. It was really cool to be the only one at the conference from the US.

I must admit that the shy little Tommy Rudolph who did not like to go to parties when he was little sure has come a long way, delivering a keynote address in another country. I say that with tears in my eyes and not trying to sound proud or braggadocios.

It was a rewarding trip although I did miss speaking to Tiiu and the kids. I am home now, so all is well.

End of Day Three

Well, the conference ended today. I gave my third and last session entitled Composing with Sibelius Notation Software. I gave the session twice with 30+ in each session. The teachers here are so positive. It was great to speak with them. Everyone is eager to learn new ideas and not threatened by technology. I also like being called "Brilliant." As I mentioned in an earlier post, "Brilliant" down under is like saying "good job" in the states.

The other very cool aspect of the conference was a focus on acoustic, traditional music with an emphasis on how technology can support it. Unlike the TI:ME conferences ion the states where we often focus on tech ensemble performances, this was a refreshing change.

I got a ride back and forth from the hotel from the owner of one of three companies who support music technology in Australia. We only have one in the entire US - SoundTree. He had a new Lexus and it was cool watching the video screen when he backed up and the awesome GPS that is built in. The GPS even worked when we passed under a long 3-mile tunnel. Impressive.

Today, I woke up at 6:00 am and I am now officially on Aussie time. Now I have to manage my time on the way back so I get sleep at the right time so I can make it to Haverford to teach on Friday. That may be a challenge. I check out tomorrow morning, to the Melbourne airport and I leave on Quantas for LA at 12:00 noon. Then, the 5 hour flight from LA to Philly. Because I am picking up the 12 hours lost on the way here, I leave at 12:00 noon in Melbourne and arrive at 7:10 p.m. in Philly. Amazing stuff.

Day three in Australia

Today, I gave a session entitled "Technology Electives That Work at the Secondary Level in the US." I gave it twice. I also attended an excellent session on mixing in Pro Tools. I also got a chance to speak with a lot of the teachers at the conference. Interesting, on our last visit in 1988, we spent the time with family and fellow Estonians. I did not spend a lot of time talking to Aussies. I am getting a chance to speak with a lot of teachers. They have little or no marching bands in Australia. the focus, like the UK is on classroom music, concert band, strings and chorus.

Tonight there is a concert with one of the finest trumpet players from the country, James Morrison.
http://www.jamesmorrison.com/

I leave for a few minutes to attend the dinner and concert.

Australia Day Two - Day one of Tech Conference

There were about 200 people at my keynote address. I spoke for about 50 minutes. They were attentive and fortunately, they laughed at most of my jokes. I wasn't sure if my US jokes would work in Australia. The most laughter I got was my story about how to get more kids to sign up for tuba: change the instrument name from tuba to sousaphone. At least 2-3 kids will mistake it for saxophone and sign up for it. This is actually a real story told to me by a Haverford kid many years ago.

I also attended some excellent sessions. Interesting, that this is one of the few music technology conferences I have presented that was only about technology. After my session, one attendee came up and simply said "Brilliant." I was really impressed with that remark until I realized that in Australia, the word Brilliant is like saying "well done" or "good job" back in the states.

The food is much better than my 1988 visit. The hotel food and the conference food are both very good. The one strange thing was for breakfast they had French toast with Syrup, but there was no syrup to be had. So, I had scrambled eggs.

The bummer was the wireless network was not working, so I could not listen to the end of the Eagles game. I had to wait until I got home for that. Well, I found out the bad news. Bummer for us Eagles fans.

Australia day 2 - a.m.

I had a tough time getting on the Australian time zone. I was totally beat yesterday in the late afternoon and slept for a few hours. I did get to sleep at 11:00 pm and up at 3:30 a.m. so I should be OK for my keynote which is this morning at 8:30 a.m. (that translates to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday back in the east - basically subtract 16 hours from the Australian time).

I am listening to WIP radio online
http://www.610wip.com/
and the pregame show is on right now. I will miss all or part of the game and I don't think it will be re-broadcast here in Australia.

Now, I am going to review my keynote slides and have breakfast around 6:00 a.m.

Go Eagles!!

Day one in Australia

Well, since Tiiu's blog about my health was such a success, and since I don't have international roaming on my cell phone, I thought I would create one for my short visit to Australia. I am here presenting at the Music Technology in Education Conference.
http://www.sibelius.com/shows/mtec09/

I am presenting a keynote address tomorrow at the start of the conference and then a session on Tuesday and Wednesday.

I am staying at the Novotel Glen Waverly Hotel in Glen Waverly, Victoria. It is a very nice hotel. It took me a while to figure out that you had to put your room key in the wall in order to get the lights and air conditioning to work. It is summer down here and the temperature is in the 70s today. I also had to buy a $15 adaptor so my laptop cable would work. This international traveling is expensive :)

The trip started with me rushing to the airport on the late side (what else is new?) after teaching school and running a staff meeting at Haverford until 2:30.

When I arrived at the airport, USAirways tried to check my one bag to LAX. When I told her that it should be checked to Melbourne, she said it was not possible. After I suggested she consult her manager, they were able to check my box of handouts and some food to Melbourne. It did take a while to convince them that I was arriving tomorrow, even though the ticket said Sunday. When I mentioned crossing the international dateline, they were not aware of this concept?!

BTW, everything costs money now: $15 to check the FIRST bag. $2.00 for a coke! I found the best deal to be $1 for a cup of tea.

I got to LAX on time and then had an adventure trying to find the right terminal. I started at the domestic terminal and had to run to another area to get to international. When I got there I was told I had to have a VISA to get into Australia. That cost me another $25.00. I got to the gate and was starving. I did not buy any of the bad food on USAirways. I purchased a turkey sandwich that was $9.00!!! Back home at Wa Wa that is two shortie hoagies.

The flight on Quantas to Australia took a little over 16 hours. I did pretty well. I did have some diarrhea and took Imodium and everything was fine. I was in the economy (cheap) seats and they were cramped. I was in an inside seat. Everyone in the plane has their own screen and controller. No more big movie screens on this 747. Kalev would have liked it - you can pick any movie, video game, etc. that you want and watch it when you want. Very cool.

I landed in Melbourne after a 22+ hour ordeal. Boy, I am glad I don't do this trip that often. The last time I was here was in 1988 for the Estonian world festival. Liia was 10 months old. Well, they lost my box of handouts and food that I packed in a brown shipping box. They say they will deliver it to my hotel. I don't need the handouts until Tuesday, so hopefully they will arrive.

Today, I am trying to stay on Australia time. That means staying up for quite a while. I will miss the Eagles game tomorrow, as it will start at 7:00 a.m. Monday morning Australia time. My keynote is at 8:30. If you want to see my slides, I just posted them on my website at:
www.tomrudolph.com/handouts.htm

Well, I am leaving for the 5:30 welcome for the conference in a few minutes so this will end my day one post of the trip.

Tom