Music, nature and creativity in Naousa

Naousa. A small city in the north of Greece. The town of fresh rivers and waterfalls...

My sister is playing the clarinet in the Philarmonia of our hometown Lamia. Apparently it's one of the best in Greece. So the municipality and philarmonia f Naousa invited the philarmonia of Lamia to play for some patriotic event that happened ages ago.

Two buses, one hundred individuals and their instruments and some guests. The ages of the musicians are from 10 to 70 years old. There are families where the grandmother, the daughter and the grandson play in the same band...

The city is built on a hill and it is like hanging above the ground. Its' end is like a balcony that overlooks the plane lands underneath.

When we arrived at the hotel I gasped. So much beauty! It was on the mountain, in the forest next to a river. I literally run to see the water and listen to it's refreshing sound! Forests, rivers and mountains are my favorite places. Full of fairies and elfs, hahaha! I had the chance to walk around, sit on the grass, greet the ducks and find secret paths with secret streams... Breathing it all in...

In the afternoon the band had to play for Saturday's ceremonies. They got ready, dressed in their special uniforms their instruments ready to play. Both the bands became one and started to march around the city.

Now, I don't really like the idea of a marching band and I don't think I could play in one. They wear the same clothes and their repertoire is ethno-patriotic. Their individuality is deprived. On the other hand, they where so beautiful to look at, the colours of the uniforms combined with the shine of the instruments was so pretty... I took pictures in a frenzy, the details of their hands, feet, intruments, light were just perfect! I was running around to catch up with their marching... The whole process was so creative, I just loved it! I decided to overlook the whole religious-patriotic consept of the procedure and just have fun doing what I love: look, photograph and enjoy the moments.

It was dark when they finished and we all went back to the hotel to eat and rest. The river was still there, it's refreshing sound still there before dreams take over...

Since next days' schedule would be hectic, I decided to get up really early to greet the day and enjoy nature as much as I could. I got up at 7 in the morning, took my coffee and got out in the crispy cold river side. Tears run down my face as I felt the gratitude for this moment... Gratirude for the morning sun rays which played among the tree branches... Gratitude for this sound of the water... Gratitude for the spring colours... Gratitude for myself and the choices I made to get me here! It's magic. I spent three hours walking in the forest among the trees and the streams again. I wished Freeda was there with me! I - once again - made a mental note to get a driving licence and a car so I can take her with me wherever I go!

And then it was time to meet my sister and the rest of the band... This time they where wearing their white and blue summer uniforms. Such beauty in the faces of the musicians... Such light and shine as they carried their instruments!

Once more there were pictures to be taken and details to be photographed! I had run out of space in my camera but I did not need to worry. A young man from the band had seen me take photos and trusted me his expensive camera to take pictures. I managed to fill his camera too! All in all, there were 500 photographs! Photographs I can give to the band, pictures that might be part of an exhibition, pictures of the river and the forest... There is creative homework to be done and I surely love it!

After a lot of creative running around, a lot of sunburn and heat, the service came to an end. I felt so alive and I couldn't help smiling!

My younger sister was wonderful, she was enjoying her service so much and she was so beautiful in both the uniforms! I do love her, because she also sees the beauty in everything. In her own special way. She is really cool! I hadn't had the chance to get to know my sister. We were always literally miles apart. And now I can see how much we have in common and how she's grown to be a true lady in her heart. I love u sis!

And this is where the trip ends. Two days full of colours and creativity and beauty. New aquaintances. They want me to join the band but I don't feel that's my role. I might follow them as their photographer, who knows? Time will tell. I might do a photography exhibition in their honour, or sing with the jazz brass section.

The fact is, that I met a group of individuals who love what they do, they are commited to their cause and this is refreshing. It really shows that small cities are alive and active and it's the individuals' choise to be active or passive. It was really a preconseption of mine, that I would be buried in this small city. My misconseption is crumbling. Ho - rayy!