Drivin' Mrs. Jennings: The Residency in Iowa

Feb 17, 2008

Well it was a bitter cold week in Quad Cities, Iowa this week! Christina and I found ourselves driving all over the metro area (hence the blog title), as well as out into several adjoining rural communities for the 14 outreach performances we did between Monday and Friday! It was a fairly exhausting schedule, but we really enjoyed the work, bringing pieces like Schwantner Black Anemones to schoolchildren in rural Illinois, performing on the Lenten Concert Series at the First United Methodist Church in Rock Island (my favorite piano of all the ones I met!), and even presenting an abbreviated version of our recital to employees and family members of the John Deere company in the John Deere auditiorium. We had lots of experiences that made us laugh, as we always do, and the journal that we take with us when we go on tour certainly received a lot of new entries. With one afternoon off we took a trip to the local mall and ended up both purchasing the same Tahari black and white wrap dress which we performed in, like Bobsey Twins, that night.  But interestingly enough, every group that thought they were getting a performance by an incredible flutist left the event fully aware that they had just encountered the work of a finely tuned ensemble. Jennings-Johnson Duo CDs literally flew off the shelves after each event! It was a great week and we are looking forward to our next tour!