A choral trip on the Trans Siberian Express and a concert on the Red Square in Beijing

The train voyage that I have always dreamed of making, that has fascinated me for years, is the Trans Siberian Express that passes from St Petersburg, Moscow, across Mongolia to Beijing.
This itinerary begins in Bratislava and crosses the Ukraine to Russia, where a compartment on the Trans Siberian Express will be reserved for a one-way journey.
The final project will be directed towards an art collector who would like to sponsor it, as well as personally participate in it.

I want to create a choral journey during which a chain of people, added to the group along the way, will form an ever-expanding convoy.
At each border, two people who can sing and play an instrument, will board the train, dressed in the colours of their country, with a flag and a musical instrument.
The journey will start from Bratislava, through St Petersburg, Moscow, ending in Beijing.
The first to board the train, in a reserved compartment, will be myself, the collector and two Slovakians; later we will be joined by two Ukrainians, and so on to create a final group of about 15 on arrival to China.

During the journey across countries to be discovered, this group, apart from getting to know each other, will have the occasion to discuss personal experiences as well as social and political changes of their country. Each member of the group will also learn the national anthem of all the countries involved. At the end of the journey, in Beijing’s Red Square, the group will play and sing all the anthems in an improvised concert.

This musical voyage will create a sound track, a connecting red line of a course that unites all the cultures together as only music is capable of achieving.

Price: approx. € 15.000

Enzo Umbaca, 02-03-2007