After a fabulous day of sightseeing in San Francisco, seeing the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard St, the Golden Gate Park, Pier 39 and riding the Cable Car (soooo much fun!) we had an opportunity to hand out some "awards" (?) and have a group reflection amongst ourselves.
There was a lot of tears and much laughter as we spoke to each other about our feelings and memories of the tour.
There were expressions of feeling cared for by everybody, working really hard to be a professional choir, being proud of being an Australian, meeting new friends, understanding of our "place" in the International Choir community (and we like what we saw!)
All the choristers returned to one last night with their homestay families - more tears one expects but everyone is looking forward to coming home.
See you all in Adelaide on Thursday morning!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
Final Days at Golden Gate Festival
Saturday night was the Closing Concert for the Golden Gate Festival, with all the Choirs in attendance.
The winners of each Category were invited to perform, with some special performances at the suggestion of the judging panel.
Young Adelaide Voices strode to the stage to perform Currawong Dreaming, as overall winner of the three categories in Youth. At the conclusion, Christie was presented with the three trophies (they are gorgeous).
It was a great night of celebration of the Festival, with the solo vocal winners performing before the Massed Choirs performed. What a sight (and of course, sound!) with 685 choristers on stage.
The lovely Kirke Mechem (who composed the Massed Choir piece) spoke about the reason why children should sing in choirs, with kindness towards others as a very significant one!
After the concert, it was an opportunity to dress up and party!!! Many choristers took the chance to do just that, and danced and laughed with other choristers they had met over the past week. Even our tour mascot Kev the Kangaroo got amongst the mosh pit - we had to rescue him for fear of being torn apart!!!
Monday was a sleep in day (YAY), although many still took the time to get around the Bay.
We met at 2.30pm for a concert at San Leandro Library - which holds a regular concert series at this venue. We had a small but very appreciative full house, with tears flowing during the final tour performance on Towards Infinity. A very special song in our hearts, as we described it as a song about "how to live your life and be free". After an emotional and heartfelt explanation about why the song meant so much to us, we sang our unofficial National Anthem - Waltzing Matilda.
All the choristers headed home with their hosts, and as Chairperson of Young Adelaide Voices, I wish to convey to all the parents of the children on tour - I have received many, many glowing praises of your children. The host families have been so impressed with them, and love them dearly and will really miss them. It is a credit to you, as parents, that our children are so beautifully mannered and kind to all the people we have met on tour. It is the one thing that will remain a proud memory in my heart and mind.
Monday is a sightseeing day together around San Francisco with a reflection lunch to reminisce about the tour. I hope to be able to share some of the insights in the final blog tomorrow night.
Many, many thanks for your kind words about the blogs - it has been a pleasure to recap the events of the days and something we hope to add to in many ways when we get back to Australia!
The winners of each Category were invited to perform, with some special performances at the suggestion of the judging panel.
Young Adelaide Voices strode to the stage to perform Currawong Dreaming, as overall winner of the three categories in Youth. At the conclusion, Christie was presented with the three trophies (they are gorgeous).
It was a great night of celebration of the Festival, with the solo vocal winners performing before the Massed Choirs performed. What a sight (and of course, sound!) with 685 choristers on stage.
The lovely Kirke Mechem (who composed the Massed Choir piece) spoke about the reason why children should sing in choirs, with kindness towards others as a very significant one!
After the concert, it was an opportunity to dress up and party!!! Many choristers took the chance to do just that, and danced and laughed with other choristers they had met over the past week. Even our tour mascot Kev the Kangaroo got amongst the mosh pit - we had to rescue him for fear of being torn apart!!!
Monday was a sleep in day (YAY), although many still took the time to get around the Bay.
We met at 2.30pm for a concert at San Leandro Library - which holds a regular concert series at this venue. We had a small but very appreciative full house, with tears flowing during the final tour performance on Towards Infinity. A very special song in our hearts, as we described it as a song about "how to live your life and be free". After an emotional and heartfelt explanation about why the song meant so much to us, we sang our unofficial National Anthem - Waltzing Matilda.
All the choristers headed home with their hosts, and as Chairperson of Young Adelaide Voices, I wish to convey to all the parents of the children on tour - I have received many, many glowing praises of your children. The host families have been so impressed with them, and love them dearly and will really miss them. It is a credit to you, as parents, that our children are so beautifully mannered and kind to all the people we have met on tour. It is the one thing that will remain a proud memory in my heart and mind.
Monday is a sightseeing day together around San Francisco with a reflection lunch to reminisce about the tour. I hope to be able to share some of the insights in the final blog tomorrow night.
Many, many thanks for your kind words about the blogs - it has been a pleasure to recap the events of the days and something we hope to add to in many ways when we get back to Australia!
Sunday, July 15, 2012
GOLD! GOLD! GOLD! to Australia
Apologies to the late, great Norman May who made this catch cry famous, but it is exactly what has happened at the Golden Gate Festival in San Francisco.
Young Adelaide Voices won first place Gold in all three categories of competition - Folk, Historic and Contemporary sections of the Youth Choirs.
Our scores were
Contemporary Section 92 points - Towards Infinity and Currawong Dreaming
Historic 94 points - Elle Grillo and Cantique de Jean Racine
Folk 96 points - Ergen Deda and Ngana
We will be given more feedback once the Judges notes are passed onto us, but needless to say - there was massive excitement when the results were announced.
But we have jumped ahead of ourselves in the discussion of the tour! On Thursday, we had a morning rehearsal with the Massed Choirs, a very quick lunch break, followed by a quick rehearsal together prior to the Contemporary Competition. This competition was entered by 9 Choirs - sadly, The Youth Choir Kivi from Lithuania had been delayed for four days in Cincinnati due to a flight cancellation and missed most of the opportunities to compete.
The Church was full of anticipation as we were to perform in the very middle of all the Choirs - fortunately there were none of the staging issues we experienced in the Folk and Historic sections - in fact - they had taped a sign over the lights switch - do NOT turn off!
The Kinder and Jugendsingeakademie from Graz Austria performed their two pieces from the World Choir Games and had clearly improved. The Chamber Singers of Fairfield County Children's Choir (who we sang to in Connecticut waaay back when!) had also been impressed by us to really have improved their overall performance (their words, not ours)
Our performance was clearly solid and beautifully executed. The video will make its way to our Facebook page soon.
After the competition, the host families gathered everyone up for a feed and a rest, before heading out to our Spotlight Concert n Lafeyette. This area is very similar to Stirling in the Adelaide Hills - and about 15 minutes from the other areas. Although the attendance was quite low and the venue had a "hard" acoustic the performance was enjoyed by all. We performed with the Beijing Rainbow Art Performance Troupe in their glorious costumes and the Ancora Choir from the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir followed us. They did some beautiful songs including a "standard" for their "retiring members". There were tears everywhere as this was the last time these choristers would sing together in this group - even "alumni" mothers were crying as they had also sung the song (sorry, forgot the name) as a group for the last time when they were in Ancora - a kind of tradition! They held it together for the finish and received a glorious ovation!
Friday was, as usual, a rehearsal for the massed Choirs, but shortened to make the winners announcements. The rest you know, and Christie was clearly overwhelmed with the results - in a very good way. The words "Did we just win three gold? That it just silly!" will need to be told many times as we reflect on the achievement!
Following the announcements the entire entourage (all choirs) walked to the BART (local rail system) to be taken downtown for a cruise on San Francisco harbour. Highlights (for me) were just sitting quietly watching Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge go by, whilst reflecting on the achievements. For many of the Choristers, the opportunity to stand at the front of the boat, being wind swept and rocking and rolling (it was quite rough) and having water splash over them as the boat pitched into waves was nearly a tour highlight! I asked one of the staff how he rated this trip for "roughness" and he said about 7 out of 10. Rest assured - it was a HUGE boat so it was really safe, but interesting to know how rough it can get! We made it under the Golden Gate Bridge and turned for home. As can happen in San Francisco - every other day has been glorious sunshine, but this day was foggy and a little cool, but hey - we got the full San Francisco experience!!!
After our cruise, many choristers went home with host families. A small group of 14 ventured off to a Major League Baseball game between the San Francisco Giants and the Houston Oilers. I am pretty confident that everyone enjoyed the experience, and loved the fireworks after the game.
It is now 2.15pm on a glorious Saturday afternoon, July 14th - we have had morning stage rehearsals for the massed choir and stage rehearsals for our performance in the Grand Finale Closing Concert as winners of our competitions. The mood of the choir is buoyant, not only in anticipation of the Concert tonight, but the party after - the decision has been made to dress up, have fun and celebrate our achievments!!
Young Adelaide Voices won first place Gold in all three categories of competition - Folk, Historic and Contemporary sections of the Youth Choirs.
Our scores were
Contemporary Section 92 points - Towards Infinity and Currawong Dreaming
Historic 94 points - Elle Grillo and Cantique de Jean Racine
Folk 96 points - Ergen Deda and Ngana
We will be given more feedback once the Judges notes are passed onto us, but needless to say - there was massive excitement when the results were announced.
But we have jumped ahead of ourselves in the discussion of the tour! On Thursday, we had a morning rehearsal with the Massed Choirs, a very quick lunch break, followed by a quick rehearsal together prior to the Contemporary Competition. This competition was entered by 9 Choirs - sadly, The Youth Choir Kivi from Lithuania had been delayed for four days in Cincinnati due to a flight cancellation and missed most of the opportunities to compete.
The Church was full of anticipation as we were to perform in the very middle of all the Choirs - fortunately there were none of the staging issues we experienced in the Folk and Historic sections - in fact - they had taped a sign over the lights switch - do NOT turn off!
The Kinder and Jugendsingeakademie from Graz Austria performed their two pieces from the World Choir Games and had clearly improved. The Chamber Singers of Fairfield County Children's Choir (who we sang to in Connecticut waaay back when!) had also been impressed by us to really have improved their overall performance (their words, not ours)
Our performance was clearly solid and beautifully executed. The video will make its way to our Facebook page soon.
After the competition, the host families gathered everyone up for a feed and a rest, before heading out to our Spotlight Concert n Lafeyette. This area is very similar to Stirling in the Adelaide Hills - and about 15 minutes from the other areas. Although the attendance was quite low and the venue had a "hard" acoustic the performance was enjoyed by all. We performed with the Beijing Rainbow Art Performance Troupe in their glorious costumes and the Ancora Choir from the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir followed us. They did some beautiful songs including a "standard" for their "retiring members". There were tears everywhere as this was the last time these choristers would sing together in this group - even "alumni" mothers were crying as they had also sung the song (sorry, forgot the name) as a group for the last time when they were in Ancora - a kind of tradition! They held it together for the finish and received a glorious ovation!
Friday was, as usual, a rehearsal for the massed Choirs, but shortened to make the winners announcements. The rest you know, and Christie was clearly overwhelmed with the results - in a very good way. The words "Did we just win three gold? That it just silly!" will need to be told many times as we reflect on the achievement!
Following the announcements the entire entourage (all choirs) walked to the BART (local rail system) to be taken downtown for a cruise on San Francisco harbour. Highlights (for me) were just sitting quietly watching Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge go by, whilst reflecting on the achievements. For many of the Choristers, the opportunity to stand at the front of the boat, being wind swept and rocking and rolling (it was quite rough) and having water splash over them as the boat pitched into waves was nearly a tour highlight! I asked one of the staff how he rated this trip for "roughness" and he said about 7 out of 10. Rest assured - it was a HUGE boat so it was really safe, but interesting to know how rough it can get! We made it under the Golden Gate Bridge and turned for home. As can happen in San Francisco - every other day has been glorious sunshine, but this day was foggy and a little cool, but hey - we got the full San Francisco experience!!!
After our cruise, many choristers went home with host families. A small group of 14 ventured off to a Major League Baseball game between the San Francisco Giants and the Houston Oilers. I am pretty confident that everyone enjoyed the experience, and loved the fireworks after the game.
It is now 2.15pm on a glorious Saturday afternoon, July 14th - we have had morning stage rehearsals for the massed choir and stage rehearsals for our performance in the Grand Finale Closing Concert as winners of our competitions. The mood of the choir is buoyant, not only in anticipation of the Concert tonight, but the party after - the decision has been made to dress up, have fun and celebrate our achievments!!
Friday, July 13, 2012
Golden Gate Festival
Following some quieter days of rehearsals and getting to know our homestay families, Wednesday involved some competition activity.
After the morning rehearsals with the massed choir, we had our own rehearsal at the Berkeley City Club. A large number of choristers then assembled at the Solo competition to support Cassandra Humble and Karl Gieger. The result is on the YAV Facebook page - as usual, Cassie was superb and received many positive comments from the other people in the audience. She looked so calm and composed - not sure the same was happening on the inside!
With a few hours between our next call - many choristers went home for a rest, an early dinner and then returned to the venue - others meandered around Telegraph St, which was bustling with many University students who are attending Summer School. Many restaurants cater for the student population with very good prices and quite reasonable quality. The standard of the decor of the restaurants are typically student eating houses - don't worry about cleaning the floor! Most ask you to put your dishes in a central area after eating - but hey - welcome to California!
We regrouped at 6pm at the First Congregational Church in Berkeley for our Folk and Historical Competition performance (These are two separate competitions performed as part of the same program). This Church is a lovely venue with very high ceilings and quite a good acoustic. We performed with the Beijing Rainbow Art Performance Troupe - with beautifully coloured costumes, and lots of dance and movement, the Barrington Children's Choir from Illinois - a group of approximately 14 girls aged 14 - 17. The Choir of the East Mikeladze Central Music School performed before us, again drawing great applause from the crowd for their small number of children and quite unique sound.
Our Choir really stepped up to the mark tonight - not only a biased view, but from the comments of people in the audience and Christie herself who felt it was of a very good standard. Some minor issues with insufficient lighting through the early part of the performance, and then having lights going on and off during our competition pieces and having a person wandering around side stage was not entirely helpful. However - the Choir did not waiver one bit - a mark of a very professional performance.
Thursday is a big day - with the Contemporary Competition in the afternoon - followed by a spotlight concert tonight. Once again, we will perform with the Beijing Rainbow Art Performance Troupe, followed by YAV, then the Ancora Choir from the local Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir. This will mean lots of local attendees we hope and we know they will be amazed - again!!
After the morning rehearsals with the massed choir, we had our own rehearsal at the Berkeley City Club. A large number of choristers then assembled at the Solo competition to support Cassandra Humble and Karl Gieger. The result is on the YAV Facebook page - as usual, Cassie was superb and received many positive comments from the other people in the audience. She looked so calm and composed - not sure the same was happening on the inside!
With a few hours between our next call - many choristers went home for a rest, an early dinner and then returned to the venue - others meandered around Telegraph St, which was bustling with many University students who are attending Summer School. Many restaurants cater for the student population with very good prices and quite reasonable quality. The standard of the decor of the restaurants are typically student eating houses - don't worry about cleaning the floor! Most ask you to put your dishes in a central area after eating - but hey - welcome to California!
We regrouped at 6pm at the First Congregational Church in Berkeley for our Folk and Historical Competition performance (These are two separate competitions performed as part of the same program). This Church is a lovely venue with very high ceilings and quite a good acoustic. We performed with the Beijing Rainbow Art Performance Troupe - with beautifully coloured costumes, and lots of dance and movement, the Barrington Children's Choir from Illinois - a group of approximately 14 girls aged 14 - 17. The Choir of the East Mikeladze Central Music School performed before us, again drawing great applause from the crowd for their small number of children and quite unique sound.
Our Choir really stepped up to the mark tonight - not only a biased view, but from the comments of people in the audience and Christie herself who felt it was of a very good standard. Some minor issues with insufficient lighting through the early part of the performance, and then having lights going on and off during our competition pieces and having a person wandering around side stage was not entirely helpful. However - the Choir did not waiver one bit - a mark of a very professional performance.
Thursday is a big day - with the Contemporary Competition in the afternoon - followed by a spotlight concert tonight. Once again, we will perform with the Beijing Rainbow Art Performance Troupe, followed by YAV, then the Ancora Choir from the local Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir. This will mean lots of local attendees we hope and we know they will be amazed - again!!
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
San Francisco
Sorry for the delay between posts - after the excitement of our Silver medal in Cincinnati, we had an early rise and a day of travelling to get to San Francisco.
To be fair, the organisation of the World Choir Games was exceptional - the only thing that hampered events was the heat, but that was managed as best they could. Most buses we travelled on were air conditioned, the buildings also and the organisers made sure there was water available all the time.
To our beautiful guides, Scott, Janice and Virginia (and Janice's husband Rocky) - we thank you so much - you took care of anything we requested (must have thought these Aussies are hard work!) and your care and love shown was amazing. We miss you so much already and want you to come visit us in Australia!
The organisers even had someone in the lobby making sure our bus arrived and loaded our bags onto the bus - and at the airport there were guides everywhere helping us along the way! Exceptional!
Interesting thing about American airports - massive security - we all were body screened for a domestic flight! But on the other hand, they allow dogs to walk thought their airports on a leash! Not that the two are connected, but there is that astounding "contradiction" again - or maybe its just me.....
Just before boarding the flight to Salt Lake City - there was a request from the desk clerk for a quick song - reluctance was the first reaction, but with Christies prompting Amelia Holds started us on Waltzing Matilda - greeted by some nice applause. In fact, one of the people in the lounge at the time posted about it on our Facebook!
After a very quiet flight - I would say 90% of us (me included) had a lovely 2 - 3 hour sleep. Salt Lake City is exactly as you would expect - lots of salt lakes! Looked like we were flying over the northern parts of Adelaide and the salt flats near Bolivar. A quick change over and off to San Francisco.
When we arrived in a very much cooler San Francisco (at last!) - we flew into the Oakland Airport and were greeted by Bill, one of the billeting Dad's - who made sure we got the the BART - and onto the train(s) that we needed to meet up with our host families at the Rockridge Train Station - without him we would have taken a lot longer. For baseball fans, the Oakland Stadium (home of the Oakland A's) was just near the train station we first got onto - and a game was in progress - good thing we didn't try and negotiate it when the fans were leaving!
Our host families greeted us warmly and whisked the Choristers away. I think most were looking forward to a ride in a car, a home cooked meal and their own bed! Christie, Karl, Jenny and Greg headed to their hotel - a most beautiful old Hotel called the Berkeley City Club Hotel - a quaint building with an interesting history. Here's a link for those interested! http://berkeleycityclubhotel.com/
After seeking the quietest room available to us for Christie - to allow her to prepare fully - she reported a "resident" adjacent to her screaming and ranting for an hour! How disconcerting! Christie spoke with the management and the situation was resolved for the evening, and Christie was able to be moved the next day!
Christie, Karl, Jenny and Greg attended a welcome function at a gorgeous home of one of the sponsors of the Festival. Everyone was introduced, and we met with Stephen Leek (whom wrote several of the pieces we perform including Ngana and Currawong Dreaming) Christie renewed a few acquaintances she had met in Canada with the Aurora tour, and we were all welcomed and had the opportunity to share stories about ourselves.
We gathered on Monday morning at 9.00am for the Massed Choirs rehearsal - in all, there are 19 choirs taking part in the 9th Golden Gate Festival in two "groups" - Children's Choirs and Youth Choirs. There are several competitions within each Group, and we are in two of them.
After enjoying our lunch break, provided by our lovely host families - we prepared for the Opening Concert where each Choir did one song. The songs performed were certainly varied in style from Gospel to Acoustic Abstract - interesting! We performed Ngana, with Stephen Leek (the composer) watching on. I took careful notice of him during the performance and he seemed to be nodding in approval. He spoke to Christie and the group afterwards and seemed genuinely pleased!
Some stand out performances we saw were from the Amoy Phoenix Flower Youth Choral Group from China - the cutest outfits and performance! A very small group of 8 singers formed the Choir of the East Mikeladze Central Music School from Georgia (formerly part of Russia) - they sang a toasting song - and one of the young boys (maybe 11 - 12) had the most amazing strong deep voice we had heard. They received an immediate standing ovation at the end of their song. Really great!
After the concert, the host families collected the Choristers again to take them home for dinner and other activities - the movies were mentioned, so I am sure there will be other stories to tell.
To be fair, the organisation of the World Choir Games was exceptional - the only thing that hampered events was the heat, but that was managed as best they could. Most buses we travelled on were air conditioned, the buildings also and the organisers made sure there was water available all the time.
To our beautiful guides, Scott, Janice and Virginia (and Janice's husband Rocky) - we thank you so much - you took care of anything we requested (must have thought these Aussies are hard work!) and your care and love shown was amazing. We miss you so much already and want you to come visit us in Australia!
The organisers even had someone in the lobby making sure our bus arrived and loaded our bags onto the bus - and at the airport there were guides everywhere helping us along the way! Exceptional!
Interesting thing about American airports - massive security - we all were body screened for a domestic flight! But on the other hand, they allow dogs to walk thought their airports on a leash! Not that the two are connected, but there is that astounding "contradiction" again - or maybe its just me.....
Just before boarding the flight to Salt Lake City - there was a request from the desk clerk for a quick song - reluctance was the first reaction, but with Christies prompting Amelia Holds started us on Waltzing Matilda - greeted by some nice applause. In fact, one of the people in the lounge at the time posted about it on our Facebook!
After a very quiet flight - I would say 90% of us (me included) had a lovely 2 - 3 hour sleep. Salt Lake City is exactly as you would expect - lots of salt lakes! Looked like we were flying over the northern parts of Adelaide and the salt flats near Bolivar. A quick change over and off to San Francisco.
When we arrived in a very much cooler San Francisco (at last!) - we flew into the Oakland Airport and were greeted by Bill, one of the billeting Dad's - who made sure we got the the BART - and onto the train(s) that we needed to meet up with our host families at the Rockridge Train Station - without him we would have taken a lot longer. For baseball fans, the Oakland Stadium (home of the Oakland A's) was just near the train station we first got onto - and a game was in progress - good thing we didn't try and negotiate it when the fans were leaving!
Our host families greeted us warmly and whisked the Choristers away. I think most were looking forward to a ride in a car, a home cooked meal and their own bed! Christie, Karl, Jenny and Greg headed to their hotel - a most beautiful old Hotel called the Berkeley City Club Hotel - a quaint building with an interesting history. Here's a link for those interested! http://berkeleycityclubhotel.com/
After seeking the quietest room available to us for Christie - to allow her to prepare fully - she reported a "resident" adjacent to her screaming and ranting for an hour! How disconcerting! Christie spoke with the management and the situation was resolved for the evening, and Christie was able to be moved the next day!
Christie, Karl, Jenny and Greg attended a welcome function at a gorgeous home of one of the sponsors of the Festival. Everyone was introduced, and we met with Stephen Leek (whom wrote several of the pieces we perform including Ngana and Currawong Dreaming) Christie renewed a few acquaintances she had met in Canada with the Aurora tour, and we were all welcomed and had the opportunity to share stories about ourselves.
We gathered on Monday morning at 9.00am for the Massed Choirs rehearsal - in all, there are 19 choirs taking part in the 9th Golden Gate Festival in two "groups" - Children's Choirs and Youth Choirs. There are several competitions within each Group, and we are in two of them.
After enjoying our lunch break, provided by our lovely host families - we prepared for the Opening Concert where each Choir did one song. The songs performed were certainly varied in style from Gospel to Acoustic Abstract - interesting! We performed Ngana, with Stephen Leek (the composer) watching on. I took careful notice of him during the performance and he seemed to be nodding in approval. He spoke to Christie and the group afterwards and seemed genuinely pleased!
Some stand out performances we saw were from the Amoy Phoenix Flower Youth Choral Group from China - the cutest outfits and performance! A very small group of 8 singers formed the Choir of the East Mikeladze Central Music School from Georgia (formerly part of Russia) - they sang a toasting song - and one of the young boys (maybe 11 - 12) had the most amazing strong deep voice we had heard. They received an immediate standing ovation at the end of their song. Really great!
After the concert, the host families collected the Choristers again to take them home for dinner and other activities - the movies were mentioned, so I am sure there will be other stories to tell.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
SILVER MEDAL - WORLD CHOIR GAMES!!!!!
Hello everybody - just got back from the Awards Ceremony to announce excitedly that we won a Silver Medal in the Youth Choirs Equal Voices competition!
We achieved a score of 78.00 - pretty much what we assessed ourselves at - the gorgeous girls from Svonky - Praha got a Gold with 80.13 and we thought they were very good when we performed with them in Washington. And they were sooo nice to come and congratulate us!
Our friends from the Farnham Choir, who we stayed with in England on our last tour finished 4th (and Gold) with 85.88 - lovely to see them successful too!
Amazing scenes in the Arena when the Champion Choir was announce - a very large choir from Guangdong in China - and it was a fabulous evening to attend!
We did do some other things today - including a workshop with Tove Ramlo -Ystad from Norway, who taught us some finer points of her piece Ave Maria - and taught us some Norwegian songs and techniques that teach timing, and balancing left and right brain - she was lovely and Christie has made a valuable contact for the future!
Well, good night from hot and humid Cincinnati - don't know how we will sleep with the excitement, but we have to get up at 4.30am to get our flight to San Francisco - think of us as you watch the 6.00pm news Sunday night!
LOVE TO ALL!!!!!
We achieved a score of 78.00 - pretty much what we assessed ourselves at - the gorgeous girls from Svonky - Praha got a Gold with 80.13 and we thought they were very good when we performed with them in Washington. And they were sooo nice to come and congratulate us!
Our friends from the Farnham Choir, who we stayed with in England on our last tour finished 4th (and Gold) with 85.88 - lovely to see them successful too!
Amazing scenes in the Arena when the Champion Choir was announce - a very large choir from Guangdong in China - and it was a fabulous evening to attend!
We did do some other things today - including a workshop with Tove Ramlo -Ystad from Norway, who taught us some finer points of her piece Ave Maria - and taught us some Norwegian songs and techniques that teach timing, and balancing left and right brain - she was lovely and Christie has made a valuable contact for the future!
Well, good night from hot and humid Cincinnati - don't know how we will sleep with the excitement, but we have to get up at 4.30am to get our flight to San Francisco - think of us as you watch the 6.00pm news Sunday night!
LOVE TO ALL!!!!!
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Competition Day!
The city of Cincinnati is experiencing a record heat wave, with temperatures soaring into the three digits, setting new records every day. Just a normal Summer day in Australia! But it is hot - and we have been taking precautions at all times.
After a better effort at breakfast - (they even had Raisin Bran - woo hoo!) we had some time to return to bed to rest before rehearsal from 11.30. Christie was really emphasising all the little detail to ensure a sharp and crisp performance.
At 1.00pm we went back to the International Choir Cafeteria for lunch, which again was healthy and ample. Good to be getting wholesome food! With a short amount of time to get our performance gear and assemble for the shuttle to the Competition Venue. We walked there yesterday at 9am, but it was now 2.15 and it was damn hot! Thankfully the shuttle got us there promptly and much. much cooler than walking! Our guide Janice has been super helpful - in fact, all the volunteers are terrific!
We had our own room where we could put our performance tops on, with water and air conditioning! Great way to literally "chill" and prepare. We followed a Choir from Austria, who did some "interesting" pieces including a random acoustic piece with noises and movement, plus another one about a Juvenile Vampire (with the Villain and Damsel in Distress doing some mime/acting - something we did not expect to see!)
Jenny and Greg sat in the audience with our guide (who sneakily took some photos - we'll post them on Facebook) We looked glorious and gave a really good performance - the feedback assessing ourselves at 9 out of 10 - We certainly sounded "crisper" than the Austrian Choir with our pronunciation and phrasing very sharp. The Choir had worked really hard at these finer points during rehearsal and it showed on stage.
The Choir was in great spirits after, clearly pleased with their efforts - who knows what the judges think? Tessa made a very good observation that "we are not a competition Choir, we are a performance Choir who entertain our audience". Summed it up, I feel. We'll let the cards fall as they may, as we can only control what we can control and put in a superb performance.
We went back to the Energy Centre for a workshop with the Composer of "Jonah" - on of the songs we sang in the competition. At the end of the workshop we got to sing it with him conducting!
After returning to the hotel, it was pretty much free time for the evening, with dinner at 7.00pm in the Cafeteria again. We had the chance to explore the near vicinity of the hotel in small groups, but everyone was back into the hotel by 10.00pm - still very hot. Many took the chance to swim and enjoy the efforts of today.
After a better effort at breakfast - (they even had Raisin Bran - woo hoo!) we had some time to return to bed to rest before rehearsal from 11.30. Christie was really emphasising all the little detail to ensure a sharp and crisp performance.
At 1.00pm we went back to the International Choir Cafeteria for lunch, which again was healthy and ample. Good to be getting wholesome food! With a short amount of time to get our performance gear and assemble for the shuttle to the Competition Venue. We walked there yesterday at 9am, but it was now 2.15 and it was damn hot! Thankfully the shuttle got us there promptly and much. much cooler than walking! Our guide Janice has been super helpful - in fact, all the volunteers are terrific!
We had our own room where we could put our performance tops on, with water and air conditioning! Great way to literally "chill" and prepare. We followed a Choir from Austria, who did some "interesting" pieces including a random acoustic piece with noises and movement, plus another one about a Juvenile Vampire (with the Villain and Damsel in Distress doing some mime/acting - something we did not expect to see!)
Jenny and Greg sat in the audience with our guide (who sneakily took some photos - we'll post them on Facebook) We looked glorious and gave a really good performance - the feedback assessing ourselves at 9 out of 10 - We certainly sounded "crisper" than the Austrian Choir with our pronunciation and phrasing very sharp. The Choir had worked really hard at these finer points during rehearsal and it showed on stage.
The Choir was in great spirits after, clearly pleased with their efforts - who knows what the judges think? Tessa made a very good observation that "we are not a competition Choir, we are a performance Choir who entertain our audience". Summed it up, I feel. We'll let the cards fall as they may, as we can only control what we can control and put in a superb performance.
We went back to the Energy Centre for a workshop with the Composer of "Jonah" - on of the songs we sang in the competition. At the end of the workshop we got to sing it with him conducting!
After returning to the hotel, it was pretty much free time for the evening, with dinner at 7.00pm in the Cafeteria again. We had the chance to explore the near vicinity of the hotel in small groups, but everyone was back into the hotel by 10.00pm - still very hot. Many took the chance to swim and enjoy the efforts of today.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Day 14 - the day before the competition
After a relatively early night by recent standards, we met in the lobby (clever use of local vernacular) and ventured across to the International Choir cafeteria adjacent to our hotel. How exciting to be sitting at tables with hundreds of choristers from around the world!
Once again, an American idea of breakfast is several ounces of sugar with some fruit thrown in for odd reasons. We survived this event to reassemble back in the hotel to walk to the Performance Venue for our Acoustic rehearsal for tomorrows competition. Did I mention it was hot? If you think of those Adelaide mornings where it's 35 degrees at 9am, then you get the picture (plus humidity)!!! Fortunately it was a short walk (and some cunning choristers found a Macy's store for a rendezvous later!)
After that, we returned to the cool of the hotel for a short rehearsal, with Christie ramping up the expectations for tomorrow's competition. We then had a couple of hours to rest, although there was a break out to Macy's! Many of those "renegades" consider shopping a rest, so to object would have been futile! We need happy choristers for tomorrow!
After a really good lunch back in the cafeteria, we boarded a school bus (just like you see in all of the American movies) and headed out to the Friendship Concert at Hamilton, outside of the city. It was an interesting ride, another bus driver who had to be helped with directions! We made with time to spare and quickly prepared for the concert.
The first choir was The Rockford Aces , an all male group from USA, followed by YAV. Our performance was met with enthusiastic applause, with many comments audible as I sat on the side of the small auditorium. Towards Infinity received a loud reception, with Currawong receiving another standing ovation. We finished the set with Waltzing Matilda, and received another standing ovation as we left the stage. We always get a lot of great comments when we gather in the foyer after the concerts, and CD sales have been healthy. (Side note: our Facebook page has attracted several comments for locals who look us up after performances - great!)
Back on the school bus for another hot ride to our hotel. We had organized a buffet meal in our hotel, with an early night in our rooms requested by Christie.
We are all really excited about tomorrow's competition and will be doing our best. Past the half way mark now, but so much more fun to be had!
Once again, an American idea of breakfast is several ounces of sugar with some fruit thrown in for odd reasons. We survived this event to reassemble back in the hotel to walk to the Performance Venue for our Acoustic rehearsal for tomorrows competition. Did I mention it was hot? If you think of those Adelaide mornings where it's 35 degrees at 9am, then you get the picture (plus humidity)!!! Fortunately it was a short walk (and some cunning choristers found a Macy's store for a rendezvous later!)
After that, we returned to the cool of the hotel for a short rehearsal, with Christie ramping up the expectations for tomorrow's competition. We then had a couple of hours to rest, although there was a break out to Macy's! Many of those "renegades" consider shopping a rest, so to object would have been futile! We need happy choristers for tomorrow!
After a really good lunch back in the cafeteria, we boarded a school bus (just like you see in all of the American movies) and headed out to the Friendship Concert at Hamilton, outside of the city. It was an interesting ride, another bus driver who had to be helped with directions! We made with time to spare and quickly prepared for the concert.
The first choir was The Rockford Aces , an all male group from USA, followed by YAV. Our performance was met with enthusiastic applause, with many comments audible as I sat on the side of the small auditorium. Towards Infinity received a loud reception, with Currawong receiving another standing ovation. We finished the set with Waltzing Matilda, and received another standing ovation as we left the stage. We always get a lot of great comments when we gather in the foyer after the concerts, and CD sales have been healthy. (Side note: our Facebook page has attracted several comments for locals who look us up after performances - great!)
Back on the school bus for another hot ride to our hotel. We had organized a buffet meal in our hotel, with an early night in our rooms requested by Christie.
We are all really excited about tomorrow's competition and will be doing our best. Past the half way mark now, but so much more fun to be had!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
The World Choir Games - we are here!
After another early start and 6 hour bus drive we arrived in a very hot Cincinnati - the sign said 100 degrees on the way in - and it felt like it.
We checked into the lovely Millennium Hotel and had to quickly get down to the Cincinnati Reds Baseball Stadium to assemble for the World Choir Games Parade and opening ceremony. We had a bit of a hiccup, but more of that later.
We assembled near the front of the parade, after Albania and Algeria - then came the Aussies!!!! WE were fortunate to be in the shade whilst waiting and it was hard to contain the excitement with the Choir Games Mascots Whirl and Twirl nearby. The obligatory "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie" was heard - much to my chagrin!- however Christie had asked for some restraint to protect voices.
The Parade itself was a fairly short walk from the Baseball Stadium to the Bank Arena - think our Entertainment Centre and you have the idea. It was filling rapidly with 364 choirs and 15,000 participants. It was very cool in there (temperature and otherwise!) and we
the chance to have a drink and something to eat whilst waiting for the rest of the countries to assemble.
The show began at 7.00pm and had the obligatory welcoming speeches from the Politicians, and Mayor plus the major sponsors of the games. Not too boring, and finally the Games were declared open.
We all joined in for the Choir Games Anthem and then the Choir Games theme song. The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra kept things humming along with a musical history of America since their Independence. As it was Independence Day, they were very parochial - with Indians, the Civil War, the roaring 20's, the Andrews Sisters, and a celebration of gospel and contemporary music.
We left the Arena at about 9.30pm were to head outside for the Independence Day fireworks, however it was oppressively hot, and so many people trying to get a vantage point we opted to catch the shuttle back to the hotel and get rested for a big rehearsal day and performance tomorrow.
Some information that needs to be shared, in order to get the same message across to parents.
We had a difficult situation today where the bus driver, who had delivered us from Washington to Cincinnati, left the hotel with our bags still on the bus - he advised us hurriedly that he had been told to move by the police and was going to "circle the block" and return. After completing our registration, we found that he had not returned as promised. Several phone calls were made to him and the organisers of our Tour (Classical Movements) and he DID return quite soon after. The ISSUE was that he was a contractor to the Company that Classical Movements had contracted - and claimed he had not been paid. Essentially, he used our luggage as "leverage" to get paid. He had been a wonderful bus driver to that point and we had no inkling of what was happening. We had the police involved and Classical Movements were doing all they could to address the situation. At the end, we got our bags - the driver has some issues to deal with - and Classical Movements were mortified and could not apologise enough. Unpleasant, but it got sorted out.
Another piece of information that the Tour Managers feel we must share, is that there has been many circumstances outside of our control that have caused schedules to be re- arranged or managed in short time frames. Many instances of insufficient information being provided to us, to the point that we double check EVERYTHING with the schedule daily (we learnt this on DAY ONE!). Even then - and with assurances from the Organisers - there has been issues - and there has been some "grumblings" about this within. We have addressed it here, but we wish to advise you that if you have heard about any lack of organisation - it has been a frustrating and at times difficult situation to manage. The Tour Leaders have addressed as many foreseeable issues daily, but still things pop up.
The main focus is getting us around safely, seeing the things we want to see, allowing time for the group to experience the USA and of course - be ready for rehearsals and concerts, plus getting sufficient dietary requirements and rest. This hasn't always sat well with everybody, but that's the way it goes with 41 people moving at once.
Now happily and safely settled in Cincinnati - time for our great singing to be heard!!!
We checked into the lovely Millennium Hotel and had to quickly get down to the Cincinnati Reds Baseball Stadium to assemble for the World Choir Games Parade and opening ceremony. We had a bit of a hiccup, but more of that later.
We assembled near the front of the parade, after Albania and Algeria - then came the Aussies!!!! WE were fortunate to be in the shade whilst waiting and it was hard to contain the excitement with the Choir Games Mascots Whirl and Twirl nearby. The obligatory "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie" was heard - much to my chagrin!- however Christie had asked for some restraint to protect voices.
The Parade itself was a fairly short walk from the Baseball Stadium to the Bank Arena - think our Entertainment Centre and you have the idea. It was filling rapidly with 364 choirs and 15,000 participants. It was very cool in there (temperature and otherwise!) and we
the chance to have a drink and something to eat whilst waiting for the rest of the countries to assemble.
The show began at 7.00pm and had the obligatory welcoming speeches from the Politicians, and Mayor plus the major sponsors of the games. Not too boring, and finally the Games were declared open.
We all joined in for the Choir Games Anthem and then the Choir Games theme song. The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra kept things humming along with a musical history of America since their Independence. As it was Independence Day, they were very parochial - with Indians, the Civil War, the roaring 20's, the Andrews Sisters, and a celebration of gospel and contemporary music.
We left the Arena at about 9.30pm were to head outside for the Independence Day fireworks, however it was oppressively hot, and so many people trying to get a vantage point we opted to catch the shuttle back to the hotel and get rested for a big rehearsal day and performance tomorrow.
Some information that needs to be shared, in order to get the same message across to parents.
We had a difficult situation today where the bus driver, who had delivered us from Washington to Cincinnati, left the hotel with our bags still on the bus - he advised us hurriedly that he had been told to move by the police and was going to "circle the block" and return. After completing our registration, we found that he had not returned as promised. Several phone calls were made to him and the organisers of our Tour (Classical Movements) and he DID return quite soon after. The ISSUE was that he was a contractor to the Company that Classical Movements had contracted - and claimed he had not been paid. Essentially, he used our luggage as "leverage" to get paid. He had been a wonderful bus driver to that point and we had no inkling of what was happening. We had the police involved and Classical Movements were doing all they could to address the situation. At the end, we got our bags - the driver has some issues to deal with - and Classical Movements were mortified and could not apologise enough. Unpleasant, but it got sorted out.
Another piece of information that the Tour Managers feel we must share, is that there has been many circumstances outside of our control that have caused schedules to be re- arranged or managed in short time frames. Many instances of insufficient information being provided to us, to the point that we double check EVERYTHING with the schedule daily (we learnt this on DAY ONE!). Even then - and with assurances from the Organisers - there has been issues - and there has been some "grumblings" about this within. We have addressed it here, but we wish to advise you that if you have heard about any lack of organisation - it has been a frustrating and at times difficult situation to manage. The Tour Leaders have addressed as many foreseeable issues daily, but still things pop up.
The main focus is getting us around safely, seeing the things we want to see, allowing time for the group to experience the USA and of course - be ready for rehearsals and concerts, plus getting sufficient dietary requirements and rest. This hasn't always sat well with everybody, but that's the way it goes with 41 people moving at once.
Now happily and safely settled in Cincinnati - time for our great singing to be heard!!!
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Day 12 Washington to Pittsburgh
The early morning alarm seemed harsh, as we are on the road again today. We left Washington with many great memories and many friendships to return to.
Today is also Terri Harding's Birthday - so a special Happy Birthday was sung at 8am in the Lobby of our hotel.
We grabbed some more food from our favourite supermarket for the 6 hours trip to Pittsburgh. Many took the chance for some more sleep, or watch a movie on Ipads. The scenery along the way was mainly trees - we spotted small houses and farms along the way, but it looked very similar to parts of Australia - maybe the hills are a bit higher?
After a truck stop to get some lunch along the way - choose from Starbucks, Roy Rogers and a couple of other fast food franchises - we hit the road again for the one hour journey to our hotel.
The group had a choice of visiting the Andy Warhol Museum or hanging out at the hotel - the pool seemed a popular option! The Andy Warhol-ers found it very interesting with a variety of Andy Warhols exhibits and some things that he himself had collected. A working display called "Clouds" was fascinating, with Silver Clouds filled with Helium bouncing around a room with fans blowing - very interactive.
Dinner was held at a nearby restaurant, with a really great selection plus a surprise Birthday cake for Terri. A special song was performed by her Batman and Robins - Meredith and a few others! Very funny and Terri loved it!
So a really relaxing day with some lovely moments - and a hotel that REALLY delivers service - lots of stories to tell about American ideas about service - interesting!
A quick pep talk before bed from Christie about the World Choir Games and many happy faces headed to bed for an early night.
Today is also Terri Harding's Birthday - so a special Happy Birthday was sung at 8am in the Lobby of our hotel.
We grabbed some more food from our favourite supermarket for the 6 hours trip to Pittsburgh. Many took the chance for some more sleep, or watch a movie on Ipads. The scenery along the way was mainly trees - we spotted small houses and farms along the way, but it looked very similar to parts of Australia - maybe the hills are a bit higher?
After a truck stop to get some lunch along the way - choose from Starbucks, Roy Rogers and a couple of other fast food franchises - we hit the road again for the one hour journey to our hotel.
The group had a choice of visiting the Andy Warhol Museum or hanging out at the hotel - the pool seemed a popular option! The Andy Warhol-ers found it very interesting with a variety of Andy Warhols exhibits and some things that he himself had collected. A working display called "Clouds" was fascinating, with Silver Clouds filled with Helium bouncing around a room with fans blowing - very interactive.
Dinner was held at a nearby restaurant, with a really great selection plus a surprise Birthday cake for Terri. A special song was performed by her Batman and Robins - Meredith and a few others! Very funny and Terri loved it!
So a really relaxing day with some lovely moments - and a hotel that REALLY delivers service - lots of stories to tell about American ideas about service - interesting!
A quick pep talk before bed from Christie about the World Choir Games and many happy faces headed to bed for an early night.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Day 11 Washington DC
After yesterday's fantastic performances and the fun of the "singing dinner" we all enjoyed another little sleep in, with a 10am call for rehearsal in preparation for some new songs in tonight's concert.
After this, a quick trip to our favourite Supermarket for lunch (a place called Shoppers) where you can get excellent salads and sushi, plus fruit salad and lots of fresh fruit and snacks. We boarded the bus again for a quick tour around Washington DC stopping at the Lincoln Memorial (with the big statue of him sitting in the chair) and the White House for photo opportunities. Will get them posted as soon was we can!
We had a very qucik trip to the National Cathedral - the 6th largest Cathedral in the world - simply spectacular, but not enough time to do it justice really. We did manage to sing in the Abbey, which had a beautiful acoustic - again - hoping to get it on the YAV Facebook page soon.
The afternoons workshop was hosted by Young Adelaide Voices at another gorgeous Church called the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church. We had great fun teaching choirs from Africa, Czech Republic, Canada, Colombia and the USA "Sesere Eeeye" with Meredith, Casey and Emma Louise teaching the movements. They all got to learn it very quickly, and it was a great sight to see them all dacing and singing to this wonderful Australian song. (When I returned to the hotel, I entered the lift with some of the African choir still singing the song! How lovely!) We also taught them how to make the bird noises from Currawong Dreaming - which brough much amusement to them all. Could not say they had any decent Kookaburras though - its s special talent Emma Louise and Sana have!
The concert tonight featured Childrens Choirs, including Childrens Chorus of Washington (their home turf!) Zvonky-Praha (quickly becoming a favourite - they are really good!) Cantare Childrens CHoir (did a great set tonight) Minnetonka Chamber Choir (just lovely voices!) and then finished with Young Adelaide Voices.
Kevin the Kangaroo made his North American debut - lots of photo opporunities, and good CD sales too - will be a nice bonus when we return!
We returned to the hotel to pack and get some sleep for an early rise tomorrow and a 6 hour bus ride to Pittsburgh. Goodbye Washington - look out Cincinnati - HERE WE COME!!!!!
After this, a quick trip to our favourite Supermarket for lunch (a place called Shoppers) where you can get excellent salads and sushi, plus fruit salad and lots of fresh fruit and snacks. We boarded the bus again for a quick tour around Washington DC stopping at the Lincoln Memorial (with the big statue of him sitting in the chair) and the White House for photo opportunities. Will get them posted as soon was we can!
We had a very qucik trip to the National Cathedral - the 6th largest Cathedral in the world - simply spectacular, but not enough time to do it justice really. We did manage to sing in the Abbey, which had a beautiful acoustic - again - hoping to get it on the YAV Facebook page soon.
The afternoons workshop was hosted by Young Adelaide Voices at another gorgeous Church called the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church. We had great fun teaching choirs from Africa, Czech Republic, Canada, Colombia and the USA "Sesere Eeeye" with Meredith, Casey and Emma Louise teaching the movements. They all got to learn it very quickly, and it was a great sight to see them all dacing and singing to this wonderful Australian song. (When I returned to the hotel, I entered the lift with some of the African choir still singing the song! How lovely!) We also taught them how to make the bird noises from Currawong Dreaming - which brough much amusement to them all. Could not say they had any decent Kookaburras though - its s special talent Emma Louise and Sana have!
The concert tonight featured Childrens Choirs, including Childrens Chorus of Washington (their home turf!) Zvonky-Praha (quickly becoming a favourite - they are really good!) Cantare Childrens CHoir (did a great set tonight) Minnetonka Chamber Choir (just lovely voices!) and then finished with Young Adelaide Voices.
Kevin the Kangaroo made his North American debut - lots of photo opporunities, and good CD sales too - will be a nice bonus when we return!
We returned to the hotel to pack and get some sleep for an early rise tomorrow and a 6 hour bus ride to Pittsburgh. Goodbye Washington - look out Cincinnati - HERE WE COME!!!!!
Monday, July 2, 2012
Serenade! Festival Concert 1st July 2012
Sunday 1st July - a wonderful day that we will all remember after the tour is finished,
The morning was a morning off - to sleep in - get some exercise - or do washing - whatever was needed. I think all parties appreciated this down time after a massive 10 days on the road.
The storm damage around Washington DC and nearby places caused one massive problem for the organisers of the Festival. The venue for the concert tonight had no power. They were all frantically trying to find a venue that allowed 7 choirs their own space, to hold the expected audience - to advise the audience of the change of venue - to get buses to take us there. The only difference it made to us was being delayed by an hour, but this was of no consequence at all - we were happy to relax and not be stressed about being somewhere.
They deserve an enormous pat on the back, as the venue was spectacular and gave us everything we needed. And the drive there was lovely too - looking at all the Embassy's along the way (missed the Australian one - find it tomorrow!) The buildings in this area are gorgeous - looking forward to going by there again.
We have found this great place to buy healthy lunches, so we stopped along the way to get some good food again. Salads are suddenly very popular amongst everyone, rather than fast food options!
After a rehearsal on the huge "stage" we regrouped for the Combined Choir rehearsal, then returned to our room in preparation for the concert.
The Choirs that performed (in order)
Following the concert, we got back on the bus to head into Washington DC for a "singing dinner". What was this event, we wondered? It was a huge ballroom with circular tables, much like a banquet or awards night - the groups mingled together at tables and many friendships were started! We ate a lovely meal, then the fun began! One of the guys from Countermeasure started playing on the piano and all the choirs gathered on the "dance floor" to sing together. Bohemian Rhapsody was sung very enthusiastically, followed by "Just can't wait to be King" from the Lion King. The lovely song from Rent was sung (Seasons of Love) The Colombian childrend led the Macarena, The Czech ladies led the dance "Ride your pony" - similar to one we do at fun and games with the junior choir. Its a progressive dance really, with people ending up with a new partner - what a fun dance!
Christie eventually called a halt to proceedings as we had to get back to the hotel and rest up for tomorrow, plus protect our voices! I am sure we could have stayed a lot longer - so much fun! We had some of the Cantare Childrens Choir on our bus, for the trip back to the hotel, so there was a lot of fun being had.
After a quick debrief and planning for tomorrow - all choristers headed to bed, with a promise of another later start and a rehearsal before some sightseeing.
Thanks to all of the positive comments about the Tour Blog- makes staying up late to do it worthwhile!
The morning was a morning off - to sleep in - get some exercise - or do washing - whatever was needed. I think all parties appreciated this down time after a massive 10 days on the road.
The storm damage around Washington DC and nearby places caused one massive problem for the organisers of the Festival. The venue for the concert tonight had no power. They were all frantically trying to find a venue that allowed 7 choirs their own space, to hold the expected audience - to advise the audience of the change of venue - to get buses to take us there. The only difference it made to us was being delayed by an hour, but this was of no consequence at all - we were happy to relax and not be stressed about being somewhere.
They deserve an enormous pat on the back, as the venue was spectacular and gave us everything we needed. And the drive there was lovely too - looking at all the Embassy's along the way (missed the Australian one - find it tomorrow!) The buildings in this area are gorgeous - looking forward to going by there again.
We have found this great place to buy healthy lunches, so we stopped along the way to get some good food again. Salads are suddenly very popular amongst everyone, rather than fast food options!
After a rehearsal on the huge "stage" we regrouped for the Combined Choir rehearsal, then returned to our room in preparation for the concert.
The Choirs that performed (in order)
- Zvony-Praha (Czech Republic)
- Cantare Childrens Choir (Canada)
- Voices of Namibia (guess!)
- Boston City Singers (guess again!)
- Young Adelaide Voices
- Countermeasure (Canada)
- Verata e Liberi (Colombia)
- Minnetonka Chamber Choir (USA)
- Imilonji KaNtu Choral Society (South Africa)
Following the concert, we got back on the bus to head into Washington DC for a "singing dinner". What was this event, we wondered? It was a huge ballroom with circular tables, much like a banquet or awards night - the groups mingled together at tables and many friendships were started! We ate a lovely meal, then the fun began! One of the guys from Countermeasure started playing on the piano and all the choirs gathered on the "dance floor" to sing together. Bohemian Rhapsody was sung very enthusiastically, followed by "Just can't wait to be King" from the Lion King. The lovely song from Rent was sung (Seasons of Love) The Colombian childrend led the Macarena, The Czech ladies led the dance "Ride your pony" - similar to one we do at fun and games with the junior choir. Its a progressive dance really, with people ending up with a new partner - what a fun dance!
Christie eventually called a halt to proceedings as we had to get back to the hotel and rest up for tomorrow, plus protect our voices! I am sure we could have stayed a lot longer - so much fun! We had some of the Cantare Childrens Choir on our bus, for the trip back to the hotel, so there was a lot of fun being had.
After a quick debrief and planning for tomorrow - all choristers headed to bed, with a promise of another later start and a rehearsal before some sightseeing.
Thanks to all of the positive comments about the Tour Blog- makes staying up late to do it worthwhile!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Day 9 Washington DC
After a major storm overnight, there were reports of severe damage but the area we are staying in had little or no effect. Although it was a quiet Saturday morning (and the traffic was supposedly easier to manage) the fallen trees did hold us up a little. We arrived at our group rehearsal for another session with Aaron Jensen, followed by a workshop with highly regarded choral conductor, Philip Brunelle. We rehearsed a new piece that had only recently been performed and will perform it tomorrow night at the Serenade! Festival Concert.
Finding a quality place to eat to cater for all of our needs (in one spot) has been tricky, but today our bus driver Dennis, delivered the goods - found a fantastic place just down the road from our hotel (funny that no-one else ever told us!) Salads and all kinds of goodies - everyone dived right into the healthy stuff!
We then had a short rehearsal at the Church of Epiphany in the heart of Washington DC before a concert in benefit of the Welcome Table Choir. This church organises activities for the homeless, including a choir (which we sadly did not hear) and the Organiser of that choir spoke and then sang a gorgeous song for us. It will be posted on the YAV website.
We opened the concert, followed by the Minnetonka Chamber Choir, Boston City Singers and the Voices of Namibia closed the concert. A highlight (apart from our performance!) was Imilonji KaNtu Choral Society joining the Boston City Singers on stage for a song about Nelson Mandela that we had learned yesterday. Very quickly the entire Church was on it's feet singing and dancing along. Oh, what a feeling!
Following this concert, we travelled out to the beautiful town of Annapolis. Many areas of America are beautiful, but this area was just gorgeous. Very hard to describe how pretty and beautiful it is. I hope some pictures do it justice. We watched the concert in the Church and were very impressed by the Zvonky - Praha Choir from the Czech Republic. The Colombian choir - Verata E Liberi - looked liked they had found their feet after a very tiring schedule for their young children. Their songs were great fun, with audience participation and clapping. The evening finished with Countermeasure, who always delight us!
A steady one hour trip back to our hotel, with the promise of a free morning to rest up for the BIG concert on Sunday.
Finding a quality place to eat to cater for all of our needs (in one spot) has been tricky, but today our bus driver Dennis, delivered the goods - found a fantastic place just down the road from our hotel (funny that no-one else ever told us!) Salads and all kinds of goodies - everyone dived right into the healthy stuff!
We then had a short rehearsal at the Church of Epiphany in the heart of Washington DC before a concert in benefit of the Welcome Table Choir. This church organises activities for the homeless, including a choir (which we sadly did not hear) and the Organiser of that choir spoke and then sang a gorgeous song for us. It will be posted on the YAV website.
We opened the concert, followed by the Minnetonka Chamber Choir, Boston City Singers and the Voices of Namibia closed the concert. A highlight (apart from our performance!) was Imilonji KaNtu Choral Society joining the Boston City Singers on stage for a song about Nelson Mandela that we had learned yesterday. Very quickly the entire Church was on it's feet singing and dancing along. Oh, what a feeling!
Following this concert, we travelled out to the beautiful town of Annapolis. Many areas of America are beautiful, but this area was just gorgeous. Very hard to describe how pretty and beautiful it is. I hope some pictures do it justice. We watched the concert in the Church and were very impressed by the Zvonky - Praha Choir from the Czech Republic. The Colombian choir - Verata E Liberi - looked liked they had found their feet after a very tiring schedule for their young children. Their songs were great fun, with audience participation and clapping. The evening finished with Countermeasure, who always delight us!
A steady one hour trip back to our hotel, with the promise of a free morning to rest up for the BIG concert on Sunday.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Day 8 - Washington
A fairly early call at 8am had us in the bus and heading to a Workshop with Aaron Jensen - the composer of the Serenade Festival song and the creative artist of the group Countermeasure, who we met last night. All the choirs gathered to work through his song (We are as one) and he is a funny guy with a great talent!
After a short break, we had an amazing experience with the Imilonji KaNtu Choral Society, which is an older group of men and women from various tribes in South Africa. They all dressed in their tribes "costume" and the host explained each one, and we witnessed their specific dances. It was very interesting and then we all got to dance the Zulu dance - and sing a song together that the African people sand (and still do) about Nelson Mandela's incarceration - it now reminds them that they are free. Really beautiful and generous people.
Five choirs then headed to Alexandria Square for a quick concert. It was incredibly hot - so all the care was taken in staying in the shade and keeping the fluids up, until our performance - which was reduced to 2 songs - then we escaped to the bus! An amazing thing happened (as they do) - some Adelaide people just happend to be in the square at that time - and their daughter is in the same class as one of the Choristers....
We headed back to the Smithsonians for lunch and to escape the abhorrent heat (near 42 degrees). We had the opportunity to see other parts we missed yesterday (and get more souvenirs!)
We rejigged our schedule (thanks to our lovely bus driver, Chris) and had an hour back in the hotel to freshen up before heading of to the performance tonight.
The other choirs were
Cantare Childrens Choir - Canada
Verata e Liberi - Colombia
Young Adelaide Voices - Australia
Boston City Singers - USA
Countermeasure - Canada
It was a great experience to hear the other choirs, and to hear them perform pieces we also have and are doing.
Once again - Currawong had them mesmerised - followed by Waltzing Matilda - there was a flurry of activity to get to know YAV at the interval that followed. (When we got back to our hotel - the Canadian Choir were applauding us as we returned to our rooms!)
Countermeasure is Toronto's hottest new vocal group, known for its upbeat sound, sophisticated marmonies, and infections energy. That is certainly true! All of their music is either written or arranged by Aaron Jensen and they blew us all away. We are soo excited that their Bass vocalist has offered us a percussive voice workshop - oh yeah!
The weather was still incredibly hot at 9.30 when we returned to the hotel, but a massive storm came through with lots of rain and wind - lights flickering in the hotel - all very exciting - but very safe!
Tomorrow brings some more exciting workshops and an early afternoon Concert performance before heading out of town to Annapolis, Maryland to watch another concert.
After a short break, we had an amazing experience with the Imilonji KaNtu Choral Society, which is an older group of men and women from various tribes in South Africa. They all dressed in their tribes "costume" and the host explained each one, and we witnessed their specific dances. It was very interesting and then we all got to dance the Zulu dance - and sing a song together that the African people sand (and still do) about Nelson Mandela's incarceration - it now reminds them that they are free. Really beautiful and generous people.
Five choirs then headed to Alexandria Square for a quick concert. It was incredibly hot - so all the care was taken in staying in the shade and keeping the fluids up, until our performance - which was reduced to 2 songs - then we escaped to the bus! An amazing thing happened (as they do) - some Adelaide people just happend to be in the square at that time - and their daughter is in the same class as one of the Choristers....
We headed back to the Smithsonians for lunch and to escape the abhorrent heat (near 42 degrees). We had the opportunity to see other parts we missed yesterday (and get more souvenirs!)
We rejigged our schedule (thanks to our lovely bus driver, Chris) and had an hour back in the hotel to freshen up before heading of to the performance tonight.
The other choirs were
Cantare Childrens Choir - Canada
Verata e Liberi - Colombia
Young Adelaide Voices - Australia
Boston City Singers - USA
Countermeasure - Canada
It was a great experience to hear the other choirs, and to hear them perform pieces we also have and are doing.
Once again - Currawong had them mesmerised - followed by Waltzing Matilda - there was a flurry of activity to get to know YAV at the interval that followed. (When we got back to our hotel - the Canadian Choir were applauding us as we returned to our rooms!)
Countermeasure is Toronto's hottest new vocal group, known for its upbeat sound, sophisticated marmonies, and infections energy. That is certainly true! All of their music is either written or arranged by Aaron Jensen and they blew us all away. We are soo excited that their Bass vocalist has offered us a percussive voice workshop - oh yeah!
The weather was still incredibly hot at 9.30 when we returned to the hotel, but a massive storm came through with lots of rain and wind - lights flickering in the hotel - all very exciting - but very safe!
Tomorrow brings some more exciting workshops and an early afternoon Concert performance before heading out of town to Annapolis, Maryland to watch another concert.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Fairfield to Washington
Hello all!!!! We are still very much alive, and apologies for not posting sooner but we have been on the run since leaving New York.
On Tuesday we headed out to Fairfield, Connecticut - a reasonable two hours drive out of New York, via New Jersey - seeing a real slice of typical American life. The houses and trees in Connecticut are beautiful, reminding us of driving through Stirling in Adelaide. We met our friends of the Fairfield County Children's Choir in the most stunning Chapel at the Sacred Heart University. We had a small rehearsal ourselves, followed by listening to the FCCC as they were also preparing for the Golden Gate Festival in San Francisco - where we will meet up with them again. The Colombian Choir we shared a hotel with in New York, Verata e Liberi, were running late due to traffic but we managed a quick combined rehearsal before being served a delicious dinner, prepared by the Mums (Moms?) of the FCCC - they were so sweet - even had Pumpkin Pie!
The concert was well attended by some 350 people and it was great to be performing again! The FCCC started the evening - they had two choirs performing this night, followed by the Colombian Choir (who's age range from 7 - 17). After that we strode to the stage, and simply blew the audience away. The highlight of the evening was undoubtably Currawong, finishing with native bird calls, culminating in a standing ovation! The video is available on the Young Adelaide Voices Facebook page.
After a quick farewell to ur lovely hosts, we bunked down for the night in preparation for an early departure next morning.
Day 6 commenced with breakfast (always an interesting adventure) Healthy food options are hard to find! We had a steady bus tour back through New Jersey with last glimpse of Manhattan as we crossed the George Washington Bridge one last time. We arrived in the beautiful city of Philadelphia in time to take a tour of the Independence Hall and hear about the history of the Declaration of Independence and be in the rooms where it was debated and finally agreed upon. Very cool! Some took options of a open bus ride around Philadelphia (which was amazing by reports!) and others wandered the streets taking in the Liberty Bell and Benjamin Franklins grave site. After regrouping we headed to our accommodation for a relatively early night (and much needed).
Day 7 was another early get up and go - heading for Washington - arriving about 11.45 to enable us to spend some time at one of three Smithsonians - Aerospace, Natural History and American History - each group reporting they loved it and wanted to experience the other museums. Time has been allocated to allow more exploration of these really interesting facilities. We also have so much more to see here!
We checked into our hotel in Washington for the next 5 days - a chance to do some washing and really get prepared for the fantastic amount of singing and concerts over the remaining tour! Regrouping quickly we headed off to the Welcoming Address with the other choirs attending. We heard each sing their national anthem with South Africa, Canada (twice), Colombia, Czech Republic, USA and of course Australia all heard. They had a "quaint" ceremony where each choir had to answer random questions about various things - mmm, Americans do love a "pop" quiz! A group photo taken and snacks and drinks provided before we headed off to have an early night and prepare for some fantastic events over the ensuing days.
The Choir gathered back at the hotel and had a "reflection" meeting where each mentioned something they really liked and about how the tour is going. Most common was the real desire to sing - and the wonderful response to Currawong in Fairfield. There was a real desire to keep improving more and more and really do a great performance each time. There were reflections of a real spirit of friendship within the group and delight at "ad hoc" singing whenever they gather - with anyone joining in anytime. They loved New York - not all of it, but most - and they were all looking forward to meeting the other choirs and sharing their lives and love of singing.
On Tuesday we headed out to Fairfield, Connecticut - a reasonable two hours drive out of New York, via New Jersey - seeing a real slice of typical American life. The houses and trees in Connecticut are beautiful, reminding us of driving through Stirling in Adelaide. We met our friends of the Fairfield County Children's Choir in the most stunning Chapel at the Sacred Heart University. We had a small rehearsal ourselves, followed by listening to the FCCC as they were also preparing for the Golden Gate Festival in San Francisco - where we will meet up with them again. The Colombian Choir we shared a hotel with in New York, Verata e Liberi, were running late due to traffic but we managed a quick combined rehearsal before being served a delicious dinner, prepared by the Mums (Moms?) of the FCCC - they were so sweet - even had Pumpkin Pie!
The concert was well attended by some 350 people and it was great to be performing again! The FCCC started the evening - they had two choirs performing this night, followed by the Colombian Choir (who's age range from 7 - 17). After that we strode to the stage, and simply blew the audience away. The highlight of the evening was undoubtably Currawong, finishing with native bird calls, culminating in a standing ovation! The video is available on the Young Adelaide Voices Facebook page.
After a quick farewell to ur lovely hosts, we bunked down for the night in preparation for an early departure next morning.
Day 6 commenced with breakfast (always an interesting adventure) Healthy food options are hard to find! We had a steady bus tour back through New Jersey with last glimpse of Manhattan as we crossed the George Washington Bridge one last time. We arrived in the beautiful city of Philadelphia in time to take a tour of the Independence Hall and hear about the history of the Declaration of Independence and be in the rooms where it was debated and finally agreed upon. Very cool! Some took options of a open bus ride around Philadelphia (which was amazing by reports!) and others wandered the streets taking in the Liberty Bell and Benjamin Franklins grave site. After regrouping we headed to our accommodation for a relatively early night (and much needed).
Day 7 was another early get up and go - heading for Washington - arriving about 11.45 to enable us to spend some time at one of three Smithsonians - Aerospace, Natural History and American History - each group reporting they loved it and wanted to experience the other museums. Time has been allocated to allow more exploration of these really interesting facilities. We also have so much more to see here!
We checked into our hotel in Washington for the next 5 days - a chance to do some washing and really get prepared for the fantastic amount of singing and concerts over the remaining tour! Regrouping quickly we headed off to the Welcoming Address with the other choirs attending. We heard each sing their national anthem with South Africa, Canada (twice), Colombia, Czech Republic, USA and of course Australia all heard. They had a "quaint" ceremony where each choir had to answer random questions about various things - mmm, Americans do love a "pop" quiz! A group photo taken and snacks and drinks provided before we headed off to have an early night and prepare for some fantastic events over the ensuing days.
The Choir gathered back at the hotel and had a "reflection" meeting where each mentioned something they really liked and about how the tour is going. Most common was the real desire to sing - and the wonderful response to Currawong in Fairfield. There was a real desire to keep improving more and more and really do a great performance each time. There were reflections of a real spirit of friendship within the group and delight at "ad hoc" singing whenever they gather - with anyone joining in anytime. They loved New York - not all of it, but most - and they were all looking forward to meeting the other choirs and sharing their lives and love of singing.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Day Four - New York. A Cultural Feast!
The morning bagan with a rude 6.30am wake up call, due to misunderstandings on the hotels behalf. Once over the shock of that, we assembled for breakfast and to being another fantiastic day. Rehearsal in the morning, with the group starting to find its voice for the first concert tomorrow night in Fairfield, Connecticut.
After some planning and strategies to tackle the day, we headed off in our own bus (YES) to have a cultural experience of choice. Some chose the Museum of Modern Art, others chose the Guggenheim Museum and others chose to indulge in the cultural shopping experience of exploring Fifth Avenue. Ultimately, everyone gravitated towards Tiffany's - that iconic store that is really, truly beautiful. I can only describe how wide eyed and wonderful the group were in investigating the goods on offer. Some even mnaged to make purchases, even if just for the experience of having shopped at Tiffany's!
Following this - (and believe me - many did NOT want to leave) we walked our way back to Times Square in the (at times) pouring summer rain - it is amazing - as soon as it rained, these guys were out pushing trolleys selling umbrellas for $5.00 - talk about grabbing an opportunity! Some final shopping moments were seaized upon, dinner taken and then we split into three groups for another Broadway Show. The choices tonight were, Chicago, Mamma Mia and Rent.
When we regrouped, there was so much excitement (again) at what we had seen. I went with the Rent group, and I cannot describe adequately how they were feeling after that show. I don't think there is a word that can describe HOW excited they were - and I know the other groups were sharing their experiences!
We were collected by our own bus, and we sadly farewelled Times Square, with many vowing to return. We had a magnificent view of the Manhattan skyline at night as we crossed into New Jersey, as we refelected on three of the most amazing days one could have experienced.
The instructions were given that tomorrow was a much more casual day with a chance for a good sleep in and a realxing morning before heading off to our next destination.
Farewell New York. We will miss you and look forward to coming back.
After some planning and strategies to tackle the day, we headed off in our own bus (YES) to have a cultural experience of choice. Some chose the Museum of Modern Art, others chose the Guggenheim Museum and others chose to indulge in the cultural shopping experience of exploring Fifth Avenue. Ultimately, everyone gravitated towards Tiffany's - that iconic store that is really, truly beautiful. I can only describe how wide eyed and wonderful the group were in investigating the goods on offer. Some even mnaged to make purchases, even if just for the experience of having shopped at Tiffany's!
Following this - (and believe me - many did NOT want to leave) we walked our way back to Times Square in the (at times) pouring summer rain - it is amazing - as soon as it rained, these guys were out pushing trolleys selling umbrellas for $5.00 - talk about grabbing an opportunity! Some final shopping moments were seaized upon, dinner taken and then we split into three groups for another Broadway Show. The choices tonight were, Chicago, Mamma Mia and Rent.
When we regrouped, there was so much excitement (again) at what we had seen. I went with the Rent group, and I cannot describe adequately how they were feeling after that show. I don't think there is a word that can describe HOW excited they were - and I know the other groups were sharing their experiences!
We were collected by our own bus, and we sadly farewelled Times Square, with many vowing to return. We had a magnificent view of the Manhattan skyline at night as we crossed into New Jersey, as we refelected on three of the most amazing days one could have experienced.
The instructions were given that tomorrow was a much more casual day with a chance for a good sleep in and a realxing morning before heading off to our next destination.
Farewell New York. We will miss you and look forward to coming back.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Day Three New York and Broadway!!!
After the first night for what seemed like a month (!) most people had surfaced looking and feeling a lot fresher from a good nights rest. Breakfast has been quite simple, but healthy options - some sugar laden cereals (!), bagels, toast, peanut butter, jams, juice, tea and coffee AND fruit. All food requirements are being met and the quality of the food is good and everybody is taking plenty of water for good health and not only because it is a lovely 28 degrees!
This morning was the first rehearsal session and I watched Christie take the Choristers through a lovely warm up. As Jenny and I found a quiet corner in the Lobby to go through the days activities, the Choir nursed their voices back into shape. It was very cute to see the breakfast staff standing with their ear against the door, listening to the rehearsal. We invited them all in, after a break, and performed Cesere Aye to them. The staff looked amazed and were very thankful for the performance - maybe some extra "love" for breakfast in the next few days? The Choir sounded good and it looked like everyone enjoyed the opportunity to "perform", albeit to a very small audience.
Following the rehearsal, we had organised a bus to take us to Central Park, where we spent about 90 minutes in smaller supervised groups wandering around this amazing area of green, in a super big city. It really would be the best place to spend a summer Sunday in New York, as many people obviously do, with some street performers to see, large areas of lawn to stretch out and play ball (and sunbake!), people running or riding, or walking around the variety of paths and roads inside the park. We all met at Strawberry Fields which was donated by Yoko Ono after John Lennons death. It is a simple mosaic of the words "Imagine". She preferred this, rather than a statue, as she couldn't bear to see her slain husband like that or consider what the birds would have done to him! Many Choristers reminisced about movie scenes that had been filmed in Central Park, with a re-enactment of one taken place I am told!
After gathering together again, we walked about 30 blocks to the Theatres situated in the Times Square area. To say we "walked" would be a generous reflection, as the task of getting 41 people through a rapidly filling Times Square area, presented a challenge and we literally were "flat out" getting to the theatres on time! Thankfully, and safely, we managed to arrive at our destinations in time to "literally' see the curtains open on both The Lion King and Mary Poppins.
What transpired in the next two hours will be very hard to put into words, but from my experience ( I attended The Lion King, but am assured it was the same at Mary Poppins) your child had one of the greatest experiences of their lives. The excitement, the inability to express in words, the smiles, the hugs and the crying (of joy!) would have made all parents so very, very glad they have given their child the opportunity to experience a Broadway Show. Clearly, this was a magical moment in their short lives that will remain forever! And we get to do it again tomorrow!
As a note of interest, which was provided to us by our Tour Guide from the day before - a show is deemed to be "on Broadway" by the number of seats available in the Theatre - not by any physical location (although this is geographically the situation). A show is "on Broadway" if it has over 500 seats, "Off Broadway" if it houses between 100 - 499 people, and "Off Off Broadway" if it's smaller again.
After regrouping in Times Square, and seeing sights like Spiderman, Papa Smurf, Elmo and a wide variety of characters in the street, we ventured out in groups for dinner and to meet at the "Top of the Rock". This is a visit to the 67 - 69th floor of the Rockefeller Centre and 360 degree views of New York. We were fortunate that we arrived at dusk, where we could see the sights by day, and as the night descended watched the lights of the city begin to flicker. The Empire State Building was quite close, and it was magic to watch it light up. After an hour of looking over this amazing city, we headed back to Times Square. There was shopping to be done!
Times Square on a Sunday night was amazing. Soooo many people, and I heard someone comment (sounded like a local) "this is just like New Years Eve"! Despite the incredible crowds, we did not lose one chorister, and the Disney Shop, the M&M Shop amongst others felt the generosity of our credit cards as many treasures were secured. Christie took a group of "non-shoppers" home for an earlier night. After 2 hours of shopping heaven, the balance of the group returned back to the hotel, tired but delirious with the excitement of the days events.
I am attempting to gather some photos for you all to see the amazing time we had. I will attach those taken by Casey from the past two days, as this is the only camera I have access to for the moment.
This morning was the first rehearsal session and I watched Christie take the Choristers through a lovely warm up. As Jenny and I found a quiet corner in the Lobby to go through the days activities, the Choir nursed their voices back into shape. It was very cute to see the breakfast staff standing with their ear against the door, listening to the rehearsal. We invited them all in, after a break, and performed Cesere Aye to them. The staff looked amazed and were very thankful for the performance - maybe some extra "love" for breakfast in the next few days? The Choir sounded good and it looked like everyone enjoyed the opportunity to "perform", albeit to a very small audience.
Following the rehearsal, we had organised a bus to take us to Central Park, where we spent about 90 minutes in smaller supervised groups wandering around this amazing area of green, in a super big city. It really would be the best place to spend a summer Sunday in New York, as many people obviously do, with some street performers to see, large areas of lawn to stretch out and play ball (and sunbake!), people running or riding, or walking around the variety of paths and roads inside the park. We all met at Strawberry Fields which was donated by Yoko Ono after John Lennons death. It is a simple mosaic of the words "Imagine". She preferred this, rather than a statue, as she couldn't bear to see her slain husband like that or consider what the birds would have done to him! Many Choristers reminisced about movie scenes that had been filmed in Central Park, with a re-enactment of one taken place I am told!
After gathering together again, we walked about 30 blocks to the Theatres situated in the Times Square area. To say we "walked" would be a generous reflection, as the task of getting 41 people through a rapidly filling Times Square area, presented a challenge and we literally were "flat out" getting to the theatres on time! Thankfully, and safely, we managed to arrive at our destinations in time to "literally' see the curtains open on both The Lion King and Mary Poppins.
What transpired in the next two hours will be very hard to put into words, but from my experience ( I attended The Lion King, but am assured it was the same at Mary Poppins) your child had one of the greatest experiences of their lives. The excitement, the inability to express in words, the smiles, the hugs and the crying (of joy!) would have made all parents so very, very glad they have given their child the opportunity to experience a Broadway Show. Clearly, this was a magical moment in their short lives that will remain forever! And we get to do it again tomorrow!
As a note of interest, which was provided to us by our Tour Guide from the day before - a show is deemed to be "on Broadway" by the number of seats available in the Theatre - not by any physical location (although this is geographically the situation). A show is "on Broadway" if it has over 500 seats, "Off Broadway" if it houses between 100 - 499 people, and "Off Off Broadway" if it's smaller again.
After regrouping in Times Square, and seeing sights like Spiderman, Papa Smurf, Elmo and a wide variety of characters in the street, we ventured out in groups for dinner and to meet at the "Top of the Rock". This is a visit to the 67 - 69th floor of the Rockefeller Centre and 360 degree views of New York. We were fortunate that we arrived at dusk, where we could see the sights by day, and as the night descended watched the lights of the city begin to flicker. The Empire State Building was quite close, and it was magic to watch it light up. After an hour of looking over this amazing city, we headed back to Times Square. There was shopping to be done!
Times Square on a Sunday night was amazing. Soooo many people, and I heard someone comment (sounded like a local) "this is just like New Years Eve"! Despite the incredible crowds, we did not lose one chorister, and the Disney Shop, the M&M Shop amongst others felt the generosity of our credit cards as many treasures were secured. Christie took a group of "non-shoppers" home for an earlier night. After 2 hours of shopping heaven, the balance of the group returned back to the hotel, tired but delirious with the excitement of the days events.
I am attempting to gather some photos for you all to see the amazing time we had. I will attach those taken by Casey from the past two days, as this is the only camera I have access to for the moment.
Day three New York
So today we had our first rehearsal and were able to voice match to make our overall tone sound fantastic. We went on a walk through Central Park, spotting lots of squirrels and eating hot dogs and ice blocks to stave of the New York summer heat.
Mary Poppins and Lion King were seen today and, I can't speak for the Lion King, but Mary Poppins was amazing and a huge highlight all around was Bert tap dancing upside down on the roof.
We were able to visit the Rockefeller Centre and saw a panoramic view of the city.
Emily Adamson and Chloe Dunstan
Mary Poppins and Lion King were seen today and, I can't speak for the Lion King, but Mary Poppins was amazing and a huge highlight all around was Bert tap dancing upside down on the roof.
We were able to visit the Rockefeller Centre and saw a panoramic view of the city.
Emily Adamson and Chloe Dunstan
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Day two. New York!!
Although a reasonably early call for breakfast, most Choristers arrived eager for the adventure of touring this great city. It seems a sleep in a comfortable bed, albeit brief - had renewed the energy levels in anticipation of a great day sightseeing.We met our tour guide Chris, who throughout the tour was able to provide local insight into places and events that made the tour more interesting. We essentially circled around the island of Manhattan, identifying all the districts within the bustling city. The Fashion area, Trump towers (where Celebrity Apprentice) was filmed, around Central Park (amazing - cant wait for tomorrow!) the Dakota Building outside of which John Lennon was shot, the street where Lady Gaga lives when in New York, the Finance District, the Metropolitan (home of the NY Ballet Company) Grand Central Station and numerous facts and places. Most questions seemed to revolve around TV shows such as Sex in the City and others that escape the brain of this blogger. Needless to say, the was a lot of wide eyed Choristers with cameras clicking away madly.We visited a spot where we could see the site of where the World Trade Centres stood and it was sobering to consider the magnitude of the disaster. Seven buildings came down as a result of the events on that day, and three are already appearing on the skyline. The largest one, called World Trade One has just surpassed the Empire State Building in height (although still under construction). It's completed height will be 1776 feet high, which is significant in the fact that that was the year of The Declaration of Independence. Anticipation grew as we boarded the ferry to sail past the Grand Old Lady, the Statue of Liberty. I am sure many many photos will appear to mark this occasion. We also visited Ellis Island to understand the significance of this area in the development of the United States and the risk the immigrants took in venturing into the Land of Promise, without a guarantee of passage through.The trickiest part of the day was a) finding the Subway b) getting tickets for the Subway c) getting on and off the Subway, plus finding our way out of the station. Well done everyone - still haven't lost anyone! After a small shopping adventure, we had dinner in our care groups and then managed to find the right Subway then bus to return to our hotel. Arriving at 9pm and following a debrief - it was off to bed for a well earnt sleep.I hope to load some pictures, we are looking for a way we can share them all.For parents reading this, we have secured a cell phone for which you "can" ring us in emergencies. I will have Tracy issue it via the tour parents emails. If you can't wait till then, please email me at the tour gmail account for a reply. Yav2012tour@gmail.com
Saturday, June 23, 2012
New York, New York!
After a marathon 36 hours of traveling, with little incident, all Choristers and tour party arrived to a rainy summer Friday evening in New York!!!!
All happily ensconced in the lovely Marriott Courtyard Hotel in Secaucus, New Jersey we had a small glimpse of what the city has in store. Met by the lovely Stacey and our bus driver Ramone, we took a small detour through the city on route to our accommodation.
We glimpsed the Chrysler Building, Empire State Building, Madison Square Gardens, the Brooklyn Bridge and of course, Times Square. WOW!
Everyone retired to bed about 1.30am local time, ready for a good sleep in a comfortable bed and preparing for a 7.30am call. A fantastic day of sightseeing this exciting city beckons!
Friday, June 22, 2012
Locked and loaded
All parties checked through Customs and ticketing, with some delays caused by slow computer systems. The anticipation and excitement is building in the departure lounge as Choristers wait to board our flight. Next stop - Los Angeles in 14 hours!!!!!
Arrived in Sydney!
After a beautiful 4.30am call, and subsequent departure from "sunny" Adelaide, we find ourselves in the queue at Sydney International Airport checking in for our flight to LA. No major mishaps, apart from some forgetful choristers...
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
YAV is touring the USA
In June and July 2012 YAV is touring the USA, where we are representing Australia in the 2012 World Choir Games in Cincinnati and the 9th International Golden Gate Youth Choir Festival in San Francisco. We also have the fantastic opportunity of singing in festivals in New York and Washington DC.
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