Logansport Children's Choir in Europe, July 2009

Saturday Morning

2009-07-18T09:52:00.000-07:00

I wasn't able to upload video on any of the computers/wi-fi connections when we were still overseas. I have it now. :-)
"Sing, Alleluia" is in St. Vitus Cathedral within the walls of Prague Castle. The other clip is the final song from the last concert in St. Nicholas Church on the Old Town Square.
Marilyn

Sing, Alleluia

On the Banks of the Wabash

Wednesday Morning

2009-07-15T03:16:00.000-07:00

Your blog masters

Sorry to have missed you last night - no internet connection.

We had a wonderful, though long day in "Praha" (Prague,) Czech Republic. We visited the castle and St. Vitus Cathedral within the walls of the castle. Here lies Good King Wenseslaus, St. John Nepomuk and several patron saints of the Czech and Bohemian peoples. Much of the castle, church, Old and New Towns have been restored throught the support of UNESCO. It is wonderful, colorful work that will be on-going for quite some time. LCC made a quick hike through the castle area and "Golden Lane" and across the Charles (walking) Bridge and got to the "Old Town" Square for the noon ringing of the Town Hall clock. The choir had a full concert at St. Nicholas church on the square with a very appreciative audience. This was the last concert for the graduated Senior girls and 8th grade boys. We then had some time to shop and sight see on our own. (Surprisingly many found the Hard Rock Cafe - Prague.) Our guides then took us to a monistery that has been turned into a restaurant complex. We had a great meal with traditional and pop music played on an accordian and drum set, sometimes with a soloist and dancers. LCC danced and sang as well. The view overlooking Prague from the monastery at sunset was a beautiful and fitting setting for one last impromptu song from LCC. (Video to be added later.)
The first wave is now at Heathrow waiting for our flight to Chicago. The last wave will follow about 4 hours later.

Monday Night

2009-07-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

Hildebrandts - here is Megan at the beginning.

and today.

Today was a much more relaxed (though still fun) day for LCC. This morning, we left our hotel in Salzburg and departed for the Czech village of Cesky Krumlov. There, we had some free time for lunch and then went on guided walking tours of the town. After leaving Cesky Krumlov, we continued on to our current location, Prague. Here, we checked into our (very nice) hotel, where we stayed to have a delicious dinner. More of Prague is to come tomorrow!

Sunday Night (really Monday Morning)

2009-07-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

These girls are Sixteen going on Seventeen

Hayden's "very, very good day!"

On the Banks of the Wabash (in Austria)

Sunday was a busy and exciting day for LCC! We started the day by performing the Hadyn Mass (with all the festival choirs) and "Os Justi" at offertory (by ourselves - an honor bestowed soley on LCC_ at Mass at Salzburg Cathedral. After Mass and a quick lunch, we traveled out to the Salt Mines at Durrenberg for a very fun tour, complete with a train, a boat and two great slides! We finished the day with the dinner, party and closing ceremonies of the Cantus Salisburgensis festival. Here, we mingled with other choirs and enjoyed lots of traditional Austrian folk dancing! FYI - there are no kangaroos in Austria...

Saturday Evening

2009-07-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

Look who came to the concert at St. Michael's

Sarah and the rest of the Logansport Children's Choir are still in Aldstadt Salzburg rehearsing with the all the festival choirs and orchestra to sing Haydn's Missa Cellensis at the Salzburg Catheral tomorrow morning. They are being conducted by Janos Czifra, the musical director of the Cathedral. He is somewhat of an icon around here and the kids will be able to say they "studied with Janos."

So - now it's Marilyn's turn to say how wonderful the trip has been so far and how great the children of Logansport and the surrounding area are representing their communities. Hope everybody at home is as proud as those of us here.
This morning/early afternoon was "free time" for the everyone to enjoy Salzburg. The busses left at 8:30 a.m. anyway so that the choir members got a chance to roam around the old city and get a flavor of the city. Many chaperone groups took the funicular railroad up to the Hohensalzburg Fortress, others took bike and Segway tours a little farther afield and one went in search of the family winery. This afternoon LCC performed a solo concert at St, Michael's Church, just off Mozart Platz. The small church was filled (not just with Hoosiers) and Susan played what is said to be the oldest organ in Salzburg.

We continue to have some sun, some clounds and the occasional cloud burst but most are prepared and all are rolling with the changes in the weather.

Friday Night

2009-07-10T14:19:00.000-07:00

Our first full day in Salzburg, though not very busy for the adults, was a big day for LCC. The first order of business? At 8:30 this morning in the lobby of the Hotel Turnerwirt (see hydrangeas out back,) we held a rehearsal to learn the Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah. (Due to a miscommunication, we had been told to learn the wrong Hallelujah by Handel.) After this, the singers went on to a rehearsal in the Mozarteum. In the afternoon, everyone took guided walking tours of Salzburg, seeing sights such as Mirabelle Gardens, Mozart's birthplace and many locations seen in The Sound of Music - lots of history, lore and stories of intrigue. In the evening, we took part in a concert at the Mozarteum, singing three numbers with all the festival choirs in addition to our own 12-minute performance. At this concert, we were able to watch performances by each of the festival choirs, which was truly an international spectacle!

Thursday Night

2009-07-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

Today was a very busy day. To start our morning, we left Fussen and traveled to Neuschwantstein Castle. There, after walking for what seemed like twelve hours up what was possibly the most challenging hill LCC has ever walked, we took a guided tour of Mad King Ludwig's unfinished masterpiece of a fairy castle. After leaving Neuschwantstein, we traveled on to Ettal, where we gave a lunchtime concert in the local abbey. Following lunch, we continued on to Salzburg (via the Autobahn!). Here, we attended and performed at opening ceremonies of the Cantus Salisburgensis Festival in St. Peter's Church and had dinner with all of the participating festival choirs at a local restaurant.

Wednesday Night

2009-07-08T11:32:00.000-07:00

Whose birthday is it today?

Four countries in one day! After leaving Switzerland this morning, we had lunch in the tiny but beautiful country of Liechtenstein. (Some of us even met the mayor of Vaduz!) Following lunch, which, for many of us, included authentic local food, we traveled on through a small part of Austria and through parts of Germany to arrive at our current location, Füssen, Germany. Upon our arrival here, many of us went on a walking tour of the medieval old town. Our guides (Trinka and Kerstin) did a wonderful job of sharing with us the history of the town, dating back to Roman times.

Tuesday Night

2009-07-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

Today, we were able to experience the Swiss Alps...and every variety of weather they offer! On our way up the mountain, it was sunny and everyone got lots of great pictures...which was very good, since, when we actually reached the top of the Schilthorn, it was foggy to the point of practically NO visibility, and it snowed. In July! An intrepid few, however, (including Mr. C. and our very own blogger, Marilyn) braved the snow and fog to trek the snow fields - and throw snowballs at all of us watching them from the observation deck. Following our mountain excursion, this evening, we had a concert with a local Interlaken Kinderchorli. After the concert, the Swiss choir taught us how to yodel! We made friends with lots of adorable Swiss girls (such as 8-year-old Sarah, THE CUTEST child in all of Switzerland - see picture below)...and boys, such as the accordian player and middle-school heartthrob, Martin. The mountain and especially the concert (in my opinion) were absolutely awesome! Today was definitely a great day.

Monday Night

2009-07-06T12:14:00.000-07:00

As the first day of our tour draws to a close, it's becoming obvious that, if the rest of the ten days are anything like today, we have a great trip ahead of us. Upon arrival in Zurich, we met our tour guides, Kerstin and Trinka - who prompty began to memorize all of our names! After a bus ride packed with beautiful views of the Swiss countryside, we arrived in Luzerne, where we took a walking tour and had free time to have lunch and make the first of what will undoubtedly be MANY Swiss chocolate purchases! Following Luzern, we boarded the buses again for another beautiful, scenic ride, this time to our current location, Interlaken. Here, many of us took the afternoon to explore the city before returning to the hotel for our delicious, cheese-filled dinner. It was a very busy but very fun day!

Sunday Morning

2009-07-05T05:37:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July - Sarah and Allison

Bon Voyage crowd

Most of choir ready to go!

Foggy morn in Lombard-town

Good Morning-
Yesterday, The 4th of July, LCC took off right on time in spite of the rain = group picture inside McHale Auditorium. Very smooth trip to Lombard, IL. The rain let up in time for fireworks all around (some disappointed that personal fireworks are against the law in Illinois.) Fog burned off in time for the first wave to leave at 7:00am. Second wave gathering now for the day long trip to Switzerland.

June 29 - Send-Off Concert

2009-07-02T03:27:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Fritz rehearses "Goin to Boston"

Afternoon rehearsal

Evening Concert

Send-Off Concert

Our European Tour Send-Off Concert was held on Monday, June 29th at All Saints Church.
1 more day and we're off!