Day 7 - Tuesday 7th July 2009
Ellen Hemming
After an 8am breakfast the whole band caught a tram then train into the city. The members aged 16 or over had to pay 5.70 euros for a ticket. Once in Vienna we were given 3 hours of free time to do as we wished. Some activities were; climbing St Stephens Cathedral (340 steps), visiting the Hous der music or the Winter Palace or shopping.
Once we arrived back at our accommodation we packed and loaded our bags onto the buses. We were driven by Miro and Mario, to the Musikverein, where a photo of all the groups that had participated was taken. The first half of the concert consisted of the best choirs. We were asked to play Sheperd’s Hey (by the Australian composer) in the second half of the concert. After we had played we were led to our seats to watch the rest of the concert. The final group was the Odeon Jegend’s Infonierchester Munchen from Germany. This group was pretty amazing and in their final piece they were swaying together to the music and the cellos and double base players were spinning their instruments around. The finale of the concert was everyone singing the Summa Cum Laude Anthem including 5 soloists each from a different competing choir. After the concert there was another competitors get together, which we could not attend because we needed our sleep! (Not that some got much)
Samantha Ly
Today we went out to the city centre by tram and train. Everyone sixteen years and over had to get an all day fare costing 5.70 Euros, expensive. From there, everyone split up into smaller groups.
My group, consisting of Aron, Patch and Alice, walked around the Stephanplaz, past the Parliament House and eventually came to the street were dropped off on the first day.
Around 1.30pm, everyone met up outside Stephanplatz and took the train and tram back to the accommodation.
At the accommodation, we packed our luggage and left our overnight things in our Gulliver s bag. We then loaded the luggage onto the buses. Around 4pm we were on our way to the Gala Performance in the Golden Hall. Edmund had a nosebleed the entire way there, because he was attacked by Tim’s nipple!!
When we arrived the band first had a photo of just our band with instruments then with everyone who participated in the Summa Cum Laude Festival without instruments. We were then left to our own dinner. At 6.50pm we met outside the building and waited to go in. I talked to other members of a group from China. Unfortunately we did not have time to have a photo with them.
In the Golden Hall, we listened to the first half of the concert. I think the most entertaining choir was the Cortanima – Steinischer Landesyugen choir from Austria. Chatswood high Concert Band came second in the Symphonic Band section and got a "good" success. We played in the second half of the concert "Sheperds Hey"
The band that was given first place was Pikalni Orchestra, a Slovanic band that played Orient Express in the Gala Concert. Mr Staines said that the other band was more "mature", Alice said that the other band members had "receding hairlines".
The winner of the special award for Best Participating Ensemble was the Odeon Jugendsintonie Orchestrs Munchen form Germany. They played like a professional Orchestra, and really deserved their awards. With the orchestra I could see that they really enjoyed playing the pieces, and enjoy playing together. I think showing that the band enjoys playing the music is important.
Josh Paveley and Ned East
Today was our last day in Vienna.
Avoiding the daily … we woke up early and made our pilgrimage into town to the local bakery, ‘Anke”. The chocolate croissants were amazing. Thanks to the efforts of General Grand Commander Hummerston we were able to make our way into “down town” Vienna through a combination of trams and trains.
We would now like to take this opportunity to say a few words of complaint about the public transport system of Austria. Those of us who have the great misfortune of being over the age of 16 found ourselves sent to purchase a “day pass’ to the sound of 5.70 Euros1 This seemed unfair seeing as those under 15 enjoyed the lovely trams for free. We were in dismay and all vowed to use these cards as much as we could! (They didn’t even check the tickets in the end! Austria is a very trusting country). As we approached St Stephens Plaza, Tom W found himself locked in epic battle with a fiery Austrian, who as a result of Tom’s lack of ability to leave the train in an orderly fashion, pushed him out onto the platform.
Continuing on our journey we arrived at the station ‘Stephensplatz’ at the base of St. Stephens Cathedral. We were then given several hours to explore the great city and indulge ourselves in the pleasantries of the Austrian equivalent of ‘George St’. This included their exquisite McDonalds, hundreds of roadside kebab shops and delightful Viennese cafes while constantly doing our best to avoid charitable grifters, great wafts of cigarette smelling bums and beggars.
There were also several “specialist” stores selling a whole range of off limit items. As we walked the walk and experimented with our Deustch, we were pleasantly surprised by the thousands of Austria’s favourite store the “Tabak”. These “tabaks” can be found at approximately 5 m intervals along the streets of Vienna. Although we have been told that Greece has the highest smoking rate with an average of 10 cigarettes a day per person, we are sure Austria could give them a run for their money; even the great golden hall (Musikverein) smelt of ciggies.
As you prance Austria’s capital Vienna, you cannot help but be touched by the kindness of the Austrian culture. Tom was even given a white rose by a quiet innocent girl. Her eyelids fluttered as she quite rudely demanded to pay her. After several “nein deutsch’s” she snatched the flower and stalked off into a seedy back alley. This is just one of many techniques put into place by the talented grifters.
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking through Vienna and putting considerable dents into our wallets. Tom led the charge with a whopping 110 Euros.
After we were all exhausted from this shopping spree we met up at St Stephens before heading back to our accommodation, the detention centre hospital of death. This school combines a labyrinth of dingy corridors and the smell of wet ashtrays to create a highly enjoyable and pleasant place to stay.
We were not at our accommodation for long as we had to ready ourselves for our performance at the Gala Night of the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival.
We performed “Shepherds Hey” and were able to enjoy the performances of the best groups in the festival. The most impressive was by the winner of the festival, a youth orchestra made up of players from all around Munich.
We were then made to sing the SCL anthem which was an atrocious mix of horrid soppy lyrics and the tune of twinkle, twinkle little star. The lyrics spoke of music spreading love and peace; they’ve obviously never listened to Cameron’s Ipod.
We returned to our accommodation and enjoyed our last night in Vienna.
Prost!
Gavin
We were invited to perform at the Gala Concert of the Summa Cum Laude Music Festival. It was a great concert and featured many of the outstanding groups from the Festival. We played "Shepherds Hey", did a good job and enjoyed playing to a packed hall. There were some fantastic items - in particular the Austrian and Canadian Choirs and the German Orchestra to conclude the concert. This was a fitting conclusion to our stay in Vienna.
Teacher Highlight
Alex M attracting a crowd as the music he played on the ground floor grand piano in the Haus de Music filled the 3 stories. Bravo!
Day 8 - Wednesday 8th July 2009 - Salzburg
Katt Leung
Today started with an earlier than normal wake up, as we had to leave for Salzburg. Many who were staying at the Peace Village were also leaving that day, so from quite early in the morning there were many of us rushing to pack and leave.
After breakfast we were all on our way on to the coaches to Salzburg. Most of the parents joined the seniors’ bus. The trip in total felt like a very long way.
I was asleep for most of the trip as there was not much else to do on the coach. Also most of the bus was filled with tired kids.
After a very quick stop-off at a rest stop area with BP & restaurant we were about half way to the salt mines. More sleep and a couple of hours later we were at the salt mines. The salt mines were a great experience all over again. After the tour in the salt mines was finished we were all set to leave. However, Yasuaki didn’t feel well after. The mines and we were late to the fortress.
The fortress was absolutely amazing. The views all around were breathtaking, the view was calm and something I enjoyed greatly.
Dinner was a short walk away at a place called the Steigl. The food was excellent, especially the main.
After dinner we had a short walk to the coaches. (What a way to work off all those calories!) We eventually got to the coaches and were on our way to our accommodation.
Emily Kirsh
Tuesday started as the most boring day of the tour so far. We had to be up really early so we could start our 5 hour drive to Salzburg. At the beginning everyone was still tired and so we all slept. For once the bus was quiet, but, by the end of the drive everyone was excited by the awesome scenery of Austria. Then we went to the Saltmines. They were really fun as we went down slides and went on a boat over the salt lake. Most of the group had a good time. In the afternoon we went to the fortress. We were running late and so only had 25 minutes to look around. We had a really nice dinner and then checked into our hostel.
Day 9 - Thursday 9th July 2009
Natasha Livingstone
Despite the vast majority of the band suffering from sleep deprivation and various illnesses, we completed every activity listed on our busy schedule for the day- despite a few hiccups involving directionally challenged persons.
Our day began at 8 with breakfast, during which we had our routine lecture concerning events of the day, and a new list of fines for lost property, out of bed past lights out, the usual.
Following this we jumped onto the coaches and headed into Salzburg for a guided tour, which, unlike our tour of Vienna, we had to complete on foot as coaches are not allowed in the old part of Salzburg. This was led by a rather irritable tour guide and had very little mention of the Sound of Music- we did however, see the house where Mozart born, and other places where he lived, cafes he went to, streets where he walked, theatres he performed in- it would seem that they are very fond of that man. The scenery natural, and otherwise of Salzburg, is very beautiful. It ids also impressive to see just how old these buildings are, and to hear Mrs Smith’s random historical facts which pop out whenever she seems something old and is excited over it. It was then time for our lunch break (for those that haven’t tried them Austrian sausages are delicious), after which we were to meet at the birthplace of Mozart, from which we would walk back to the coaches to drive to a performance. We had a late getaway (see below) and only had a small audience. Regardless it gave us an excuse to briefly cross the border into Germany, so we now sound more well-travelled than before. After this we continued to a second concert, where we performed alongside a local band. The audience was noticeably bigger this time, and we were greeted with a very warm reception. By the time we finished playing it was about 10pm-we were back at our hotel by about 11, where many of us stumbled gratefully into bed for a long awaited sleep. It was a very nice way to spend our last day in Austria – looking forward to Switzerland tomorrow.
Update on late getaway:
Meeting at Mozart's House, should have been very, very easy and for most people it was. We met back at the correct time and the seniors were counted, as were the juniors. The groups set off for the buses a 10 min walk. Once we were seated, we realised that Ned and Josh were missing from the senior bus. This of course, provoked the teachers into a frantic search, and many speculative discussions from those left on the coach about how the teachers could have miscounted, and how they could have been late- yet for those trapped on the coach this was by no means an exciting adventure. Ned and Josh managed to get thoroughly lost resulting in roughly an hour of waiting, during which the most exciting thing was seeing a person who strongly resembled an ostrich- an awesome sight, but hardly riveting.
Finally, the boys were found and came to the coach to (ever so slightly sarcastically) applause. It would seem that they had heard the instructions to meet under the flags, yet had forgotten which flags. This presented a slight problem, as flags are everywhere in Salzburg. They eventually found a police station and on their list of useful phone numbers called the hotel where we were staying which then contacted Karen to get Gavin’s number for them. They somehow didn’t notice that Gavin’s, Mrs Jones &n Mrs Smith’s numbers were on the reverse side. Despite our late getaway we continued to our first gig of the day for which we were and hour and a half late!
Matthew Impellezeri
Today the concert band went to Salzburg. When we arrived there a tour guide showed us the houses and other areas that Mozart lived and went to. He gave us a lecture on Mozart’s life, music and works while he was alive.
The weather was unbearable! It was raining heavily but I still managed to take photos of the houses and architecture of these ancient places. We had lunch after the tour and I had a hot dog with a white sausage and Ketchup. We also stopped at a chemist because there were a few students (including me who had sore throats. I bought Vicks lozenges to help soothe my sore throat and calm my coughing down. Because of the rain there have been question marks about whether or not we were going to play at the open air museum. We went all the way to the border of Germany and the scenery was amazing! Then we travelled the other direction for the next concert and had dinner at a nearby restaurant. My flu wasn’t getting any better and I had to let Mr Staines and some of my band mates know about my illness. They suggested I should rest for tonight and Mr Staines told me when we were back at the hotel to take a couple of cold and flu tablets. Tonight’s concert involved a community band from Austria and towards the end the concert band combined with them. My illness was taking such a heavy toll I decided to play in the concert band performance only. I was so disappointed I felt I let the whole band down but Mrs Jones cheered me up and gave me some throat gargle medicine to soothe my sore throat. After the concert we went back to our resort and Mrs Jones gave me some Panadol and throat lozenges. When I got back to my room I took two Panadol tablets with a glass of water and went to bed.
Patch Hutley
After a hearty breakfast at the prison, followed by my favourite part of the day, fines, we headed off into beautiful downtown Salzburg. Here we met our tour guide for the day, a dapper chap in a rather dashing hat and green jacket, whose name eludes me for the moment. He led us on a scenic walk through that saltiest of cities, beginning with the Mirabell Palace and gardens, filled with marvellous sculptures and the ghostly strains of ‘Do re mi’ echoing in the hearts of ‘Sound of Music’ fans. Just down the road from here was the house where Mozart lived between the ages of 17 and 25. As we passed the house of the famous physicist Christian Doppler only a few metres away, an ambulance drove past, a blaring siren demonstrating his findings. Coincidence? From here we crossed the road and found ourselves at the majestic river Salza. The Hunter singers from Newcastle, who had performed in the SCL festival, rolled daintily past us on a mutated circular bike for 10 people - only in Europe!
We then traversed the bustling old city centre, which boasted the smallest house in Salzburg, the coffee house where Mozart used to drink hot chocolate, and the Dom zu Salzburg (I think). This was a football-field sized cathedral where you-know-who used to play, and featured a lovely dove on the 70m high ceiling. You had to be there.
We finished the tour outside of Mozart’s first house, not before passing a statue of a man though on a golden ball, the cemetery featured in the final scene of the Sound of Music, and a square that housed a building that Chalemagne (sp?) dined in. The gang then ate lunch, most of us in good old Macdonalds.
And now, a mystery - pay close attention, dear reader. Before proceeding, a suspect moving head count of the seniors took place. After a ten minute walk to the bus where a seated head count took place it was discovered that Ned and Josh Pav. were missing. The teachers set out in search parties and an hour later, they all returned, the missing two confident in the face of much annoyance emanating from the senior’s bus. On missing the head count and realising they were lost, they had travelled to a police station and not called the teachers on their contact card. Now your friend and humble narrator is not one to pass judgement- I leave it up to you to decide who is to blame. The boogie perhaps?
The buses continued on to the Freidlich Museum, a quiet little place out in the bush.
However, we were an hour late, and so fund ourselves playing to an audience of zero. Yet, ever vigilant, Mr Staines conducted and like bees to delicious pollen, so came a total of ten most pious listeners to praise music with us. Some of them, blinded by our brilliance, ran away after one or two songs.
We moved on to a lovely dinner in a small town and a combined concert. The evening concert was splendid, though the acoustics of the open air were decidedly lacking in quality. The Austrians played many marches- who knew they would be fans? The two bands joined forces for a rousing rendition of Bolero, Bolmischer Train (?) and the infamous Radetzky March, with the Stage Band ending the evening.
Two things stuck with me after the concert: one, that all the girls were in love with Roland, the Austrian conductor; and two, a comment from the Mayor/ Burgermeister who told us sagely that ”your music is perfect music”. It made me realise – all music is perfect. Music is the one uniting force that connects us all, a weapon more powerful than water guns or rapiers (or whatever they use these days). It can silence armies and incite the masses, demolish walls and build statues that commemorate peace; hope; love. Truly there is no greater power in the universe than that of song…unless its grindcore.
Then we had free sausages and went to bed.
Gavin
Two performances were given. We arrived late (there's a good story written about this!) to a museum to play. A small but enthusiastic (yes we did sell 1 DVD!) audience enjoyed our performance. Next stop was Lamprecth Hausen. After a lovely meal at a local restaurant we arrived at the venue for the concert. A combined rehearsal with the local Band preceded the concert. What a great night. Concert Band opened the concert. We were then treated to a 30 minute recital by the local band as they played marches, polkas, waltzes and even "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". We then combined to perform Bolero, a Polka and the Radetzsky March. After a short break the Stage Band performed to conclude the evening. The locals really enjoyed the night and as is customary in these parts, passed the hat around. To our surprise, we took home 260 Euro.
Teacher Note
Moving headcounts were removed from our itinerary.
After an 8am breakfast the whole band caught a tram then train into the city. The members aged 16 or over had to pay 5.70 euros for a ticket. Once in Vienna we were given 3 hours of free time to do as we wished. Some activities were; climbing St Stephens Cathedral (340 steps), visiting the Hous der music or the Winter Palace or shopping.
Once we arrived back at our accommodation we packed and loaded our bags onto the buses. We were driven by Miro and Mario, to the Musikverein, where a photo of all the groups that had participated was taken. The first half of the concert consisted of the best choirs. We were asked to play Sheperd’s Hey (by the Australian composer) in the second half of the concert. After we had played we were led to our seats to watch the rest of the concert. The final group was the Odeon Jegend’s Infonierchester Munchen from Germany. This group was pretty amazing and in their final piece they were swaying together to the music and the cellos and double base players were spinning their instruments around. The finale of the concert was everyone singing the Summa Cum Laude Anthem including 5 soloists each from a different competing choir. After the concert there was another competitors get together, which we could not attend because we needed our sleep! (Not that some got much)
Samantha Ly
Today we went out to the city centre by tram and train. Everyone sixteen years and over had to get an all day fare costing 5.70 Euros, expensive. From there, everyone split up into smaller groups.
My group, consisting of Aron, Patch and Alice, walked around the Stephanplaz, past the Parliament House and eventually came to the street were dropped off on the first day.
Around 1.30pm, everyone met up outside Stephanplatz and took the train and tram back to the accommodation.
At the accommodation, we packed our luggage and left our overnight things in our Gulliver s bag. We then loaded the luggage onto the buses. Around 4pm we were on our way to the Gala Performance in the Golden Hall. Edmund had a nosebleed the entire way there, because he was attacked by Tim’s nipple!!
When we arrived the band first had a photo of just our band with instruments then with everyone who participated in the Summa Cum Laude Festival without instruments. We were then left to our own dinner. At 6.50pm we met outside the building and waited to go in. I talked to other members of a group from China. Unfortunately we did not have time to have a photo with them.
In the Golden Hall, we listened to the first half of the concert. I think the most entertaining choir was the Cortanima – Steinischer Landesyugen choir from Austria. Chatswood high Concert Band came second in the Symphonic Band section and got a "good" success. We played in the second half of the concert "Sheperds Hey"
The band that was given first place was Pikalni Orchestra, a Slovanic band that played Orient Express in the Gala Concert. Mr Staines said that the other band was more "mature", Alice said that the other band members had "receding hairlines".
The winner of the special award for Best Participating Ensemble was the Odeon Jugendsintonie Orchestrs Munchen form Germany. They played like a professional Orchestra, and really deserved their awards. With the orchestra I could see that they really enjoyed playing the pieces, and enjoy playing together. I think showing that the band enjoys playing the music is important.
Josh Paveley and Ned East
Today was our last day in Vienna.
Avoiding the daily … we woke up early and made our pilgrimage into town to the local bakery, ‘Anke”. The chocolate croissants were amazing. Thanks to the efforts of General Grand Commander Hummerston we were able to make our way into “down town” Vienna through a combination of trams and trains.
We would now like to take this opportunity to say a few words of complaint about the public transport system of Austria. Those of us who have the great misfortune of being over the age of 16 found ourselves sent to purchase a “day pass’ to the sound of 5.70 Euros1 This seemed unfair seeing as those under 15 enjoyed the lovely trams for free. We were in dismay and all vowed to use these cards as much as we could! (They didn’t even check the tickets in the end! Austria is a very trusting country). As we approached St Stephens Plaza, Tom W found himself locked in epic battle with a fiery Austrian, who as a result of Tom’s lack of ability to leave the train in an orderly fashion, pushed him out onto the platform.
Continuing on our journey we arrived at the station ‘Stephensplatz’ at the base of St. Stephens Cathedral. We were then given several hours to explore the great city and indulge ourselves in the pleasantries of the Austrian equivalent of ‘George St’. This included their exquisite McDonalds, hundreds of roadside kebab shops and delightful Viennese cafes while constantly doing our best to avoid charitable grifters, great wafts of cigarette smelling bums and beggars.
There were also several “specialist” stores selling a whole range of off limit items. As we walked the walk and experimented with our Deustch, we were pleasantly surprised by the thousands of Austria’s favourite store the “Tabak”. These “tabaks” can be found at approximately 5 m intervals along the streets of Vienna. Although we have been told that Greece has the highest smoking rate with an average of 10 cigarettes a day per person, we are sure Austria could give them a run for their money; even the great golden hall (Musikverein) smelt of ciggies.
As you prance Austria’s capital Vienna, you cannot help but be touched by the kindness of the Austrian culture. Tom was even given a white rose by a quiet innocent girl. Her eyelids fluttered as she quite rudely demanded to pay her. After several “nein deutsch’s” she snatched the flower and stalked off into a seedy back alley. This is just one of many techniques put into place by the talented grifters.
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking through Vienna and putting considerable dents into our wallets. Tom led the charge with a whopping 110 Euros.
After we were all exhausted from this shopping spree we met up at St Stephens before heading back to our accommodation, the detention centre hospital of death. This school combines a labyrinth of dingy corridors and the smell of wet ashtrays to create a highly enjoyable and pleasant place to stay.
We were not at our accommodation for long as we had to ready ourselves for our performance at the Gala Night of the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival.
We performed “Shepherds Hey” and were able to enjoy the performances of the best groups in the festival. The most impressive was by the winner of the festival, a youth orchestra made up of players from all around Munich.
We were then made to sing the SCL anthem which was an atrocious mix of horrid soppy lyrics and the tune of twinkle, twinkle little star. The lyrics spoke of music spreading love and peace; they’ve obviously never listened to Cameron’s Ipod.
We returned to our accommodation and enjoyed our last night in Vienna.
Prost!
Gavin
We were invited to perform at the Gala Concert of the Summa Cum Laude Music Festival. It was a great concert and featured many of the outstanding groups from the Festival. We played "Shepherds Hey", did a good job and enjoyed playing to a packed hall. There were some fantastic items - in particular the Austrian and Canadian Choirs and the German Orchestra to conclude the concert. This was a fitting conclusion to our stay in Vienna.
Teacher Highlight
Alex M attracting a crowd as the music he played on the ground floor grand piano in the Haus de Music filled the 3 stories. Bravo!
Day 8 - Wednesday 8th July 2009 - Salzburg
Katt Leung
Today started with an earlier than normal wake up, as we had to leave for Salzburg. Many who were staying at the Peace Village were also leaving that day, so from quite early in the morning there were many of us rushing to pack and leave.
After breakfast we were all on our way on to the coaches to Salzburg. Most of the parents joined the seniors’ bus. The trip in total felt like a very long way.
I was asleep for most of the trip as there was not much else to do on the coach. Also most of the bus was filled with tired kids.
After a very quick stop-off at a rest stop area with BP & restaurant we were about half way to the salt mines. More sleep and a couple of hours later we were at the salt mines. The salt mines were a great experience all over again. After the tour in the salt mines was finished we were all set to leave. However, Yasuaki didn’t feel well after. The mines and we were late to the fortress.
The fortress was absolutely amazing. The views all around were breathtaking, the view was calm and something I enjoyed greatly.
Dinner was a short walk away at a place called the Steigl. The food was excellent, especially the main.
After dinner we had a short walk to the coaches. (What a way to work off all those calories!) We eventually got to the coaches and were on our way to our accommodation.
Emily Kirsh
Tuesday started as the most boring day of the tour so far. We had to be up really early so we could start our 5 hour drive to Salzburg. At the beginning everyone was still tired and so we all slept. For once the bus was quiet, but, by the end of the drive everyone was excited by the awesome scenery of Austria. Then we went to the Saltmines. They were really fun as we went down slides and went on a boat over the salt lake. Most of the group had a good time. In the afternoon we went to the fortress. We were running late and so only had 25 minutes to look around. We had a really nice dinner and then checked into our hostel.
Day 9 - Thursday 9th July 2009
Natasha Livingstone
Despite the vast majority of the band suffering from sleep deprivation and various illnesses, we completed every activity listed on our busy schedule for the day- despite a few hiccups involving directionally challenged persons.
Our day began at 8 with breakfast, during which we had our routine lecture concerning events of the day, and a new list of fines for lost property, out of bed past lights out, the usual.
Following this we jumped onto the coaches and headed into Salzburg for a guided tour, which, unlike our tour of Vienna, we had to complete on foot as coaches are not allowed in the old part of Salzburg. This was led by a rather irritable tour guide and had very little mention of the Sound of Music- we did however, see the house where Mozart born, and other places where he lived, cafes he went to, streets where he walked, theatres he performed in- it would seem that they are very fond of that man. The scenery natural, and otherwise of Salzburg, is very beautiful. It ids also impressive to see just how old these buildings are, and to hear Mrs Smith’s random historical facts which pop out whenever she seems something old and is excited over it. It was then time for our lunch break (for those that haven’t tried them Austrian sausages are delicious), after which we were to meet at the birthplace of Mozart, from which we would walk back to the coaches to drive to a performance. We had a late getaway (see below) and only had a small audience. Regardless it gave us an excuse to briefly cross the border into Germany, so we now sound more well-travelled than before. After this we continued to a second concert, where we performed alongside a local band. The audience was noticeably bigger this time, and we were greeted with a very warm reception. By the time we finished playing it was about 10pm-we were back at our hotel by about 11, where many of us stumbled gratefully into bed for a long awaited sleep. It was a very nice way to spend our last day in Austria – looking forward to Switzerland tomorrow.
Update on late getaway:
Meeting at Mozart's House, should have been very, very easy and for most people it was. We met back at the correct time and the seniors were counted, as were the juniors. The groups set off for the buses a 10 min walk. Once we were seated, we realised that Ned and Josh were missing from the senior bus. This of course, provoked the teachers into a frantic search, and many speculative discussions from those left on the coach about how the teachers could have miscounted, and how they could have been late- yet for those trapped on the coach this was by no means an exciting adventure. Ned and Josh managed to get thoroughly lost resulting in roughly an hour of waiting, during which the most exciting thing was seeing a person who strongly resembled an ostrich- an awesome sight, but hardly riveting.
Finally, the boys were found and came to the coach to (ever so slightly sarcastically) applause. It would seem that they had heard the instructions to meet under the flags, yet had forgotten which flags. This presented a slight problem, as flags are everywhere in Salzburg. They eventually found a police station and on their list of useful phone numbers called the hotel where we were staying which then contacted Karen to get Gavin’s number for them. They somehow didn’t notice that Gavin’s, Mrs Jones &n Mrs Smith’s numbers were on the reverse side. Despite our late getaway we continued to our first gig of the day for which we were and hour and a half late!
Matthew Impellezeri
Today the concert band went to Salzburg. When we arrived there a tour guide showed us the houses and other areas that Mozart lived and went to. He gave us a lecture on Mozart’s life, music and works while he was alive.
The weather was unbearable! It was raining heavily but I still managed to take photos of the houses and architecture of these ancient places. We had lunch after the tour and I had a hot dog with a white sausage and Ketchup. We also stopped at a chemist because there were a few students (including me who had sore throats. I bought Vicks lozenges to help soothe my sore throat and calm my coughing down. Because of the rain there have been question marks about whether or not we were going to play at the open air museum. We went all the way to the border of Germany and the scenery was amazing! Then we travelled the other direction for the next concert and had dinner at a nearby restaurant. My flu wasn’t getting any better and I had to let Mr Staines and some of my band mates know about my illness. They suggested I should rest for tonight and Mr Staines told me when we were back at the hotel to take a couple of cold and flu tablets. Tonight’s concert involved a community band from Austria and towards the end the concert band combined with them. My illness was taking such a heavy toll I decided to play in the concert band performance only. I was so disappointed I felt I let the whole band down but Mrs Jones cheered me up and gave me some throat gargle medicine to soothe my sore throat. After the concert we went back to our resort and Mrs Jones gave me some Panadol and throat lozenges. When I got back to my room I took two Panadol tablets with a glass of water and went to bed.
Patch Hutley
After a hearty breakfast at the prison, followed by my favourite part of the day, fines, we headed off into beautiful downtown Salzburg. Here we met our tour guide for the day, a dapper chap in a rather dashing hat and green jacket, whose name eludes me for the moment. He led us on a scenic walk through that saltiest of cities, beginning with the Mirabell Palace and gardens, filled with marvellous sculptures and the ghostly strains of ‘Do re mi’ echoing in the hearts of ‘Sound of Music’ fans. Just down the road from here was the house where Mozart lived between the ages of 17 and 25. As we passed the house of the famous physicist Christian Doppler only a few metres away, an ambulance drove past, a blaring siren demonstrating his findings. Coincidence? From here we crossed the road and found ourselves at the majestic river Salza. The Hunter singers from Newcastle, who had performed in the SCL festival, rolled daintily past us on a mutated circular bike for 10 people - only in Europe!
We then traversed the bustling old city centre, which boasted the smallest house in Salzburg, the coffee house where Mozart used to drink hot chocolate, and the Dom zu Salzburg (I think). This was a football-field sized cathedral where you-know-who used to play, and featured a lovely dove on the 70m high ceiling. You had to be there.
We finished the tour outside of Mozart’s first house, not before passing a statue of a man though on a golden ball, the cemetery featured in the final scene of the Sound of Music, and a square that housed a building that Chalemagne (sp?) dined in. The gang then ate lunch, most of us in good old Macdonalds.
And now, a mystery - pay close attention, dear reader. Before proceeding, a suspect moving head count of the seniors took place. After a ten minute walk to the bus where a seated head count took place it was discovered that Ned and Josh Pav. were missing. The teachers set out in search parties and an hour later, they all returned, the missing two confident in the face of much annoyance emanating from the senior’s bus. On missing the head count and realising they were lost, they had travelled to a police station and not called the teachers on their contact card. Now your friend and humble narrator is not one to pass judgement- I leave it up to you to decide who is to blame. The boogie perhaps?
The buses continued on to the Freidlich Museum, a quiet little place out in the bush.
However, we were an hour late, and so fund ourselves playing to an audience of zero. Yet, ever vigilant, Mr Staines conducted and like bees to delicious pollen, so came a total of ten most pious listeners to praise music with us. Some of them, blinded by our brilliance, ran away after one or two songs.
We moved on to a lovely dinner in a small town and a combined concert. The evening concert was splendid, though the acoustics of the open air were decidedly lacking in quality. The Austrians played many marches- who knew they would be fans? The two bands joined forces for a rousing rendition of Bolero, Bolmischer Train (?) and the infamous Radetzky March, with the Stage Band ending the evening.
Two things stuck with me after the concert: one, that all the girls were in love with Roland, the Austrian conductor; and two, a comment from the Mayor/ Burgermeister who told us sagely that ”your music is perfect music”. It made me realise – all music is perfect. Music is the one uniting force that connects us all, a weapon more powerful than water guns or rapiers (or whatever they use these days). It can silence armies and incite the masses, demolish walls and build statues that commemorate peace; hope; love. Truly there is no greater power in the universe than that of song…unless its grindcore.
Then we had free sausages and went to bed.
Gavin
Two performances were given. We arrived late (there's a good story written about this!) to a museum to play. A small but enthusiastic (yes we did sell 1 DVD!) audience enjoyed our performance. Next stop was Lamprecth Hausen. After a lovely meal at a local restaurant we arrived at the venue for the concert. A combined rehearsal with the local Band preceded the concert. What a great night. Concert Band opened the concert. We were then treated to a 30 minute recital by the local band as they played marches, polkas, waltzes and even "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". We then combined to perform Bolero, a Polka and the Radetzsky March. After a short break the Stage Band performed to conclude the evening. The locals really enjoyed the night and as is customary in these parts, passed the hat around. To our surprise, we took home 260 Euro.
Teacher Note
Moving headcounts were removed from our itinerary.
It's been great to read all of your posts and thanks for keeping us updated. Congratulations to you all for your fantastic performances!!!! Enjoy the rest of your trip! Thanks for your calls Liam Its been great to hear from you. We all miss you. Benny, Gus and Sebastian are very sad boys too!!! Love Mum. Dad and Ailish
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