Colby College Chorale Tour 2005

Back Home!

2005-03-27T05:30:00.000+02:00

We're Home!!! The morning started out quite early, with our bus leaving for the airport at 4:30 AM. But, with breakfast in hand, we stumbled on to our connecting flight to Frankfurt. The flight was running a little late, but we made it through a second round of security at Frankfurt and on to our flight back to the states. After two meals, a screening of the Bridget Jones sequel, and a bit of sleep, we arrived in Boston. Everyone was quite happy to get through passport control and customs, and really be back in the States. On the bus on the way home, we stopped off for some good American cuisine at a rest stop, and on full stomaches, headed back to Colby. This was a memorable trip to say the least, and not one that any of us will soon forget!!!

Our last night (over looking Prague)

2005-03-25T22:19:00.000+01:00

Group over City, originally uploaded by nfmalick.

Friday Pt. 2

2005-03-25T21:29:00.000+01:00

After a wonderful morning tour we had our second formal concert at St. Nicholas Cathedral in the heart of Old Town Prague. The concert pleased all in attendance and was a perfect ending to a fabulous tour of Prague and Vienna. After the successful concert we spent the afternoon shopping and eating in the open air Easter market in the square. We indulged in Czech pastries, sausages, wine, beer, and other traditional snacks. Many of us also bought trinkets for family and friends back home and something special to remind us of this fantastic trip. Marionettes, jewelry, and postcards were popular gifts. After a long and enjoyable stay here in beautiful Prague we went out for a delicious traditional Czech dinner in the hills of Prague at the Restaurant Svarty. We indulged in Becherovka, salad pork, ham, salad, gingerbread cake, and coffee. We all had a very enjoyable trip and it couldn’t have been possible without the help of some very important people. The hard work of the executive board for their hard work in putting together this trip. Our local tour guides and of course our World Culture Tour guide Andreas Brecht. Above all we need to thank Paul for his hard work and dedication to helping us prepare for this tour and his dedication to this group. Senior Kate Campbell gave a short speech thanking Paul. Kate remember back to her freshman year during the Chorale’s Tour and a senior then Mikhaila Noble described Paul as: so professional – striving for perfection musically and in performance. Also he is also a genuinely warm and kind-hearted human being. Thanks Paul, Andreas, our local, tour guides, the executive board, and each and every chorale member for making this a very memorable and special trip.

Nicole Lavery

Friday Pt. 1

2005-03-25T21:25:00.000+01:00

This morning several (four) members of the chorale woke up at the crack of dawn to see the sun rise over the Charles Bridge. The wakeup call for the rest of the chorale was at 7:15AM, which was followed by breakfast in the hotel. At 9AM we left for our tour of the Prague Castle. The earliest buildings of the Prague Castle date back to the 900s AD, though it remains in use to this day. The castle contains the main offices of the Archbishop of Prague, and also has a large Gothic cathedral that contains the tomb of ‘King” Wenceslas and the crown jewels of King Charles. The cathedral also contains paintings about St. Charles, after whom the Charles Bridge is named. During the three-hour tour of the Prague Castle we had a chance to see the changing of the guard at the main building of the castle. One of the residents of the Castle residences was Kafka, who lived there for a few months until being diagnosed with TB. Our morning in the Prague Castle was followed by a short drive into the center of the city, following which we walked across one of the bridges to one of the central squares, and dropped our concert dress and bags off at the church, and then had 45 minutes for lunch.
- Chase Cohen

Doing some advertising outside St. Nicholas's

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Outside, originally uploaded by nfmalick.

Rehearsing before Friday's concert

2005-03-25T21:15:00.000+01:00

Rehearsing before concert, originally uploaded by nfmalick.

T is for Thursday

2005-03-25T21:00:00.000+01:00

After a late first night out on the town in the great city of Prague, the Chorale woke up early to a quick breakfast in the hotel before starting our walking tour of the city in the Jewish section of the city. These sights included the Jewish cemetery, the oldest synagogue of the city, and a stirring memorial to the Jewish victims of WWII where the names of hundreds of victims are inscribed on the walls of a former synagogue. The tour then continued around the city viewing some of the most historic buildings in the city, including the opera house where the first performance of Don Giovanni was given. We finished up the walking tour by watching the famous clock tower in the city center toll the one o’clock hour. The Chorale then had time to tour the city on their own, where lunch was the first priority on many people’s lists. Some of the restaurants in town served amazing pizza and other Italian foods, while others were wonderful French cafes. Yet, you could still get the traditional Czech delicacies, namely duck and cabbage, or goulash. Afterwards, we could see the sights. This particular author choose to take a little time off and relax by the Mouldou river, watching the gorgeous water pass by, joined by many others taking advantage of the beautiful blue skies. To finish off the day, I took some time to listen to a fantastic jazz quartet on the Charles Bridge surrounded by artists and other admirers. After a tasty meal, it was off to the clubs, where there was plenty of dancing to be found in the city that never seems to sleep. All is well, and I’m already sure that our time here will be missed dearly when it comes to an end in only a short number of days. But, until tomorrow…

Cliff Johnson

Cat, Caroline and Amy outside the Old New Synagogue

2005-03-24T20:19:00.000+01:00

3girls, originally uploaded by nfmalick.

Jewish town in Old Prague

2005-03-24T20:15:00.000+01:00

Jewish town, originally uploaded by nfmalick.

En Route

2005-03-24T18:01:00.000+01:00

The morning came with high spirits, after a successful concert the night before. The night before had been our last night in Vienna, and it would be our last morning. We had our usual continental breakfast after an early rise. Backs were packed and we were ready to leave after a successful tour of random concerts in random locales, and endless sightseeing of one of the most physically beautiful cities in Europe.

We hopped on the bus and continued on to Melk Abbey about 1.5 hours North of Vienna. There we found one of the most opulent Baroque monasteries that any one had or ever will encounter. With over 1,000 rooms, an incredible library and chapel, as well as a very impressive exhibition of life and history of the monastery, the Melk Abbey gave us a taste of the relationship between the secular and religious during the Hapsburg dynasty. After our guided tour, we were able to sing in the Baroque chapel filled with marble, gold, and frescos. It was by far, at least in my opinion, the most over-the-top example of Baroque art and architecture, but a wonderful environment to sing in, as has been the case with the other churches and cathedrals. Our short recital of three to four songs won us a crowd (Unfortunately, it was much larger than the previous night’s and we were only able to sign a short set, but many of us felt compelled to sing more and melk the crowd (Get it?).

Alas, we departed on our five our journey West to Prague (spelt Praha in czech). On the way, we stopped for another buffet style lunch were many of us found balloons and crowns with which to amuse ourselves with on the bus. The bus ride across the border into the Czech Republic was filled with history lessons from both Andreas (our tour guide) and Lubosch, a senior chorale member who happens to be from CR. So in effect we got to very distinct lessons about the Czech Republic. But as we were told, me must form our own opinions of the place, and trust that the other students will fill you in on their perspective of this amazing city of a hundred spires and towers, which is quite possibly the most beautiful city in Europe. The weather was a bit dreary with fog and snow on the ground. In a sense it is on the verge of spring, and the weather reflected it. We encountered remnants of the communist era juxtaposed against the new architecture and structures being built, as Prague is the fastest growing city in Europe.

We arrived at the Crown Plaza Hotel, just 20 minutes outside of the old city. It’s a fantastic hotel with impressive accommodations as well as food. We had a great dinner, which I’ll admit was much better than the repetitive schnitzel we got in Vienna. The hotel is very art deco (think Rockefeller Center in NYC) dates back to Stalin. After dinner, many of us took the liberty of the free night to go out and experience the Prague nightlife. Many of us went to jazz clubs and discos, while some preferred to get some rest after a long day of traveling. Prague, in many ways, seems to not sleep on a Wednesday as many of us came back exhausted, but with smiles. Altogether, the transfer from Vienna to Prague was flawless while it provided good closure in Vienna, and a nice welcoming to Prague.

A busk in Melk

2005-03-23T22:19:00.001+01:00

Paul Con, originally uploaded by nfmalick.

Tuesday's Concert

2005-03-23T22:19:00.000+01:00

Tuesday Concert, originally uploaded by nfmalick.

Tuesday

2005-03-23T21:41:00.000+01:00

The weather for our last day in Vienna was perfect...sunny, mild and breezy. We had the morning free to finish up anything we felt we had left to do. We all scattered across the city, to the Belvedere Palace near our hotel, the Museums of Modern and Find Arts , a Toy Museum and the Catacombs under St. Stephens. One group debated a rumor involving a llama and a tram. We ate in Vienna's restaurants, cafes (where we had "the best muffins") and outdoor markets and I think most groups found time for ice cream at some point during the day.
Karl's Church, our performance venue of the day, was beautiful. Paintings covered the walls and the interior of the enormous dome. We had a rehearsal at 4 to get used to the performance space and discovered that it was freezing inside the church. For the Mass at 6 we climbed a spiral staircase to sing in the choir/organ balcony and performed from up there. The sound was amazing. After a short break and some quality chorale and bonding time we had our first major performanceba. It was pretty awesome singing in that church. Our voices bounced off the stone walls around us and our breath rose as we sang. I think months of preparation paid off and we each got a hug from Paul as we left the church.
Ready to relax after the concert, we all went off to visit the pubs, cafes and salsa clubs of Vienna. So a successful day in Vienna and not quite excited for getting up at 7:15 but ready to head off to Prague.

On top of St. StephenÂ´s

2005-03-21T20:35:00.000+01:00

On top of St. StephenÂ´s, originally uploaded by nfmalick.

Monday

2005-03-21T20:30:00.001+01:00

All right ladies and gents, we gon' skip right on over Sunday for now and go rstraight to the Monday rundown(though it was certainly a beautiful Palm Sonntag in the city).

Today was definitely an early start for the Chorale. 7:30 breakfast at the Prinz Eugen and right onto Ernst (the bus, driven by Willie) for a morning tour of St. Stephen's Cathedral in downtown Vienna. St. Stephen's, by far the city's largest church, is an enormous and marvellously ornate building that showcases the best of both Baroque and Gothic architecture. At half past eight, we assembled in front of the sanctuary and performed Haec Dies, Ave Maria, and the three Charles Villiers Stanford motets (Coelos ascendit hodie, Justorum Animae, and Beati quorum via) before taking an hour-long tour that took us up to the top of one of the main bell towers; pictures for that oughta be up pretty soon. Incidentally, when we arrived at the cathedral we were met by the Hamilton College choir, who performed in the church's choir loft directly after us. Their tour was much later than ours, so we never got to meet at all.

By eleven o'clock we were on Ernst again; but this time we headed to the Schönbrunn, the summer residence of the 17th- and 18th-century Hapsburg family. Set in an outer district of Vienna, the castle is an impressively large, estate-like affair, painted in lemon-yellow, with an expansive courtyard and gardens like those at Versailles. It was in fact intended to be a response to Versailles by the Hapsburg family, and it might have become the more extravagant of the two had Emperor Franz Josef III had as much interest in luxury as his wife Sisi did. The castle contains 1,440 rooms in total, of which we only got to walk through 40 (sardonic emphasis on only). Lots of Chinese lacquer, and even more gold leaf. The chairs in the castle were enough to seat ten parliaments, and the Schönbrunn gardens are big enough to contain all of the country of Monaco. Again I thought of the question I'd asked John the day before, as we walked throught the Belvedere: "Can you imagine walking through these gardens, looking back at the castle, and thinking, "...and all of this is mine""?

The afternoon was an excellent block of free time. A large group of us, including Jarvis, Dori, and Hannah, went to the Albertina, an art museum by the Ringstrasse that was featuring a very good Chagall exhibit, while others (including myself) cut up behind the Museumsquartier to the Maria-Hilfestrasse and the Burggasse to peruse the stores, art galleries and bookshops. Dinner was, you guessed it, schnitzel, followed by some sachertorte. The evening's turning out a mellow one; other than a few short trips downtown, it's an early crash time. Got to be ready for tomorrow.

Tuesday'll be the day to hear about, because it's then that the gloves are coming off and the white and black goes on. Afternoon rehearsal in St. Stephen's, followed by a 6:30 Mass and an 8:00 full concert. It's time to sing the lederhosen off this town.

Walking around Vienna

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Walking around Vienna, originally uploaded by ColbyChorale.

In the Airport

2005-03-21T20:10:00.000+01:00

CIMG0011, originally uploaded by ColbyChorale.

The first of the photos are here! Go to this adress to see us on our way!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36348845@N00/sets/175188/

Sunday... in Vienna

2005-03-21T16:50:00.000+01:00

Hey everybody,
We started the day with a delightful breakfast in the hotel, then went on a crazy tour of the town. As we went back and forth around central Vienna we stopped and sang in various churches or acoustically fun spots (if others have mentioned a dome/arch dealy, that would be what I'm talking about). We toured the Opera house, and then several of us went back that evening to watch Peter Grimes, which was mediocre, but hey, its the Vienna Opera, and because we stood in the back it was less than five dollars.

Probably tons of other stuff happened yesterday, but I'm hating the german keyboards right now, the z and y are switched and it ruins everzthing. Anyways, during the day we mostly wandered around Vienna when not officially touring the place, hit up cafes and pubs at various hours of the day or evening (I personnally ate at a pizzeria for lunch, then dinner was split between a cafe snack of coffee and then beer and a pretzel after the opera). The food here is wonderful... everything here is wonderful: art everywhere, music, crazy street performers that also tended to be mediocre (a puppeteer had a 3 minute routine he repeated for at least 4 hours!). But overall, good times. Some folks went to Mass in St. Peters, where we later sang a few tunes. Its a gorgeous baroque church. A lot of our time was spent around St. Stephen's as well.

Okaz, I'm done with this kezboard. All in all, everzone's having fun, and this a great place. I'd never been to Europe, but I'm certainlz loving it. Hope everzthing in the states is going fabulous, au revoir (i don't speak german at all),
-Steve and his assistant Kim

Guten Tag!

2005-03-20T18:13:00.000+01:00

All is well here in Vienna! We arrived tired from our travel on Saturday, yet happy to be in Austria! In fact, the lack of sleep couldn't stop some of our members from getting out and seeing the town. While some began to sleep off the jet lag, a number to students attended a rock concert or others just relaxed in a pub. But no matter the evening activity, everyone found a comfortable bed waiting for them at the hotel for some well deserved sleep. With a new morning came new sights to see, including the Vienna Opera House and a number of spectacular churches. In addition to just seeing the sights, we treated many visitors to a number of impromptu performances in the churches that were very well received. The upcoming concerts may even draw a sizable crowd! As you may have noticed, we have been having some technology issues which has made posting from Vienna a bit challenging. However, we will do our best to get our updates posted as soon as possible so that you may hear about our time here and see some of the BEAUTIFUL pictures we have been taking. But for now, auf wiedersehen!

Saturday

2005-03-19T21:33:00.000+01:00

Guten Tag, everyone! Sorry this post is so late -- we had some problems.
We left Colby right on time on Friday morning; the bus ride was uneventful. Our first flight was long and boring, and few of us got much sleep -- just your typical trans-Atlantic flight. We were delayed for an hour or so in Frankfurt due to air traffic, or something like that, and our gate was changed several times. The second, shorter flight featured beautiful clouds and some breathtaking landscapes, but also unfortunately a loudly complaining baby in the back row. Oh well -- one can't have everything.
When we finally arrived in a rather cold and rainy Vienna, we were met by our tour coordinator Andreas Brecht and our driver Willie (who never gave his last name) and his gigantic double-decker bus.
Our first excursion was to a graveyard. I probably don't have to say that most of us were a little skeptical about this at first, but it turned out to be fantastic: we saw the graves (or gravestones) of Mozart, Brahms, Schubert, Beethoven, and many others. It was incredible! Although it lead to some unfortunate puns.

John: So how many of these composers do you think are actually decomposing here?
Claire: Well, I dunno. A lot of them have been moved here from elsewhere.
John: You mean transposed?

. . . ba-dum chh.
We also saw a small but rather tall and very pretty church, in which about a third of us, at Paul's direction, sang our gradual chant, Haec Dies. Wow. That piece makes much more sense in a live environment!
We had lunch at a buffet-style restaurant called Die Rosenberger -- a wide selection of good food, for very reasonable prices. On the way back from lunch, we stopped under a large domed archway, and we sang some more: our Bohemian marching song, Ay, Lucka Lucka; the Rachmaninoff Ave Maria; and one of our spirituals, Walk Together, Children. We drew quite a crowd, and several requests for encores in various languages. We then settled in at the hotel, and had three hours of free time during which some of us explored the neighborhood, and some of us slept.
Dinner was at a little place quite literally just down the street from the hotel, whose name is escaping me at the moment. The food was good, but not fantastic: a tomato-beef-noodle soup, wiener schnizel (of course) and fruit cocktail for dessert. After the meal, some of us went out on the town, while the rest tried out the little gelato shop next to the restaurant. I've been told that the gelato is not quite up to Italian standards, but it sure beats American ice cream!
So that's what we did on Saturday. Stay tuned this evening for a (more timely) report on today's adventures!

Last Rehearsal

2005-03-18T03:46:00.000+01:00

Last Rehearsal, originally uploaded by ColbyChorale.

Roll 'em!

2005-03-18T00:48:00.000+01:00

I'd say there's a palpable sense of excitement among the members of the Colby College Chorale as we near departure time Friday morning (i.e., tomorrow). A terrific final rehearsal this afternoon, some last minute details covered, and the anticipation of heading off tomorrow equal concrete evidence that this tour is actually about to get underway. A good seven months of intensive work on a challenging and musically varied program have led up to this moment; now comes the payoff. We look forward to keeping readers of this blog/journal posted on the trip. Hope you'll enjoy following along!

Getting Ready...

2005-03-01T22:32:00.000+01:00

The Chorale is hard at work preparing for their trip abroad for Spring Break 2005. During the tour, this site will contain daily updates along with photos from the Tour. Check back with us then, March 18-26! We can't wait!

Colby College

2005-03-01T22:18:00.000+01:00

Colby Seal, originally uploaded by ColbyChorale.