Day 9: We're Coming Home!!!

Well, it’s hard to believe it but our tour has almost come to an end – nothing left now but re-packing the suitcases and getting to bed for our early morning trip to the airport. WE ARE COMING HOME!!!!

Andrew and Spence - sorry forgot that the two of you were also brave enough to test the waters of the atlantic (oops not the Baltic - must have mis-heard our tour guide) along with Chelsea and the other guys - will you forgive me?

Today was cold and rainy, but it didn’t dampen our spirits. The original plans for the day had to be changed due to the weather, but the AF School was on top of things. We met at the school this morning at 9 AM and set off on the city bus for the Nordic museum a beautiful building built in 1907 (btw, the first one is not my picture).

The main hall is dominated by a huge statue of King Gustav Vasa, who is considered the founder of Sweden. The exhibits focused on a variety of aspects of Swedish culture and traditions. We had our lunch in the museum and then left on a short walk to the Vasa Museum.

The Vasa Museum is dominated by a huge – and I mean huge - warship that was built for King Gustavus Adolphus in 1628. Unfortunately it sank about 10 minutes into its maiden (and only) voyage. It was recovered in 300 years later and now rests in the main hall of the museum. It was awesome, and the carvings were beautiful.

We wandered around and took pictures, then gathered at the front of the museum to begin our trip to the Globe Arena – site of the Let the Future Sing Good-Bye ceremony.

I have to admit that I began this leg of the journey with a little trepidation. Imagine travelling with 52 choristers - first by bus then by subway – in a city that none of us are particularly familiar with. Well, we made it safe and sound – even though we were crammed like sardines onto the subway car. The Globe Arena is a combo arena / shopping mall / office complex. Much to everyone’s delight we were half an hour early – the Annex, where the party was to be held wasn’t even open – guess what we got to do? Shop!! It’s amazing what you can accomplish in a short period of time.

We (all 10 choirs and the students from the AF School) went in sat down and were treated to one more song from each of the visiting choirs. HCC was the last choir to perform and after much discussion Zimfira decided that they should sing Tjack! One more time – I watched the kids in the audience and they had already started to learn bits of the song – I don’t think it will be long until other choirs start doing the Hatfield piece too.

After the presentation of the choirs we had some non-alcoholic champagne and what we think, but cannot confirm, was a reindeer meat wrap. Some of the kids even ate them! We were then treated to pop songs performed by a few of the students from the AF school – then we got ready to go back to the billets for one last night.

oh, yes, one other rather important thing - Happy 16th Birthday to Sadie!!

Tomorrow is a very early start for us – we meet at 6:30 at the school and head for the airport and home. As much fun as it has been and as wonderful as our performances have been, I know we are all looking forward to our triumphant return to Pearson.

It has been a privilege for me to be here and bear witness for all of you following along at home – know that you have raised smart, well behaved and extremely talented and dedicated children – it has been a pleasure to get to know them all better.

Can hardly wait to see you tomorrow!

Day 8: Hello from Stockholm Again

Greetings from Stockholm again!

We had a six hour bus ride back from Gothenburg and arrived back in Stockholm shortly after 4PM. So there isn’t really all that much to blog about today – I didn’t even take any pictures as I will admit to having a good snooze on the bus with everyone else. It was some well deserved down time for all the choristers. No performances today – or so we thought… As we were picking up our lunches the Russian choir arrived…

We stopped for lunch at one of those gas station / rest stops / restaurants at noon. We had a great lunch, there were three entrees to choose from and although most of them had pasta there were a few brave kids that opted for what was described as “a kind of lasagna made with cabbage and minced meat” – good for Veina who told me she always tries to eat new foods when travelling. (BTW, you may all want to stock up on Ryvita or Wasa bread for when we return – it is now an official favourite of almost every chorister – seems they don’t associate it with dieting the way I do!). we had just finished eating when we heard Zimfira called them all to attention and announced that the Russian choir had asked us to sing a song in the restaurant. No problem, we still had 10 minutes before the bus was scheduled to leave. So Chamber sang one song and Youth choir sang one song. Then the Russians sang one song. Time to leave right? Nope, not yet. The Romanians arrived at the same time and they had to perform one song as well. I’m sure the diners had no idea that they were to be serenaded in such style while lunching at the roadside eatery! Never a dull moment here – we rushed to get the kids back on the bus quickly – we were afraid the Chinese choir would arrive before we could make a clean break!!

Tomorrow is our last full day here and we are looking forward to a trip to the museum in the morning and the closing ceremonies and celebration tomorrow afternoon. One more post for me tomorrow night and then it’ll be time for packing up and looking forward to all those hugs and kissed at Pearson.

Good night everyone!
michelle

Day 7: up the coast

We had a relaxing morning this morning before our trip up the coast. Our first official function was lunch at the school at noon. Many of the choristers were allowed their first real sleep-in in days. Other’s whose host families had to go to work (poor things) came in to meet us downtown at the cathedral and then had some free time to enjoy window shopping and hanging out with their friends.
We all met at the school, well except for Shawn who missed the bus up to the school – don’t ask. He managed to arrive by taxi a short time later. We had lunch and then the choristers sang Dream a Dream for the staff as a thank you for the wonderful hospitality. It has been marvelous and we all feel like we have been treated as honored guests.

After lunch we headed up the coast for some sightseeing on our way to our final (yes, final) performance of the tour. The drive took a little over an hour. Our first stop was in Kladesholmen, a small village on one of the many islands that make up the south-east coast of Sweden. Along the way we picked up a tour guide who gave us a bit of a history lesson, and were able to stop for some great photo ops.

The scenery is remarkable like home – anyone who has ever been to Nova Scotia would have felt right at home. Like our east coast, many of the young people have left for the bigger urban centres in search of employment and enjoyment – now the population consists of older generations who have chosen to remain or wealthier Swedes who can afford the real estate prices and high taxes. Hmmmmm… does sound like home, doesn’t it?

The choristers had a great day, relaxing on the bus and sharing some good together time that a few choristers have been missing since they are not staying together in one hotel. We have found though that the billet experience, while not only making the tour more affordable, has also given them a much better insight into the culture (and the food too – Abbey Cleaveland had raspberry jam for the first time today and has discovered that it’s not so bad!)

Our next stop was the Swedish Watercolour Museum where we saw an exhibit of watercolours by the Sweden’s equivalent of Beatrix Potter. After the tour of the museum the kids were set free to explore the beach and surrounding landscape. A few choristers (Nick, Gord, and even Chelsea – you go girl) braved the very cold waters of the Baltic Sea and jumped off the pier! The rest of us watched in amazement and disbelief – btw – it was a little chilly and windy on the coast – we were glad that we brought our hoodies!

Next stop Valla Kyrka for our evening performance. This concert was set up for us by the host group in a church built in the 1800’s. Tonight was all HCC and it was a rousing hour long performance of most of our repertoire. The church was packed – for which we were grateful, as Valla appeared to be one of those ‘in the middle of nowhere’ spots. I know it’s getting boring but … they were again outstanding and were treated to yet another standing ovation. Watane and Past Life Melodies were probably the best I’ve ever heard. As a thank you Zimfira allowed Joel to lead the whole choir in a rocking cover of Dancing Queen. The audiences sang and danced (!) along with them and were so appreciative of the talent and heart of our choir. I’m not sure if I’ve said this already, but it needs repeating – it’s one thing when the ovation comes from family and friends, but when it is given by an audience who don’t know us, but do know music and choral singing it is a very special tribute to this amazing team! We stayed in the church to pose for more group photos

And then the second highlight of the night for the choristers – ICE CREAM!!! Zimfira has cautioned them all week to take care of their voices, avoiding anything too cold like iced cappuccinos and ice cream. Finally, however, the restrictions had been lifted – to make the treat even better there were enough toppings that the kids could make sundaes.
We got everyone back on the bus by about 9:00pm, did our head count (magic number = 52) and headed back into Gothenburg.

We’re up early tomorrow to return to Stockholm and two more days of camaraderie with the students and billet families from the AF school – I’ve heard rumour that they have something planned for the choristers on Thursday morning – I’ll keep you posted…

Day 6 - we still love Gotenburg

sorry having lots of trouble with wireless connection - cannot upload any more pictures at this time - will try later - words will have to do for now...

We still love Gothenburg – it is walking friendly city and we certainly have been doing a lot of that. Our host here is the Brunnsboskalan School (another public school that specializes in choral music). We had a rehearsal for two hours this morning to get ready for our evening performance as guests at the Brunnsboskalan School’s year-end / graduation concert. After lunch we headed into the city for a rehearsal at the concert hall. Another stunning venue – in fact, 20 years ago the hall was noted as having the best acoustics in Europe. We were told that today it still ranks in the top three, and that’s not hard to believe.

After rehearsal we had some free time and since Gothenburg is such a pedestrian friendly city, we let the kids leave in groups of 5 or 6 to explore some of the little shops and boutiques. Walking down the main street we could hear hooting and hollering of groups of teenagers, loud music and the sounds of a good time being had by all. We were witnessing what is apparently a Gothenburg tradition, the graduation celebration. Imagine if you can – a graduating class, on the back of a flat bed truck, or dump truck, or trailer being towed by a truck. All the kids were dressed in white, most were wearing sailor’s hats and most appeared to be drinking spirits of some sorts (remember the drinking age here is 18). Parents carrying posters of their kids when they were babies walked along the street cheering them on as they were driven up and down the main street over and over again. Call me crazy, but the frenzy of preparing for semi-formals and proms seems a lot less hassle now.

The choristers met us back at the concert hall at the appointed time - they have been really good at being on time in the right place at the right time for the whole trip – ok a few small hiccups but nothing major that was cause for significant concern. The choristers were picked up by their billet families and taken home for dinner. They returned at 6, in dress uniform for the evening’s performance. Because we were the guest choir at Brunnsboskalan’s year end celebration we had limited time to perform. Zimfira was given 15 minutes on stage – but we were also asked to perform in the foyer for 20 minutes prior to the concert. I was a little worried that we might have gotten lost in the shuffle of people meeting friends, moving to their seats etc., but no worries. As you can see form the pictures it was a beautiful spot and when we sang people stopped to listen – you couldn’t help it.

The concert itself was good, although as guests we had a limited amount of time – the choir sang Uber, Adiemus and Tjack! This is always a crowd pleaser when there are young people in the audience. When the concert was over the kids all went back to their billet homes safe and sound and got ready for day 6 and our trip up the coast.

Hang on ...

sorry everyone - there was no internet connectiion today - i have one post almost ready and another one to write about our adventures today - stay tuned updates coming soon!!!

probably within an hour or so

michelle

Day 5: Gothenburg

It’s 11:30 pm here and I have wireless internet, but the desk clerk has left for the night and I didn’t get a password – so I’m putting thoughts down in ms word and will copy to the blog first thing tomorrow – something to read before leave for work, I hope.

Up very early again this morning to meet the choristers and the double-decker bus at the AF school for our journey to Gothenburg. We left Stockholm at 8:30 and were out of the city with a half an hour.

All of us remarked how much like Canada the landscape is – check out these shots from the bus window (thank you, Chelsea for taking them for me) we all kept saying how much it looked like the trip up north to cottage country. The only things missing were the Inukshuks to point our way home! Many of us had good naps this morning as well – I think we all needed them.
To all of our surprise the bus driver announced that we would be stopping at McDonald’s for lunch (it really is just like home in so many ways!). We have all been so well fed, none of us felt really guilty about having a few French fries and a burger for lunch. Amazingly, there were a few choristers (good for you, Charlotte!) who, knowing that it really isn’t nutritious opted for salads or McFlurries. Since I have climbed more staircases in the last few days than I have in the last few months – I opted for the French fries.

After an hour stop we were back on the bus for the last hour of our trip to Gothenburg. Driving into the city was also a lot like home – whereas Stockholm is a large metropolis (on the scale of Toronto) Gothenburg is similar in size to Hamilton and has an industrial component that we didn’t see in Stockholm. Once we neared the city center; however, the factories, and, yes, strip malls, were replaced by stunning architecture and tree lined streets leading down to the ocean. The city is designed for walking, and the whole area near the cathedral we played in tonight is closed for traffic and lined with cobblestones and beautiful cafes and boutiques – if time and money were no object we’d all be out shopping, I’m sure.

We arrived here at 2 pm and were in rehearsals from 3 to 3:30. Rehearsal began with a short talk from Zimfira – I thought, oh oh, what’s the matter, turns out though she wanted to thank the choristers for the moving performance from the day before. It is remarkable the love (I don’t think there is another word) that Zimfira has for this choir – and they love her right back.

This evening’s performance was with the Gothenburg cathedral girls & Youth choirs. The church, surprise, surprise was lovely – a different style from St. Jacob’s as you can see – but again, the acoustics were astounding.

Our pieces were switched up a bit tonight – started with Uber, then Salve and then for the first time this tour Nigra Sum (Sonja – I had the Kleenex out before they even started!) then the youth choir joined us for past lives (A real hit with each and every conductor that hears it), the soloists were up on balconies for the over / undertones and it was incredible the way the sound made its way down to us and around the church. Youth choir performed three songs, Tondo, Remember and then a song with the cathedral choir. Much respect to Meaghan for Tondo – it is a remarkable piece that clearly comes from the heart with a sprinkling of innovation and a cross cultural feel that reflects in such a beautiful way what is good about Canadian culture.

The host choir (at least 50 strong) performed a wonderful set after that and even had works by two Canadian composers (Bob Chillicot and Eleanor Daley). Then chamber came back on stage to sing Adiemus and Eternity (pass the Kleenex, please).

The mass pieces were awesome. They sang Hope for Resolution first – it was huge, bigger and fuller than I have heard it – When the anti-apartheid inspired, African rhythm began it rose to new heights. I think (and don’t quote me, because I am not a choral music expert in any way) that the European choirs are so focused on the technical that ‘going tribal’ is invigorating and gives them a chance to let loose – and they did – another example of music coming from the heart going to the heart. We ended with sommerpsalm and another standing ovation!!!

Immediately after the concert, the billet families arrived to pick up their choristers to take them home for a good night’s sleep. Everything is so organized, the families are wonderful and you can see that they are truly excited to have the kids staying with them – if you had any concerns – don’t worry – they are all having a wonderful time, being taken care of as if they were one of the family. We are all well fed, happy and feel very privileged to be here.

Tomorrow is another day of performances with yet another music school – we will be the guest performers at their end of year concert tomorrow night.

PS – 5 more sleeps till we get home – as much fun as we are having, I’m sure we’d all love some great big hugs.

Day 4: Part 2 - the best part

After performing in Filedefiakyrkan (btw – kyrkan means church) we were off to a new venue for our afternoon performance. We walked through the streets of Stockholm and the kids sang as we went. Heads turned, people stopped and wondered – it was fabulous. In case the kids haven’t had a chance to send any pictures home yet here are a few that I snapped on the way.

The last one is the Stockholm opera house and right next store was the beautiful St. Jacob’s kyrkan. Like everything else here the architecture is like nothing we have at home – of course in 1642 (when this church was built) here in Canada we were still making our way down the St. Lawrence!

Here’s the church:

And here’s our poster

And here’s the inside of this remarkable building – now picture in your minds the sounds of our angel’s voices soaring through this amazing space. I was in tears before they even warmed up! (Those of you who know me already know I’m a bit mushy to begin with – this was just too much for me!)

The church is famous for its music program – no wonder – the acoustics are spectacular. After an hour rehearsal, the kids got into their dress uniforms and came outside into the courtyard for a bit of relaxation. And some great photo ops!

I don't know how to adequately describe the performance - I seem to be running out of words - I only hope I can do HCC justice.

In what is fast becoming a tradition - they opened with Uber - as soon as Joel starts the drum the audience knows they're in for something different - now different isn't always good - but within the first few taps of the drumsticks and the first few notes you can see a physical reaction in the audience - and the sound - if you ever needed proof of God in the world - well when they sang Salve Regina - even Kim was in tears. I've never heard them sing it with such colour and dynamic

- Mara you and Zimfira are right - when it comes from the heart - it goes to the heart.

Next up was Xai - again incredible dimension and sound - the last note rang on for at least 10 seconds afer they were finished - and then the thunderous applause - more tears for me!

Past Lives, with its atonal notes and overtones sounded incredible. They sang Adiemus and then my favourite Eternity - oh my - it soared, the sopranos moved down the aisles and the song pulsed through the church like the oceans it represents - would hazzard to gess that there weren't mn dry eyes in the house. And then (yes, it got even better) the whole choir sang Hope for Resolution, when the african rhythm kicked in, again you could sense the awe in the audience.

Here they are - sorry the pictures are so far away - the concert was SOLD OUT and we were t the back of the church

The standing ovation was almost as impressive as your children. The director of music at the church was so impressed with Zimfira and what he called her "very special choir", and the conductor of one of the children's choirs in Paris was also very complimentary and quite excited about our repetoire. The smiles on HCC faces told the story - they knew they had just made magic happen - there really is no other way to describe it.

Thank you all for your kind comments - it is such a privilledge to be here and witness such grace and beauty - and that's not just when they're on stage - with the exception of a few bumps - they have acted as incredible ambassadors for HCC and Canada - our reputation will surely grow even more after this.

well, off to bed now - we have an early morning bus ride to Gottenburg and the second leg of our tour. i my not get a chance to post tomorrow - not sure what kind of internet connection i'll be able to get. i'll try my best, though.

We miss you all and are so grateful that we have the opportunty to experience such a wonderful festival!