Vienna & Prague Countdown Blog

View of Charles Bridge from Prague Castle

Welcome to the Vienna & Prague Countdown Blog!  Be sure to join us on June 2nd as we begin our 30 day countdown to the 2012 Tour.  There will be daily posts highlighting the events and locations that we will be visiting on the trip.  You will also learn interesting facts about Vienna and Prague, the cuisine, useful travel phrases and of course the amazing musical connections that can be found in these magnificent cities.  Each page will be added onto with detailed information throughout the month of June, so be sure to check back as often as you can.   We’d love to hear from you, so feel free to comment and share information that you might find useful.  Enjoy!

Photos of Vienna and Prague courtesy of http://www.aviewoncities.com

The festival has begun! Our kids had a Viennese music history talk, rehearsed and performed. The Konzerthaus was absolutely gorgeous. The gala was held in Vienna city hall. This also was an incredibly beautiful building. Here are some pictures of the Wiener Konzerthaus, the city hall and of the kids. The costumes from the different countries are fabulous. We are so very excited. Our kids closed the program and was the chosen orchestra for the SCL anthem.

What a glorious day. The kids did an absolutely wonderful job at the festival. Below are some pictures of the hall and one of the kids in the hall.

We then went to a small village to perform an outside concert. Many villagers came to hear the kids. Right after the performance, Carter announced that we ARE performing at the Gala Prizewinners Concert !!!!!!!! The kids are ecstatic!!!! Below is a video of the encore. It’s not the best quality, but you can hear the kids. The other video files are too big for the blog. Enjoy.

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Hi everyone! I know we are in Vienna now, but I just wanted to share a picture of a little bit of myso left on the Lennon Wall in Prague. For those of you who don’t know, the graffiti covered wall is a former site of protest from the communist regime. People write song lyrics, personal messages, ‘deep thoughts’ on the human existence or simply sign their names. Here’s to future tourists wondering what in the world “myso” stands for.

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After the opening ceremonies of the SCL Festival, we went to Augustiner Keller for dinner. We had a buffet which was enjoyed by all. Enjoy the pictures – I will be adding more pictures daily now that our computer issues have been ironed out.

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We made it to Vienna safe and sound. The kids are still flying high after the concert last night. The Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival officially started. We attended a welcome ceremony at St. Stephan’s with groups from all over the world. We are the only US Orchestra here! Enjoy the pictures below

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The collective mood was pretty high tonight, as you can imagine, after the amazing evening we ALL had at Dvorak Hall of the Rudolfinum in Prague. Bright and early tomorrow the orchestra leaves Prague for the Summa Cum Laude Festival in Vienna. It is great to leave Prague on such a high note! I think it is safe to say that many of the kids have fallen in love with this lively and beautiful city.

Thanks for your patience with the blog. A combination of computer issues, internet connection issues and our tightly packed schedule have made it difficult to post over the last few days. I’m hoping these issues will iron themselves out once we get to Prague.

Here are some photos of the concert at Dvorak Hall and one of the kids before the concert. The concert was brilliant. We played to nearly a full house. There was much cheering and a huge standing ovation. This was an incredible night.

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After a couple long days of travel, we all made it safe and sound! Immediately upon our arrival in the city of Prague we embarked upon an extensive walking tour of the spectacular Old Town. We were all blown away by the stunning architecture and amazing history, and we had a lovely dinner together (gulash, of course) at a restaurant down the street from our hotel. Now everyone’s exhausted, especially this blogger. Good night! More tomorrow!

Old town square

Pack Your Bags….It’s time for Vienna & Prague 2012!

It’s time to make sure that your bags are packed as we get ready to head out for the Vienna & Prague 2012 Tour!  Best wishes go out to our conductors Mrs. Deutsch and Mr. Dixon, Senior Symphony musicians, staff, and group members as they travel abroad and compete in the 6th Annual Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival.  I hope that you all have enjoyed the Vienna and Prague Countdown Blog.  Be sure to keep in touch as we travel abroad for post updates and a look at our group photo gallery.  Bon Voyage!!!