| News & Events 2007-2008
Singers and String Ensemble Members Tour Eastern Europe
Photos Added
 Director
of Instrumental Music Jen Pagotto recounts the European tour
of the Blair Singers and String Ensemble as they made their
way through Prague, Vienna and Budapest in June. Please check
out the travel photos of their performance.
In early June, the
Blair Academy Singers and String Ensemble embarked on an
Eastern Europe concert tour, the first trip ever for a Blair
Academy instrumental ensemble and the first tour in four years
for Singers. During the 12-day trip, we performed four full
concerts, participated in two mass services and gave several
informal performances in Prague, Vienna and Budapest. Each
performance received enthusiastic applause and requests for
encores.
In addition to the high quality of the
students’ performance,
the concert venues were some of the best Europe has to offer.
From the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Prague’s Old Town
Square, St. Stephan’s Cathedral in Vienna and the beautiful
Melk Abbey Cathedral, to Franz Joseph Haydn’s Concert
Hall in Esterhazy and the recital hall in Pomaz’s School
of Music, our students had the opportunity to perform in
some of the best acoustic spaces ever built. Each hall represented
a respect for and dedication to music and clearly distinguishes
music as an integral and important part of European culture.
In her trip journal, senior Sarah Brandwood wrote, “Not
only was it interesting to discover the emphasis and importance
of music in Europe, but it was also unbelievably fun! The
groups that welcomed us at the music schools ranged from
children to teenagers, and they were tremendously enthusiastic.
The best part was singing two songs with them.
Each group
performed a variety of music, most of which was heard on
the Blair campus throughout the last year. Significant Baroque
and Classical works including Mozart’s Regina
Coeli, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3; several German
choral works formed a large portion of our repertoire. Perhaps
the most enjoyable for our audiences were the pieces by notable
American composers Leroy Anderson, Morten Lauridsen and Moses
Hogan. Every piece was performed to the highest standard and
represents a huge amount of rehearsal and preparation throughout
the school year.
Coupled with the rigorous concert schedule
were tours of historic castles, monuments and museums. Students
enjoyed seeing the sites of such amazing cities, and perhaps
even more enjoyable were the trips to small, charming towns
and watching the countryside from the windows of our tour
bus as we traveled from place to place. In her trip journal,
senior Emmy Rodriguez wrote, “I
love music, and I’m so happy it was an essential part
of my first trip to Europe, which I was able to spend with
a great group of people. Thanks to Blair for giving me this
opportunity.”
This has been a wonderful experience
for our students, one they will not soon forget. We look
forward to continuing the standard of excellence with our
performances at Blair next fall and hope to plan another
tour in the near future.
| Click on images
to view larger. |
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Updated 7/3/08
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