1st April 2010
2 October 2006
All arrived safely home to banners, flags, more than a few tears and lots of cheers! Well done to each and every one who participated and made the tour the success it was.
Hopefully all used today to rest and come down to earth, before returning to school and normality tomorrow.
Three cheers!
30 September 2006
ON OUR WAY HOME!
The bus left Halle at 06h00 this morning on the first leg back home. Contrary to the trip over, there was almost complete silence as 54 exhausted children and adults collapsed into their seats! We arrived safely at Frankfurt International Airport and, as far as the webmaster knows, all are now safely onboard the flight to Dubai.
We ended the concert tour with yet another outstanding performance in Halle on Thursday night. What made the evening even more special, is the fact that the Halle choir joined us in the performance of Ständchen.
The promised trip to the mine was very interesting. It is an old manganese, copper and fluoride mine that has been in existence for over 300 years. We all donned our hard hats and yellow overcoats for a trip down below, where we could see exactly how mining was done through the ages. The most impressive was probably the water-wheel driven mechanism for transporting ore out of the mine. The water wheel has a massive 10m diameter and is still in perfect working order!
From there we moved on to a youth campsite, where we were served a delicious lunch before venturing into the woods for a lovely walk. Our clever guides went ahead, dropping candy along the way. It was better than the proverbial carrot - the kids literally ran the whole way in order to find the next sweet. Why didn't we think of that?
Upon our return to Halle we were welcomed at a garden party on the grounds of the music school, complete with stokbrood, pork sausage rolls, steak rolls, salads and candy floss! A good game of soccer helped us get rid of our spare energy.
The biggest surprise of the evening was when the tour parents called all into the practice hall. They had written a tour song from them to Lionel and the kids and to their consternation had half the choir in tears by the end of it! The words (to Abba's Thank You for the Music) follow:
We're nothing special, it's you who're the stars of the tour.
In fact, without you, we wouldn't be here at all.
We'd like to tell you that we're very proud
Of angels like you, with halos that's skew,
And we've had lots of laughs,
And with that we'd just like to say....
So we say "Thank you for the music,
The songs you're singing;
Thanks for all the joy you're bringing;
Who can live without you, we ask in all honesty;
What would life be without a song or a dance, what are we?"
So we say "Thank you for the music,
For bringing it to us."
The evening was concluded by everybody (hosts and guests) forming a circle and singing Siyahamba and Al lê die berge nog so blou.
While everyone is sure to want to get home now, it is surely not without a little sadness. We made wonderful friends, sang in beautiful venues and saw many other wonderful things. Thank you moms and dads, we really do appreciate it!
28 September 2006
HALLE
It is now almost 15h00 in Halle (and South Africa) and everybody is (once again) in the shops!
Yesterday afternoon we travelled to Zerbst, a town about 100km from Halle, for the evening's concert. We were, once again, made to feel most welcome and enjoyed performing in the newly renovated cathedral. Unfortunately the organ is under repair (all the pipes and inner works are spread out on the balcony) and Prof Troskie had to improvise on the electric piano! He really needs a special commendation for the seemingly endless number of tricks he can pull out his sleeve when the situation is not what we would like it to be!
The concert was started off by a Junior Choir from Zerbst, whereafter the Kinderchor der Stadt Halle, with whom we are also performing here tonight, presented and entertaining and well-rounded program. We ended with a standing ovation (again) and you at home can be mighty proud of your offspring / grandchildren / friends / cousins / nieces / nephews!
This morning we travelled to the Merseburg Castle, where we received a guided tour of the cathedral. This was a tour with a difference. It was interactive and the children got to dress up in clothes and enact little scenes from the 1000 year history of the cathedral. We climbed 138 steps to the top of the bell tower and got to design and paint our own coat of arms!
Lunch was, once again, in the university canteen. Later this afternoon we will convene at the Ulrichskirche for a rest before the evening's concert.
This will probably be the last time we get to write in the journal for now. Internet access and time are problematic. Please also no more e-mails. We promised the children that we will tell you that they all love you and miss you lots and, although its been a lot of fun, they are ready to come home!
Tomorrow we visit and old mine in the mountains, whereafter we will go for a walk and play in the woods. In the evening we will have a garden party at the music school here. On Saturday morning we meet at 05h30 for the first leg of our trip back home!
Oh, and please remember that we informed the schools that they will only return to school on Tuesday. So don't hesitate to allow them a day of coming back to earth and catching up on some sleep on Monday!
PS We hope to load some photos before the end of the weekend.
27 September 2006
Back on line at last! Apologies for the silence, but we had no Internet access in Dresden. Time (or rather, an extreme lack of it) is also a huge factor. We are printing the e-mails to the children, but can unfortunately not send any.
DRESDEN
Dresden is a breathtakingly beautiful city. Situated on the banks of the Elbe River, there are quite a few hills and green patches around. Three majestic castles overlook the river. The children were placed out to their host families, only to be met again at 15h00 on Sunday. Everybody therefore had a chance to sleep in a while and the adults booked into the International Youth Hostel, overjoyed at the prospect of no children for 24 hours!
Most of the children were taken around the city by their most gracious hosts, some even went on bicycle tours! The adults spent the evening at the house of Annelies Sommer, the conductor of the Dresdner Spatzen.
The concert on Sunday was in a small church called Maria am Wasser Kirche. It means Maria at the water, and is, of course, right on the banks of the Elbe River! The Dresdner Spatzen consists of children from the age of 5 to about 12. They obviously sing music that is very different from ours, but their enthusiasm and enjoyment is catching!
Our part of the concert was very well received and we had a long standing ovation and an encore!
On Monday we celebrated Melissa and Andre's birthdays. While they were homesick for the families at home, they each had a very special day which they won't ever forget!
We were first taken on a bus tour of the city. Our guide was very good, telling us enough interesting facts, without boring us with too much detail. We were allowed off for a walk around Schloss Albrechtshoff, where the adults also had lunch on Sunday.
The bus then took us back to the Altstadt (old city) for a guided walk. Many of the buildings were originallty built during the time of August the Strong who, it is said, could break a horse shoe with his bare hands. A particularly special building is the Frauenkirche (Women's Church). along with a large part of Dresden, this building was completely destroyed by American and British bombers during the Second World War. A project launched to rebuild it, was expected to take a very long time, but due to generous donors from right across the world, was completed two years ago. It is truly a beautiful building and we'd love to arrange a concert there in future!
The local VW factory canteen then supplied a delicious lunch, whereafter we had a mini-concert for the staff. This factory is in the middle of the city, and built entirely of glass. You can see the cars as they are manufactured! They only produce two types of cars, the Futon and Bentley. These are super-luxurious vehicles selling for a mere 500 000 Euro's each!
For the afternoon we travelled to Schloss Moritzburg. This castle was built for the annual hunting season and is completely surrounded by water. We had a little concert in the entrance hall. There are also many horses in that area, and they have shows like those of the Lippizzaners.
On Monday evening the Spatzen had arranged a party, where everybody ended up singing and dancing together. We once again see that music breaks through all barriers and that the lack of ability to communicate in the same language is no problem at all!
The goodbye on Tuesday morning was emotional, with many a tear shed on either side.
LEIPZIG - HALLE
We were fortunate enough to have almost an entire day in Leipzig, before travelling on to Halle, our final stop for the tour.
Before making up for the lack of shopping opportunities in Dresden, we walked to the church where Johann Sebastian Bach worked and is buried. Unfortunately the organ on which he worked, was destroyed, but the church is beautiful and we could see quite a lot of his manuscripts and some period instruments on display.
After a meal of McDonalds, paid for with our money from the street concerts, the children (and adults) were let loose on the shopping centre at the central railway station - what FUN!!!!!
HALLE
We arrived in Halle at 16h00. As most of our hosts work during the day, we had an opportunity to relax in the music school's garden, before being placed out. Word has it that many children were asleep by 21h00!
Today we are experiencing our first rainy whether (save a short-lived drizzle in Liberec) on the entire tour! We started off with a group photograph taken in the church where the composer G.F. Händel received his first organ lessons, whereafter we toured the house in which he was born, now turned into a museum dedicated to his life. We even had an opportunity to play some of the period musical instruments!
We are off to luch at the university now, whereafter we will meet the mayor of Halle, before travelling to Zerbst for the evening's concert with three other choirs.
22 September 2006
Another wonderful day! Upon our arrival at the music school this morning, the adults were overpowered by 54 excited children, who could not wait to tell us about their wonderful hosts - as has been our experience throughout the tour. As expected, many of the children are quite shocked at the lack of space and how small the flats are, but the generous hospitality and genuine friendship extended to us is what really made the impression.
Janna, our guide for the morning, took us on a walk through Old Prague and our two short street concerts (one at the palace and one at the old town square) was very well received by all the bystanders. Thanks to Andrè and Rory's hat, we also collected quite a bit of money and the children will surely all receive an ice cream or the likes from the proceeds.
The tour ended at the information centre, where Janna handed out guide books about Prague and was followed by a short, but ferocious, shopping spree. The bus is filled with interesting goodies and no, I won't let the cat out the bag and spoil the surprise!
We were brought back to the music school in the afternoon, where we had lunch. Afterwards we met the mayor of Prague 11 and had a chance to rest a bit, before going to the Salvatore Church, the venue for the evening's concert.
Prazska Kantilena started the evening off on a high note. They have two conductors, who take turns and impressed us with their beautiful, full sound.
Of course our kids sang beautifully and it seemed that the ovation at the end was never going to stop!
Tomorrow we're off to Dresden. Apologies for the silence on the e-mail front. We are receiving the e-mails and the kids love it, so keep them coming! We just seem to have a problem when sending e-mail.
21 September 2006
Last night's concert was, as usual, a wonderful affair. We were fortunate enough to have both the Severacek Preparatory, as well as the Severacek Choir also performing short programs. The evening ended with the Severacek joining is in a rendition of You'll never walk alone, and us joining them in the singing of a Czech Folk song. What fun!
We need to make special mention of the fact that Lucretia (once again) received wonderful applause and Ständchen was especially well received!
This morning we had a very quick last-minute shop at a large shopping centre just outside Liberec, before going on to the Botanicus mediecal village. Here we were transported back into medieval times to witness crafts like rope-making, candle-making, wire work, soap-making and so on. Incke had a chance to make her own paper and quite a few of the choir members went on to make soap and candles.
We arrived in Prague just in time for a boat trip up the Vltava River (also known as the Moldau). As promised, Prague is a beautiful city and we are very much looking forward to our time in the old city tomorrow morning!
The choir who is hosting us is called the Prazska Kantilena. This is a girls' choir. We were warmly received with a wonderful spread of eats and drinks, before going off with our very friendly hosts.
20 September 2006, 11am
Happy birthday, Mnr Lionel! We promise to be extra good today and sing better than any angel has ever sung before!
This morning we saw the historic Liberec Town Hall. It has the most exquisite leadglass windows depicting the city`s links to the textile industry.
We also climbed up the tower - 154 steps - to have a lovely circular view of the city and surrounds. Both our days have been overcast, which is rather disappointing if you want views, but it was lovely nonetheless.
It was also a case of 'shop til you drop' for an hour, before the morning rehearsal with the Severacek conductor, where the children will be learning a Czech song to sing with the Severacek. By the way, Severacek means 'little north wind'. The north wind here is a cold, polar wind. The little north wind makes the people bundle up in warm clothes, but is not so bad and actually results in them opening their hearts.
This afternoon the children are off to their hosts for a rest, before the concert tonight.
Please keep the e-mails coming. the kids love getting messages! Just remember to keep them short, please, as we are dependent on our hosts for paper and would not like to abuse them.
18 and 19 September 2006
WURZBURG to LIBEREC
The day was rather long and tiring, as the trip to Liberec took almost the whole of Monday. Upon our arrival at the music school, we were greeted in song by the choir and greeted them in turn with Baya Moyika.
We were pleased to note that most of the children and their parents speak at least a basic English and the fears about communicating were quickly put to rest. The children were wonderfully spoilt by all their hosts and despite a wobble or two last night, all the faces were smiling by this morning.
The morning was spent climbing the Jested Mountain outside Liberec. This steep climb of about 3km was quite taxing on a few choir members, but team spirit prevailed and all made it to the top in the end! A few opted to take the easier way down via cable car, while the rest - believe it or not - opted to walk down again.
Our shopping spree this afternoon was hampered by difficulties at the bank and rain, but most kids went shopping with their hosts this afternoon and there will be plenty of time tomorrow!
Tomorrow night we sing with the local children's choir - a concert we are really looking forward to.
17/09/2006
WÜRZBURG
Oh, what a day! We started off singing the Messe Basse and O Salutaris during the morning mass in the St Kilian's Dom. What a majestic church (something gives me the idea that this is a term I will be using quite a few times on this tour!) and our angels sang beautifully as usual!
After the service we were collected by our host families, who mostly went out of their way to show us something of their beautiful city. Some of the landmarks visited were the Prince Bishop's Residence in the centre of town, with its beautiful gardens. Also the Käppelle, a church from the baroque era on a hill, and of course the Marienburg Festung, a palace and fort also overlooking the town. This is the biggest palace in Germany and quite impressive!
This afternoon's concert was performed to a full house - standing room only - and a long, standing ovation. Despite a request that the audience not clap in between works, but only at the end, they simply could not contain themselves and often broke out in spontaneous applause.
After some refreshments, we were taken on a guided tour of Marienburg Festung. The climb up the steep hill was exhausting but well worth while, as our guide was a veritable mine of information. Some facts:
Würzburg has approx. 130 000 inhabitants.
There is a university.
More than 40 churches.
The big river that flows through Würzburg is called the Main River and also flows through Frankfurt, whereafter it joins the Rhine River.
The St Mary's Chapel in the Festung is today, to the day, 1300 years old!
Tomorrow morning we meet at 8am for the long trip to Liberec.
Oh, before I forget, check out the photos!
16/09/2006
RÖTHENBURG AND WÜRZBURG
Today we travelled from Mainz to Würzburg. The German road system is fantastic and driving on the Autobahn in our big bus quite an experience! On the way the autumn leaves on the trees made for interesting and beautiful colour schemes and we saw quite a few wind turbines used for generation of electricity.
On the way we made two stops. Firstly we stopped at the airport to find Thabiso's suitcase, which he left behind on Thursday. After almost three hours they appeared with the suitcase and a very happy Thabiso! In that time the bus driver put a DVD on for us to watch. The quiet time turned out to be a good thing as we haven't had much of that lately!
Then we stopped at the beautiful Röthenburg. This is a medieval town that miraculously survived the bombings of both World Wars. It has a wall right around the town that you can walk on and lots of wonderful little shops, including a Christmas shop! Let us suffice to say that some serious shopping took place! Upon our arrival at Würzburg we were welcomed with something to drink and eat and the choir is currently practicing at Neumünster where the concert will take place tomorrow afternoon. On the way there we walked through the cathedral where we sing during morning mass tomorrow. It is even bigger than the one at Mainz and is really ornate.
15/09/2006
FIRST CONCERT
After a day filled with sightseeing, we started our concert program tonight at the beautiful and majestic Mainz Dom Cathedral, where we sang with the Dom Cathedral Choir. This choir consists of boys and young men between the ages of 9 and about 25 - some of them having been part of the choir for more than 15 years! The accoustics in the cathedral are really something else and our angels' voices rose admirably to the occasion!
The weather is really warm and humid at the moment and perfect for tourists. We walked quite a bit, seeing the Rhine River, quaint little cobbled streets filled with shops and sidewalk cafes and also the St Stephen's church with its beautiful windows made by a painter by the name of Chigal. These windows depict the whole story of the Bible. Mainz has very many fountains and is a really attractive city.
The children all seem happy with their hosts, who are going out of their way to make our stay as wonderful as possible.
Technologically we are a little bit hampered, but hope that Würzburg will be easier, so we can load photos and get the children to start writing the journal. We have received and printed all the e-mails from family and friends. Do not stop - seeing their faces light up at the sight is wonderful!
14/09/2006
HERE AT LAST!
We have 54 exhausted children and 11 even more exhausted adults now relaxing in Mainz!!! The flights over were a lot of fun and each of us had our own TV screen where we could watch the movie of our choice, listen to music or play games against our friends. There is even an onboard telephone system that allowed friends to stay in touch! There were lots of buttons to fiddle with and we all played nicely! What an amazing airport in Dubai - with lots of shops and things to see. We arrived just after midnight and we each found a lovely spot on the floor and slept! None of us really noticed how hard it was. We arrived in Frankfurt on schedule and spent the afternoon exploring the beautiful town of Mainz - although we are all so tired we probably didn't take in as much as we should have. The children are all fine and coping ver very well with all that is asked of them - they really are a credit to their parents - well done, Moms and Dads! Tomorrow we are still in Mainz sightseeing during the day as well some practising and we have a concert in the beautiful Cathedral tomorrow night. Please keep us in your prayers and know that we love and miss you all too!!!!
(P.S. Guess what? A technical glitch - what's new? - prevented us from loading photographs! We're working on it!)
13/09/2009
Can't talk. Must dash. We've got a plane to catch!!!
10/09/2009
Now there is no turning back! We had the traditional Goodbye Concert today. Thank you to ministers Johan van der Merwe and Rod Burton for our beautiful send-off! We are truly blessed and know that the tour will be as well.
Apart from the serious stuff, we also performed in our brand-new reversible waistcoats for the first time today. The red velvet is still used for the sacred part of our music, but the colourful reverse is wonderfully appropriate for the secular music - complete with funky new bow-ties to go! Thank you, Tannie Susan D and the rest of the family who were all put to task (I believe Jolene's dad is an expert pattern cutter by now) to get the job done in time!
05/09/2006
ACCOLADES FOR OUR PERFORMANCE AT THE PRESTIGE CONCERT!
Hier volg 'n uittreksel uit die berig deur Theo Boekkooi in Die Burger, Dinsdag 5 September 2006
Die OP-Kinderkoor onthaal sy gehore ook al vir 24 jaar. Lionel van Zyl vertrek volgende week met sy 64-tal uit 28 skole op 'n toer na Duitsland and Tsjeggië. Uit hul bydraes het duidelik geblyk dat hulle in 'n uitstekend toegeruste en voorbereide staat verkeer vir dié onderneming, en dat hul vokale kwaliteite bo verdenking is. Voorspoed toegewens! Met orrelbegeleiding deur Albert Troskie het hulle dadelik in elke opsig die juiste toon getref in dele uit Messe Basse van Gabriel Faurè, met kenmerkende suiwer, helder en stralende klanke van die Kyrie tot die slot Agnus Dei. Drie juwele van Caplét, naamlik die a cappella O Salutaris, vrome Agnus Dei, en Panis Angelicus met pragtige orrelbegeleiding en pragtige sopraansolo's (sonder en met koor) deur Lucretia Geswint was aangrypend in hul eenvoud.
Nà die pouse is Die Engele en die Herders van Zoltan Kodály besonder knap en oortuigend vertolk, moontlik teen 'n effens stadige pas, maar die heerlik nagalmende Europese katedrale mag dalk selfs 'n laer tempo afdwing. Hoe fantasties gaan die groot aangehoue klimaks aand die einde nie dáár klink nie! Èn Schubert se opgewonde Ständchen, met sy sopraansolos en Hannelie Young se puik klavier. Nà die beroemde Yesterday van Lennon/Mcartney het die koor sensasioneel besluit met Vilja se Lied uit Lehàr se Vrolike Weduwee, met klavier en orrel daarby.
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And an extract from the review by Rupert Mayr in the Eastern Privince Herald, 5 September 2006.
Attention to detail, perfect blend, clear diction and beautiful phrasing are the unmistakable trademark of the Eastern Cape Children's Choir.
Qualities of this kind guaranteed the faultless rendering of the long melodic lines in Fauré's Messe Basse. Kodàly's Die Engele en die Herders was a brilliant showpiece that duly earned long and spontaneous applause.
While the choir easily negotiated the intricate chromatic progressions in Caplet's O Salutaris and Agnus Dei, excellent breath-control not only allowed individual voice-parts to keep long-sustained notes in perfect intonation but also to produce an outstanding Fade at the close of Lemmer's Carillon.
In this work as well as in Caplèt's Panis Angelicus and Schubert's beautifully interpreted Ständchen, guest artiste Lucretia Geswint, again proved to be one of our best singers.
04/09/2006
We are proud of Eghard and Engelien (ex choir member) who excelled at this year's Music Teacher Society Competition on Saturday (02/09/2006). Eghard and his ensemble partner came first overall in the ensemble division, whilst Engelien came first in the division for high school pupils. Well done!
02/09/2006
Angels? Well, they sing like angels...
This lovely photo of our youngest members Andrè and Jan, with friend Karl in the middle, depicts the general air of excitement currently permeating the air whenever the choir is assembled. It was taken during the Prestige Concert, (our last public performance before tour) last night.
28/08/2006
Where did the past two weeks go and how are we going to fit everything into the next two weeks? In at least one household the spareroom has become a temporary halfway station for items destined for a certain suitcase and the reality of the experience awaiting us is starting to sink in.
Tannie Susan D has finished 40 of the new waistcoats - yes, that's why the smoke has been hanging over Greenshields Park for the past month! Her entire family have become experts at cutting, fitting and ironing and we owe them a BIG THANK YOU!
Friday the first of September is the occasion of the annual Prestige Concert with the Eastern Cape Youth Choir. All are welcome. See our schedule and upcoming performances pages for details.
We are very proud of our youngest choir member. Jan Coetzer was chosen for the role of Amahl in Menotti's opera Amahl and the Night Visitors, appearing with mezzo-soprano Lucretia Geswint as his mother. The performances will take place in the NMMU Auditorium on the 7th and 8th of September. Well done Jan. We know you'll make us all proud!
A very happy birthday to the following people celebrating their birthdays during September: Desiree (10th), Gershwin (10th), Meneer Van Zyl (20th) and André (25th).
15/08/2006
Four weeks and counting! Things are happening almost too fast now and we sometimes wonder whether we're ever going to find the time to buy that extra pair of shoes, or the new tube of toothpaste.
Last week brought some wonderful news when we heard that the three children on our development project are being sponsored to also join the tour. Thank you to Trish and her team from Jet Travel. I wish you could be there to see their smiles when we told them!
We are also looking forward to receiving our brand-spanking new waistcoats, in time for the tour. Tannie Susan Davis and Tannie Karen Hobson are working very hard to make this happen and make sure that we shine like the stars we are!
Tonight we have the honour of performing to more than 400 guests attending annual VLV Kongres at the Feathermarket Hall.
07/08/2006
Five weeks to go until we leave on tour! The next five weeks will provide little time for getting excited about our big adventure, as we have no fewer than 5 choir performances and a number of extra rehearsals to get through. Not to mention our responsibilities at school! You're talking tests, tests and more tests, sport practice and matches, school choir and band rehearsals and performances and much more!
At choir rehearsals you can feel some excitement creeping in, as some of us are talking about measuring and buying suitcases and making sure that we haven't outgrown our clothes and don't need new ones. We cannot wait for the 13th of September to arrive!
The following members are celebrating their birthdays during the month of August. A very happy birthday to Khadija, Zipho, Danelle, Karl and Zanel.
21/07/2006
Welcome to our newly revamped website! On this page we will keep you up to date with all our activities. During the month of September we will be touring to Germany and the Czech Republic. This journal will be updated regularly, in order for all our friends and family to share in our wonderful experience.
