Wednesday & Thursday updates

The week has, as Don mentioned in his email, been going faster and faster. Everybody is busy with rehearsals, performances, sight-seeing & touring. Only a couple of days left to go!

Wednesday was the first full rehearsal of the combined choirs and occupied most of the day. It was in Montecatini Terme, a short distance from the hotel, so it was easy to get to. It's still very hot, though, and everybody's energy is a little bit sapped by the heat. The continuing infusions of water & gelato are getting us all through the day (here's a few kids on a lunch break): The rehearsal went very well and Dr Jonathan Talberg was very impressed by the Gunn Choir's skill level & talent (Here's Bill & Dr. Talberg in earnest conversation over lunch):

Wednesday evening was the choir performance at Terme Tettuccio, a beautiful spa in Montecatini Terme. I thought that the SS Bonifacio e Alessio Basilica was pretty, but this place was something else completely -- courtyard after courtyard of marble & granite columns, frescos, paintings and fountains. It resembled a Maxfield Parrish painting, and the weather cooperated by cooling off about 10 degrees. The performance was terrific -- all three choirs performed selections for the standing-room only crowd. It was an amazing evening of music in Italy. Here's one small corner of the place:

Thursday was the first rehearsal with the orchestra, and also a sight-seeing trip to Florence. The sight-seeing highlight was a visit to the Academia of Fine Arts, where Michelangelo's 'David' is on display. It's an awesome sight in person, more than I had expected. Thursday afternoon was the first rehearsal of the Mass in C Minor (or "Do Min" as the Italians refer to it), followed by dinner at the hotel in Montecatini & lights out at midnight. Here's a couple shots of kids in Florence, wandering around & sight-seeing:

Today is another rehearsal, followed by the first performance of the Mass at 7:30. I am updating this blog from an internet cafe in Florence, and I would like to get out and grab an espresso...and then a gelato!

As always, check out Don's excellent pictures (see the link to the side) and check out the bonus below ---

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Bonus Footage:
Here's 'A City called Heaven', with Caitlin's wonderful solo, from the SS Bonifacio e Alessio concert last Saturday (the 24th). Enjoy!


And here's 'Ezekiel Saw The Wheel', solo by Dane Price:

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Tuesday in Montecatini Terme

Today was as close to a day off as the choir will have on this trip -- a full day without a performance, rehearsal or bus trip to anywhere. Local (by foot) destinations in Montecatini Terme are primarily shopping (some very nice shops; Gucci, D&G, Calvin Klein -- credit line increases, anyone?), spas, a swimming pool, an internet center, and on the hilltop above Montecatini a medieval village 'Montecatini Alto' which is reached via a funicular running up & down on the half-hour (with a one hour break for lunch). Most of the kids spent the day either shopping, sight-seeing, or a combination of the two, and the chaperones were more interested in finding a good meal and getting internet access (it was my first chance to update the blog in Montecatini).

In the evening we had a dinner with the singers from the other participating choirs and their conductor. It's an enourmous group of people, almost 200 all together -- once the orchestra joins the group it will be pretty impressive!

There are two other choirs that have joined us: a college choir from UC Long Beach and a community adult choir from LA (both affiliated with Johnathan, the conductor). The adult choir consists mostly of academics (teachers, deans, etc) and should provide an interesting musical counterpoint to the youthful sound of the Gunn choir and the college students.

In other news, the weather continues to be very, very hot. Most of us are drinking at least 2 to 3 liters of water a day, and because it's mostly bottled our water budgets are easy to blow. Fortunately we've found some convenience stores selling 1 and 2 liter bottle packs for less than a euro a bottle, so we're no longer spending 2 euros for a half-liter bottle four times a day (that was more or less the going rate in Rome). Normally the weather would be causing significant weight loss but we manage to break even by drastically increasing our consumption of gelato & pasta.

Here are some pictures from Tuesday; as always, Don's pictures are available here. There's not many pictures of the kids in this group because they're getting a little tired of the chaperones and enjoyed the opportunity to avoid us -- instead they concentrated on interacting with local residents around their age and some visiting students from Spain staying in a hotel nearby.

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This is the funicular track leading to Montecatini Alto. It's basically a cable car on about a 45 degree slope:

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This is the terminus of the funicular track at the top:

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Here's the view from the north side of Montecatini Alto, looking away from Montecatini Terme:

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The view from Montecatini Alto towards the town. It was a little hazy today but still very nice (apart from the heat):

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A typical house in Montecatini Alto:

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A satisfied diner after the big combined choirs dinner (Don's page has more pictures of the dinner here):

Monday travel update

We woke up at 7:00 this morning, most of us having had a refreshing night of sleep, and got on the road at 9:00AM for the about 7-hour drive from Roma to Montecatini Terme. All three buses were, of course, full, and the hot weather hasn't relented. So it wasn't pleasant for the passengers on Bus 3 (Schubert) when their AC broke down! I was in bus 2, so I can sympathize with their plight but I am sure glad it didn't happen to me! Fortunately, we don't have need for buses tomorrow so it can go to the shop for repairs. I'm sure the next time we need it that it will be cool as a cucumber...

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Heres buses 1 & 3, packed full of Gunn choir students on the road in Italy

And a view of a typical hilltop village in Umbria, one of many we passed:

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While on the road, we had a mid-day lunch & sight seeing stop at the monastery (and village) of St. Francis of Assisi, a beautiful spot on a hilltop in Umbria. The monastery is charming, to say the least, and the view from the monastery takes your breath away -- it's like a fairy tale come to life. Sort of like what Disneyland would like to be...

Here's a shot of the monastery itself (courtesy of Dave Ellis):


Unfortunately, this picture doesn't do justice to the marvelous view:


Here are Bill & Sue in the monastery piazza. Don't let their pleasant smiles mislead you; it's still VERY hot!


Some choir kids & chaperones wandering Assisi's winding stairways:

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The big excitement in Italy today was the win against Ecuador in the World Cup match. The timing for this marvelous event coincided almost exactly with our bus arrival in Montecatini; as we were checking into our hotel, the streets around us became alive with cheering and shouting -- car horns honking, flags flying everywhere. The wild celebration went on for at least an hour, and the Gunn kids became honorary Italians for the purpose of shouting & yelling. Here's a sample of the traffic:


Here's some pictures of the kids celebrating & shouting on the balconies (front & back of the hotel; it occupies both sides of the block):

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The Hotel Goya is a charming and quaint three star about four blocks from the piazza in Montecatini Terme. It turns out that there are exactly as many rooms as there are groups, and as a result every room is occupied by the Gunn choir -- we have booked the entire hotel! This is good news, insofar as we don't have to worry about the kids' enthusiasm keeping others awake. However, it meant that checking in was sort of like trying to move everything between two rooms at the same time; lots of shuffling and crowding was necessary to get everybody sorted out. However, Bill managed to get everybody into their rooms and out in time for a welcome dinner of pasta & roast pork, with delicious roasted potatoes. After dinner we strolled around downtown Montecatini, getting a feel for the town and planning for the next day's sight-seeing. Here's some pictures of dinner:

09-19 Dinner at hotel









And here's a picture of the kids in downtown, strutting their stuff for the locals:
The trip continues to be great fun. Tomorrow is a rest day, and then the music program shifts into high gear with rehearsals & performances. Thanks to Kiyoshi Hamai, Dave Ellis & Don Anderson for the great photos. Stay tuned!

Check out Don's photos!

In case you didn't see Don's email, check out his photos of the High Mass here. There are tons of great pictures of the choir!

Sunday mass at St. Peters & sight-seeing

Today was another busy day for the phenomenal Gunn choir. We began with a relatively late (for us) start, waking at 8:00 and leaving the hotel at 10:00 AM to arrive at St Peter's Basilica (plenty of info here) for the 12:00 mass. After standing in line to get through security and into the cathedral (alas, we had hoped that the choir's status as guests might have short-circuited security; but no such luck) the choir took its place to the north of the apse, where they provided the stirring and solemn musical portions of mass. The Alleluia entrance was especially moving. The mass was attended by a mix of visitors to St. Peter's from all over the world, and at the end of the service the choir was credited and exited in stately fashion down the main aisle. It was a terrific experience, and several family members were able to be in Italy for the service.

After the mass was over and a quick change into street clothes, the afternoon was free for sight-seeing and shopping in the neighborhood of the famous Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. The Rome weather we've been experiencing (HOT but sunny) held true, and several dozen gallons of bottled water (not to mention quite a few gelato) were dispatched by the hot but enthusiastic kids & chaperones. Dinner was again at a restaurant able to handle 125 dinners at the same time, a Sicilian operation that served pasta, veal & tiramisu (with some vegetarian entrees provided upon request). Tonight we've wound up fairly early, coming back to the hotel around 9PM for an early to-bed, resting from our time in Rome.

Tomorrow morning we depart by bus for Montecatini Terme, with a stop along the way to see the monastery of St. Francis of Assisi (of regional interest to Bay Area residents, as our city of San Francisco is named after this saint). The next couple of days will be sight-seeing & lots of rehearsal to begin preparation for the Mozart mass next weekend.

The combined photographers are pooling their photos of today's events, to be posted later here and at Don's page (here). As most of tomorrow will be spent on the road and I'm not sure of the internet status at our next hotel, it may be a bit of time until I can update. In the meantime, the choir will be having a great time!

Some pictures from the Saturday concert

Here are some photos to give you an idea of what the concert at SS Bonifacio e Allessio Basilica was like. Most come from Don Anderson's gallery (here) and some from Kiyoshi Hamai, another veteran chaperone.

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The outside of the Basilica, which dates from the mid-1800's:

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Here's a view from the courtyard at sunset, just as we arrived (courtesy of Kiyoshi):

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Here are a couple of shots of the choir during the performance:

The dinner afterwards:

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The Gunn choir attracted its first Italian groupie, an instant fan who was enthusiastically quizzing the kids about all aspects of their performance afterwards (also taken by Kiyoshi):

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The view from the courtyard during the reception:

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And finally, the photographer who took most of these shots on the next day:

Saturday night concert

Tonight the choir sang a marvelous performance at Saints Bonifacio & Alessio Basilica, an externally rustic (but internally ornate) church dating from the 18th century, on a hill overlooking Rome. The performance began at 9:00 PM, and was followed by a dinner reception in the private courtyard overlooking St. Peter's Basilica and all the rest of the city.

That is a rather dry and dusty description of a wonderful evening of music, art, architecture and friendship. The church is sponsoring a music series, and the Gunn Choir event was the first to have the follow-on dinner reception. Our hosts were marvelously friendly, and the concert had many local parishioners and music lovers in attendance. The program was especially graced by Caitlin Gjerdrum's powerful solo in 'City Called Heaven' (which many of you saw her perform in the spring Choir Musical) and its power touched all who were there, drawing tremendous applause and many admiring comments afterwards. The always popular 'Surrounded' (thanks Karen) ended the program and likewise was very popular with the audience. The rest of the performance was, as always, an amazing musical experience made even more inspiring by the setting and the acoustics. The only hiccup was the emergence of a lizard in the soprano section, but the girls didn't even miss a beat, and the lizard (obviously a fan of choral music) left quickly to appreciate the show from a more sheltered location.

After the performance ended, the choir and our hosts emerged into a small courtyard enclosed on three sides and open on the fourth to an absolutely amazing view of Rome, with the illuminated dome of St. Peter's Basilica directly in the foreground, and delicious food waiting for the kids (who had only had snacks since around 1:00PM, and it's now after 10:00PM!). Great dishes of pasta & rice, salads & bread were served and all the kids were able to relax under the grape arbors and take in the amazing view and the beautiful weather. The staff of the church serenaded the kids with a few songs, closing with 'Arrivederci Roma', and we left to return to the hotel. At midnight on a Saturday, however, Rome was in full festive swing and traffic was quite heavy. We arrived and bedded down around 1AM, but tomorrow's schedule is slightly more relaxed -- we get to sleep in until 8AM (what luxury!) for the noon performance of High Mass at St. Peter's.

Tonight's concert was an enchanting and special experience, and everybody who participated was moved by the talent and skill of Bill & his choir. Once we have a chance to sort through the pictures we'll post as many as we can, hopefully tomorrow.

More updates to come!

Saturday afternoon, break between sight-seeing & concert

Hi All,

We have had a long day so far, and it's only half over! We were up at 5:30 to get in line at the Vatican by 7:30, and had a very comprehensive guided tour of some galleries, the Sistine Chapel (absolutely amazing to me), and St. Peter's Basilica. We saw the spot where the choir will be singing tomorrow.

In a few moments we load the bus for Basilica dei SS Bonifacio e Alessio All' Aventino, where the kids will sing a concert followed by a garden reception. This will be the first performance, and I'm sure it'll go very well ...

Sorry we don't have time to upload new pictures, but we'll try to squeeze in some time later. Just be assured that everybody's having a great time and things are going terrifically. Also don't forget to check out Don Anderson's page!

Friday night dinner in Roma

Last night the hundred twenty-seven or so of us just casually dropped in on a pizzeria for dinner...boy, were they surprised! Seriously, they were well prepared in advance & gave us a fine meal: mixed vegetable appetizer (zucchini, eggplant, peppers), and a choice of 'plain' (margherita), mushroom, and artichoke pizzas. The pizza was delicious (thin-crust Roma style), followed by fine tiramisu. The kids ate it all up. Lights out came about 11:30, when we got back to the hotel, and right now we're at breakfast (it's 6:30) getting ready for a trip to the Vatican for sight-seeing and an evening concert, which will be an amazing event !!

Below are some pictures from dinner; Don Anderson takes much better photos so you should check out his album for the trip.

And now, I am sure you will sympathize with my need for COFFEE!!! and I'll be off --