Livingston Parish Chorale’s
Austria Tour 2007
What was the best part of the Austria tour? That depends on who you’re talking to. What was the worst part of the tour? Arriving at the N.O. airport at 4:30 a.m. for our 6:52 a.m. flight, only to find that the terminal had no computer access due to an electrical outage, and we couldn’t check in! After standing in line for nearly an hour, the electricity came back on and we were told that our connecting flight from Chicago to Washington, D.C. had been cancelled. They put 20 of us on a flight to Washington D.C., and the rest of us were to wait for the noon flight. You guessed it! That flight was cancelled, too. We finally boarded the only other flight to Washington D.C. from New Orleans that day at 2:00 p.m. Our flight to Austria was already boarded when our plane finally touched down. We got there just in time before they closed the doors! Not a great beginning for what was to be a fabulous tour!
Our 84-person tour included 34 singers, 3 directors and lots of family and friends. In fact, only two of our singers traveled without a family member along. The vision for this tour was for the children to perform in incredible venues and to have a cultural exchange with Austrian children. This vision was not only realized, it exceeded all expectations.
Our first day of touring included a sight-seeing tour of Vienna,dinner at our hotel, and a long awaited good night’s sleep. Thursday was our busiest day of the tour. After a tour of Shönbrunn Palace, the Chorale sang for Mass at St. Stephen’s Cathedral, had a 90 minute workshop with Ms. Elisabeth Ziegler, Director of the Vienna Opera Children’s Chorus, sang for a Mayor’s Reception, and participated in a joint concert with the Vienna Opera Children’s Chorus and the Toronto Opera Children’s Chorus. The reception and concert were held in the village of Gumpoldskirchen in their beautiful Parish Church. Each choir performed for about 25 minutes, and then joined together for Purcell’s “Sound the Trumpet”. The three children’s choirs were very different but all three choirs were wonderful. It was truly rewarding to have the Livingston Parish Chorale sing as well (and to my ears “even better”) than the highly auditioned children’s choirs from Vienna and Toronto. Following the concert, the children’s choirs and our entire tour shared an evening at a local restaurant in Gumpoldskirchen. It was a typical German restaurant, including a roving violinist and an accordion player. The children all sat together in one large room, with the adults in another room. We laughed, ate, sang and made new friends. For many on the tour, this was their favorite part of the entire Austria tour.
Friday, thankfully, was an easier day. We Americans, however hadn’t counted on the fact that our “Guided Tours” would all be WALKING tours! Our feet were simply not ready for all of the uphill walking we did while we were in Austria! At the end of the long day of touring, we were treated to dinner at the home of former Vienna Opera star, Dr. Jutta Unkart-Seifert. Since most buildings, hotels and even expensive apartments with incredible views of Vienna aren’t air conditioned, it was a little hot and crowded with all 84 of us, but it was truly a lovely evening. She actually cooked our dinner of typical Austrian food herself! Imagine our surprise to find that one of these “typical” foods looked and tasted like jambalaya! Again, we laughed, ate, sang and made new friends. Dr. Jutta was thrilled with the Chorale’s singing. She went on and on about the beautiful vocal tone the children had. For many on the tour, this was their favorite part of the entire Austria tour.
On Saturday, we left Vienna and traveled to Graz (birth place of Arnold Schwarzeneger). After another long walking tour, we left Graz for the village of Kleinstübing for an evening concert and reception at the SOS Children’s Village, a group foster home. The children live in small group homes around an old castle. We actually performed outside in the castle’s courtyard. The Austrian children spoke very little English, and our children spoke no German, but the Chorale and the Austrian children really “hit it off”. Many of the children even brought Chorale members to their group homes to show them where they lived. As we sang our concert, the children sat on the front few rows and giggled and talked and pointed to the Chorale members as they found them in the picture on the front of our programs. They clapped during the gospel songs, and even tried to sing along with us during “You are my Sunshine”. While Ms. Barbara was conducting, one 5 year old girl went over to the hill, picked up a stick, threw her shoulders back, and began conducting the Chorale! They had a lovely reception for us after the concert, and the Chorale members played with the children (including rolling down hills) until we had to leave. For many on the tour, this was their favorite part of the entire tour.
On Sunday, we departed for Salzburg. With no concert scheduled, we were able to stop in Hallstatt and St Gilgen. In Hallstatt, we toured the world-famous salt mine. Who would have believed that the entrance to a mine would be at the TOP of a mountain! We took a cable car ride about half way up, and had to walk the rest of the way. We can now honestly say that we climbed a mountain in Austria! But, the salt miners’ long wooden slides were worth the walk. Each person laid down on the wooden slide and slid down to the next level of the mine. Disney couldn’t have done it better – and the miners had really used them! In St. Gilgen, a beautifully picturesque village, we went on a boat ride from St. Gilgen to St. Wolfgang. Everywhere you looked was like looking at a beautiful postcard -- clear blue-green water with amazing mountains surrounding a huge lake. And flowers were blooming everywhere! It was a peaceful and enchanting way to end the day. For some, this was their favorite part of the tour.
On Monday, after a long walking tour of Salzburg, including the Fortress, Mozart’s birthplace and Mirabell Palace and Gardens (one of the places they filmed “The Sound of Music”), we performed a short recital in the Salzburg Dom. There are two reasons to sing in the Salzburg Dom: Acoustics, and Bragging Rights! There are strict auditions and strict rules that must be adhered to before a choir is allowed to perform in the Salzburg Dom. You may sing only a 15-20 minute concert of strictly sacred a cappella music. At exactly 1:30 p.m., we were escorted to the risers at the front of this amazing cathedral. People were walking around taking pictures of the church and visiting with each other. When we began to sing, people stopped in their tracks. Yes, the Chorale sang beautifully, but the acoustics in the Salzburg Dom were amazing. We sounded like 134, not just 34 children. Unless you were there, it’s really hard to describe. The Chorale members said that while they were singing, people kept coming in and sitting down to listen. When we finished our program at exactly 1:50 p.m., over half the large church was filled with people from all over the world who stopped to listen to our beautiful Chorale. Following the concert, we returned to the Marble Hall of Mirabel Palace for another Mayoral reception. For most of the Chorale, the concert at the Salzburg Dom was their favorite concert on our tour.
Tuesday began with a workshop with Professor Czifra, Chapel Master of the Salzburg Dom. He was very impressed with the knowledge and musicianship of the Chorale members. Professor Czifra is an expert in the Kodaly methodology, which LPCC also teaches. In fact, Professor Czifra and Barbara Walker had a famous Hungarian Kodaly teacher in common! We were very proud of ourselves that day! Following some free time to continue our shopping, we departed for the last city on our tour -- Innsbruck.
Wednesday, our last tour day, happened to be the 4th of July! We began our day singing a concert at a local girl’s high school. Many of the students had studied English in school, and were happy to practice their English skills with Chorale members before and after our concert. We gave gifts of red, white and blue friendship bracelets to the students in honor of the 4th of July. After lunch, we went on yet another long walking tour to explore the city of Innsbruck. That night at dinner, we discovered that our tour guides had decorated the dinning room with red, white and blue balloons and streamers. At the end of the meal, they turned down the lights and brought in a big cake with “Happy Independence Day” written on it and lit by sparkling candles. We sang “The Star-Spangled Banner”, and when we got to the part about the rocket’s red glare, Ms. Barbara reached up with a fork provided by Ms. Melanie and started popping the balloons. Then everyone started popping balloons while we finished the song. It was really amazing. We managed to have our own fireworks right in the hotel! This was a 4th of July that no one there would ever forget! In fact, for many on the tour, this was their favorite part of the entire tour.
We had breakfast at 6:00 a.m. the next morning, and departed for the airport and the journey home. The Chorale had performed in St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the Salzburg Dom. We had shared a concert with the Vienna and Toronto Opera Children’s Choruses. We had studied with master teachers from Vienna and Salzburg. We sang for and played with Austrian children. We saw a country with stunning mountain views and crisp blue skies. We laughed together and learned from each other. It was truly an amazing adventure.