A word of warning as I start this blog – I may run out of superlatives, and so apologies for any repeats.
It is always lovely to visit Italy, and this trip is no exception. From the views of Venice and its stunning lagoon glimpsed from the window of the plane as we landed, to the incredible scenery of the Dolomite Mountains as we drove to Brixen (or Bressanone as it is known in Italian), Italy is a land of such beauty. Add in wonderful food and enthusiastic audiences, and it’s hard not to fall for its charms. Having said that, our visit to Latvia was incredibly special. The atmosphere at the World Choir Games was phenomenal, and it was such a privilege to be a part of it. Of our three performances, the highlight for me was the concert with Latvian Voices and the Xylem Trio in Riga’s imposing Opera House. Singing the new works written for the occasion by Eriks Esenvalds was amazing (not least singing it all from memory at the World Premiere). Other highlights for me included Morten Lauridsen’s wonderful workshop, and meeting so many singers from around the world. Chris B and I had the great fortune of spending a couple of hours with Morten on Friday afternoon chatting about music and life, and that same evening some of the KS had dinner with the Real Group’s Anders Jalkéus. He and I have various things in common. We’re both the oldest members of our respective groups, and we were both born in August 1962 (I’m a mere 12 days older). He was there as one of the 80 or so international judges. Another delight for me was hearing, as we sat at Riga’s airport waiting for our flight to Venice, about the successes in the competitions of the various choirs we had met during our stay. In particular I was delighted to see that one of the UK choirs present at the Games, the Barnsley Youth Choir, whom we met at one of our workshops, were the overall winners in the Open Category for Popular Music. This is an amazing achievement in one of the most competitive categories in the Games.
So overall it’s been a great week!
A word of warning as I start this blog – I may run out of superlatives, and so apologies for any repeats.
It is always lovely to visit Italy, and this trip is no exception. From the views of Venice and its stunning lagoon glimpsed from the window of the plane as we landed, to the incredible scenery of the Dolomite Mountains as we drove to Brixen (or Bressanone as it is known in Italian), Italy is a land of such beauty. Add in wonderful food and enthusiastic audiences, and it’s hard not to fall for its charms. Having said that, our visit to Latvia was incredibly special. The atmosphere at the World Choir Games was phenomenal, and it was such a privilege to be a part of it. Of our three performances, the highlight for me was the concert with Latvian Voices and the Xylem Trio in Riga’s imposing Opera House. Singing the new works written for the occasion by Eriks Esenvalds was amazing (not least singing it all from memory at the World Premiere). Other highlights for me included Morten Lauridsen’s wonderful workshop, and meeting so many singers from around the world. Chris B and I had the great fortune of spending a couple of hours with Morten on Friday afternoon chatting about music and life, and that same evening some of the KS had dinner with the Real Group’s Anders Jalkéus. He and I have various things in common. We’re both the oldest members of our respective groups, and we were both born in August 1962 (I’m a mere 12 days older). He was there as one of the 80 or so international judges. Another delight for me was hearing, as we sat at Riga’s airport waiting for our flight to Venice, about the successes in the competitions of the various choirs we had met during our stay. In particular I was delighted to see that one of the UK choirs present at the Games, the Barnsley Youth Choir, whom we met at one of our workshops, were the overall winners in the Open Category for Popular Music. This is an amazing achievement in one of the most competitive categories in the Games.
So overall it’s been a great week!
A word of warning as I start this blog – I may run out of superlatives, and so apologies for any repeats.
It is always lovely to visit Italy, and this trip is no exception. From the views of Venice and its stunning lagoon glimpsed from the window of the plane as we landed, to the incredible scenery of the Dolomite Mountains as we drove to Brixen (or Bressanone as it is known in Italian), Italy is a land of such beauty. Add in wonderful food and enthusiastic audiences, and it’s hard not to fall for its charms. Having said that, our visit to Latvia was incredibly special. The atmosphere at the World Choir Games was phenomenal, and it was such a privilege to be a part of it. Of our three performances, the highlight for me was the concert with Latvian Voices and the Xylem Trio in Riga’s imposing Opera House. Singing the new works written for the occasion by Eriks Esenvalds was amazing (not least singing it all from memory at the World Premiere). Other highlights for me included Morten Lauridsen’s wonderful workshop, and meeting so many singers from around the world. Chris B and I had the great fortune of spending a couple of hours with Morten on Friday afternoon chatting about music and life, and that same evening some of the KS had dinner with the Real Group’s Anders Jalkéus. He and I have various things in common. We’re both the oldest members of our respective groups, and we were both born in August 1962 (I’m a mere 12 days older). He was there as one of the 80 or so international judges. Another delight for me was hearing, as we sat at Riga’s airport waiting for our flight to Venice, about the successes in the competitions of the various choirs we had met during our stay. In particular I was delighted to see that one of the UK choirs present at the Games, the Barnsley Youth Choir, whom we met at one of our workshops, were the overall winners in the Open Category for Popular Music. This is an amazing achievement in one of the most competitive categories in the Games.
So overall it’s been a great week!
A word of warning as I start this blog – I may run out of superlatives, and so apologies for any repeats.
It is always lovely to visit Italy, and this trip is no exception. From the views of Venice and its stunning lagoon glimpsed from the window of the plane as we landed, to the incredible scenery of the Dolomite Mountains as we drove to Brixen (or Bressanone as it is known in Italian), Italy is a land of such beauty. Add in wonderful food and enthusiastic audiences, and it’s hard not to fall for its charms. Having said that, our visit to Latvia was incredibly special. The atmosphere at the World Choir Games was phenomenal, and it was such a privilege to be a part of it. Of our three performances, the highlight for me was the concert with Latvian Voices and the Xylem Trio in Riga’s imposing Opera House. Singing the new works written for the occasion by Eriks Esenvalds was amazing (not least singing it all from memory at the World Premiere). Other highlights for me included Morten Lauridsen’s wonderful workshop, and meeting so many singers from around the world. Chris B and I had the great fortune of spending a couple of hours with Morten on Friday afternoon chatting about music and life, and that same evening some of the KS had dinner with the Real Group’s Anders Jalkéus. He and I have various things in common. We’re both the oldest members of our respective groups, and we were both born in August 1962 (I’m a mere 12 days older). He was there as one of the 80 or so international judges. Another delight for me was hearing, as we sat at Riga’s airport waiting for our flight to Venice, about the successes in the competitions of the various choirs we had met during our stay. In particular I was delighted to see that one of the UK choirs present at the Games, the Barnsley Youth Choir, whom we met at one of our workshops, were the overall winners in the Open Category for Popular Music. This is an amazing achievement in one of the most competitive categories in the Games.
So overall it’s been a great week!
A word of warning as I start this blog – I may run out of superlatives, and so apologies for any repeats.
It is always lovely to visit Italy, and this trip is no exception. From the views of Venice and its stunning lagoon glimpsed from the window of the plane as we landed, to the incredible scenery of the Dolomite Mountains as we drove to Brixen (or Bressanone as it is known in Italian), Italy is a land of such beauty. Add in wonderful food and enthusiastic audiences, and it’s hard not to fall for its charms. Having said that, our visit to Latvia was incredibly special. The atmosphere at the World Choir Games was phenomenal, and it was such a privilege to be a part of it. Of our three performances, the highlight for me was the concert with Latvian Voices and the Xylem Trio in Riga’s imposing Opera House. Singing the new works written for the occasion by Eriks Esenvalds was amazing (not least singing it all from memory at the World Premiere). Other highlights for me included Morten Lauridsen’s wonderful workshop, and meeting so many singers from around the world. Chris B and I had the great fortune of spending a couple of hours with Morten on Friday afternoon chatting about music and life, and that same evening some of the KS had dinner with the Real Group’s Anders Jalkéus. He and I have various things in common. We’re both the oldest members of our respective groups, and we were both born in August 1962 (I’m a mere 12 days older). He was there as one of the 80 or so international judges. Another delight for me was hearing, as we sat at Riga’s airport waiting for our flight to Venice, about the successes in the competitions of the various choirs we had met during our stay. In particular I was delighted to see that one of the UK choirs present at the Games, the Barnsley Youth Choir, whom we met at one of our workshops, were the overall winners in the Open Category for Popular Music. This is an amazing achievement in one of the most competitive categories in the Games.
So overall it’s been a great week!
A word of warning as I start this blog – I may run out of superlatives, and so apologies for any repeats.
It is always lovely to visit Italy, and this trip is no exception. From the views of Venice and its stunning lagoon glimpsed from the window of the plane as we landed, to the incredible scenery of the Dolomite Mountains as we drove to Brixen (or Bressanone as it is known in Italian), Italy is a land of such beauty. Add in wonderful food and enthusiastic audiences, and it’s hard not to fall for its charms. Having said that, our visit to Latvia was incredibly special. The atmosphere at the World Choir Games was phenomenal, and it was such a privilege to be a part of it. Of our three performances, the highlight for me was the concert with Latvian Voices and the Xylem Trio in Riga’s imposing Opera House. Singing the new works written for the occasion by Eriks Esenvalds was amazing (not least singing it all from memory at the World Premiere). Other highlights for me included Morten Lauridsen’s wonderful workshop, and meeting so many singers from around the world. Chris B and I had the great fortune of spending a couple of hours with Morten on Friday afternoon chatting about music and life, and that same evening some of the KS had dinner with the Real Group’s Anders Jalkéus. He and I have various things in common. We’re both the oldest members of our respective groups, and we were both born in August 1962 (I’m a mere 12 days older). He was there as one of the 80 or so international judges. Another delight for me was hearing, as we sat at Riga’s airport waiting for our flight to Venice, about the successes in the competitions of the various choirs we had met during our stay. In particular I was delighted to see that one of the UK choirs present at the Games, the Barnsley Youth Choir, whom we met at one of our workshops, were the overall winners in the Open Category for Popular Music. This is an amazing achievement in one of the most competitive categories in the Games.
So overall it’s been a great week!
A word of warning as I start this blog – I may run out of superlatives, and so apologies for any repeats.
It is always lovely to visit Italy, and this trip is no exception. From the views of Venice and its stunning lagoon glimpsed from the window of the plane as we landed, to the incredible scenery of the Dolomite Mountains as we drove to Brixen (or Bressanone as it is known in Italian), Italy is a land of such beauty. Add in wonderful food and enthusiastic audiences, and it’s hard not to fall for its charms. Having said that, our visit to Latvia was incredibly special. The atmosphere at the World Choir Games was phenomenal, and it was such a privilege to be a part of it. Of our three performances, the highlight for me was the concert with Latvian Voices and the Xylem Trio in Riga’s imposing Opera House. Singing the new works written for the occasion by Eriks Esenvalds was amazing (not least singing it all from memory at the World Premiere). Other highlights for me included Morten Lauridsen’s wonderful workshop, and meeting so many singers from around the world. Chris B and I had the great fortune of spending a couple of hours with Morten on Friday afternoon chatting about music and life, and that same evening some of the KS had dinner with the Real Group’s Anders Jalkéus. He and I have various things in common. We’re both the oldest members of our respective groups, and we were both born in August 1962 (I’m a mere 12 days older). He was there as one of the 80 or so international judges. Another delight for me was hearing, as we sat at Riga’s airport waiting for our flight to Venice, about the successes in the competitions of the various choirs we had met during our stay. In particular I was delighted to see that one of the UK choirs present at the Games, the Barnsley Youth Choir, whom we met at one of our workshops, were the overall winners in the Open Category for Popular Music. This is an amazing achievement in one of the most competitive categories in the Games.
So overall it’s been a great week!
