Director's Choice Tour & Travel

Ready for St. Paddy’s Parade

Trey Caliva — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 11:32:24 +0000

The students marching from Permian High School are staged and the parents are eager for the parade to begin.

Last night, the orchestra performed a fantastic concert at the 820 year old St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Pictures and video of the concert coming once we are able to upload them!

Coventry and Warwick

Sarah Dent — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 23:54:16 +0000

Today began early as we had to drive quite a way from London to make our visits today. We drove first to Coventry to see the shell of St. Michael’s Church of Coventry that was bombed during WWII. There is now a new building (modern and very symbolic) next door to the site finished in 1967. We happened to arrive as they were going through their litany of reconciliation and we were allowed to sing a piece for them that was appropriate for the service. As a modern building, it is acoustically fantastic.

After lunch and snacking in Coventry, we went on to Warwick Castle. I has been teh home of the Earl of Warwick until the late seventies. Warwick Castle has been purchased commercially and made into a more Medievalexploratory environment for kids of all ages. There was quite a bit to see at Warwick: archers, flaming catapults, and they even did a presentation of falconry with a beautiful grey owl and an eagle, Nikita, with an 8 foot wingspan. Mrs. Dent even put herself in the stocks for a pic. She was a good sport.

Warwick also houses a ton of wax figures that you can see in positions of work or action that really show how things might have looked in the day. It was a great way to burn off energy and explore. It wasn’t the same environment as so many of our other activities that can sometimes feel redundant. Our students loved it.

Tomorrow we sing at Canterbury and go to dinner and Wicked in the West End!

Concert at St. Paul’s Cathedral

Sarah Dent — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 21:55:11 +0000

The Beauty of Music

We had a late start today as we headed toward St. Paul’s Cathedral. Most of the morning was driven by our schedule for our performance today under the famous dome, an acoustical goliath. This opportunity is offered to only one outside public group per month in the United Kingdom and we the Lubbock High School Choir could not have been more equal to the task. The concert was conducted by Robin Dent, Carolyn Hefner, and Karl Dent. The concert included pieces by Byrd, Pachobel, Parker/Shaw, and Courtney. Director’s Choice’s own Jon and Amy Locke were there to attend and offer their support. The concert was beautiful and the group was in fine form.

The group was in great need of blowing off steam after the wonderful performance. We crossed Tower bridge and visited the Tower of London, where we saw the Crown Jewels, the Royal Mint, original torture chambers, saw catapults, and of course, shopped.

The group is currently dressing for dinner at Brittania, and we will likely see celebration tonight in full force. The kids (and adults!) have earned it with an exhisite performance! Congratulations Westerners!

Great evening, and even better news

Trey Caliva — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:38:09 +0000

The Permian High School Band and Orchestra enjoyed a great evening tonight of traditional Irish food, music, and dance at Monroe’s Tavern in Galway. I promise to post a video of the performers we saw tonight very soon.

In other news, we are very excited to see our remaining members join us here in Ireland. Thanks to everyone who made the impossible happen and got this stranded group back to us!

Arrival in Dublin

Trey Caliva — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 07:42:10 +0000

Flight Group F has arrived in Dublin! We’re in line to clear customs. The flight was pretty good with only a few bumps high above the North Atlantic. Everyone seems a little tired, but excited to begin our tour of the Emerald Isle.

Stones, Spires, and Spirit

Sarah Dent — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 22:26:10 +0000

We traveled today to many places of interest. For our first jaunt, we ventured out of London to see Stonehenge. The long history of this area is still quite mysterious as it doesn’t answer every question regarding its origin. The group was entranced by this prehistoric icon. They took photos and even impersonated the structure. It was a beautiful day. We left most jackets on the bus and viewed stonehenge in comfort.

Our next stop was Salisbury which is only a quick ride away from Stonehenge. We saw the Salisbury cathedral which is one of the only cathedrals not to be completely encased by buildings and houses directly next to it. The sprawling green lawn was a nice change from the pavement. The cathedral also houses one of the original Magna Carta documents kept public only for a few hours of the day. The spire (steeple) of Salisbury was built on a miscalculation of load-bearing arches and as such, leans as much as 1 meter of center from its intended position.

After lunch at the cathedral we moved to visit Winchester Cathedral. Many students were excited to find that this was the burial spot of author Jane Austen. We attended a Sunday Evensong service, that by coincidence was the re-dedication ceremony of St. John’s Ambulance (a troupe of national emergency medical responders), so the service was packed. The men and boys of the choir sang beautifully. Winchester virgers then gave us the privelidge of singing from the front steps. The students sang their memorized a capella music beautifully. It was really fun to watch their eyes go wide as they would cut off and the sound would continue in the room for several seconds.

After dinner at Cafe Rouge, we visited the Albert memorial at night which is also across from Albert Hall. It was full day of music and beauty. We had a great day!

Transferring to Terminal 5 at Chicago O’Hare

Trey Caliva — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 21:22:42 +0000

Finally in England!

Sarah Dent — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:29:43 +0000

We had an amazing first day in England!

The first fun surprise we had was boarding our coach at Heathrow. We have a double-decker coach that made it possible for students to see today’s sights from a little bit higher up than they usually would!

There is so much to see that it is slightly overwhelming. We passed the English “Eye” Ferris Wheel, Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey as we traveled along the Thames.

The drive was lovely, but it was very difficult to stay awake. Luckily, Mark Watterson, ourBritish Blue Badge Guide had many stories to tell with his dry English wit. He will be with us throughout the trip and is a wonderful addition to our group!

We went into the town of Windsor for shopping, lunch, and some additional sightseeing. The streets are lined with cafes and shops. We also encountered some street vendors with flags and souvenirs.

Windsor Castle is the official residence of the queen. When the flag is flying, it means the queen is there. While we explored the royal dining rooms, great halls, St. George’s Chapel, and the beautiful grounds surrounding the castle, a few of our students actually saw the queen having lunch in her residence. Needless to say, they were ecstatic! She even gave them a wave!

After lunch, we continued on to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. The theatre is a reconstruction of the Rose Theatre in the Globe as it stood in Shakespeare’s Day.

The tour we received was wonderful and the kids had fun playing around in the theatre. The Theatre chooses to provide plays in the exact manor that they were offered in their original form. They are comprised of an all-male cast, and tickets are sold to “groundlings” who are required to stand throughout the play in the floor in front of the stage just as they would have in Shakespeare’s day.

After combing the area for much needed caffeine, we continued on to our hotel, changed for dinner and had a lovely meal at the Vanderbuilt hotel. It was a full 33 hours of travel and touring.

Sleep is the most valuable commodity at this point! We are looking forward to several more days of excitement, fun, and beauty in the United Kingdom!

Ready for Take-off

Sarah Dent — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:41:23 +0000

We just had our final parent meeting and preview concert. Amid the anxieties that can come from filling out forms, answering questions about money, explaining the customs process, and getting passports copied, there was rush of excitement in the air. This group is trip ready!

I think I speak for this whole crew when I say a big THANK YOU to the chaperones who will be traveling with the group. Thank you also to the Choir Booster parents! Also, thank you to Robin Dent and Carolyn Hefner for their great care in the direction of this group.

Regarding the concert, the kids did a wonderful job and I am so thankful to get to spend time with (and sing with) such a fine crew of musicians!

You will make us proud! How could we NOT have a great time with this group?!

See you at the airport!

Limerick International Band Festival

Trey Caliva — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 22:21:44 +0000

The Limerick International Band Festival mentioned Permian High School in their news about the upcoming festival.

Link