November 6

A late night for some, but a ridiculously early rise for others – at 2 am all the choristers were told to get going for our big day of travel ahead. We were awoke by an unusually chipper and noisy wake up call by singing choristers and chaperones at our door. We faced our first challenge of the day when all the lights in our building decided they did not want to light for us during these crucial packing minutes. This lead to slight packing chaos but in the end we all made it out of the building, Shalloway hoodies on, and at least one suitcase in hand.

By 3 am we were all on the bus heading to the airport. While many seated choristers tried to steal a quick nap, many like myself used every last minute soaking in the beautiful countryside we have come to know for the past two weeks,

But by the end of our long bus drive, I gave into my heavy lids like everyone around me. I had a solid 10 minute snooze.

We arrived in Bilbao at about 4:30am. We were quite early to ensure all 66 choristers and chaperones were checked through in time for the early flight. However the airport was not nearly as prepared as we were. With only about two hours to sort out our large group, Bilbao airport was CLOSED!! The weather was the coldest we had encountered in Spain, resulting in some very interesting activities to keep us warm and entertained. While a large group participated in large rounds of Hokey Pokey, many choristers and even chaperones ran around in circles and danced to stay warm. The few strangers also waiting to be let into the airport appear to have been slightly thrown off but amused by our actions.

Eventually we were let inside and after long waits in many lines we took off for our brief flight to Frankfurt, followed by our flight to Montréal. The food is good and the company surrounding me is also fantastic. As we make our descent into Montreal, we are feeling anxious for our arrival but also sad to be concluding such an amazing and fulfilling tour and leaving behind one of the most beautiful places in the world. We really came together as a group on this tour and represented Newfoundland and Canada to the very best of our ability. We hope we did you all proud. See you all soon.

Erin Eaton

November 5

Singing Tjak outdoors with Basque Youth Choir


Saying Goodbye to the Interpreters



Today everyone woke up bright and early. Then we got ready to go to San Sebastian. After a half hour bus ride, we all had time to g o shopping for the last time in Spain. Then we all ate lunch by a beautiful carousel and went sightseeing at the beach. When then met up with a Basque choir and sang many some songs together and made many new friends. They all loved Tjak! When we returned to Ametzagana we had a pizza party for our last supper in Europe. During supper we also had to say goodbye to all of the hotel staff and the Spanish interpreters who had been helping us for the past two weeks. That was very sad, but hopefully we will get to see them again sometime. We then all headed back to our rooms to pack and go to bed for our early rise the next day.

Stephanie Cranford

November 4

The Choir in front of the Gugenheim Bilbao








Today began with another early morning. We all got up, boarded the bus and headed for Bilbao. Today is the day I have been looking forward to the entire tour. After the competition, the most important experience is visiting the Gugenheim.

The building itself is an architectural marvel. When you pass inside, the exhibitions are just as exhilarating. One exhibition that I particularly enjoyed compared the ideology of modern sculpture to four well-recognized architectural styles, such as gothic, baroque and neo-classicism. Everyone loved the gift shop.

After eating our lunch and getting caught in the rain we got back on the bus. Our darling interpreters did an off the cuff bus tour as we headed to the mall. Second only to singing, shopping is the choir’s greatest talent. The time was very well spent.

We then went to just outside Bilbao for our final sound check and concert on tour Iin Muskiz). The concert was made all the better when Mrs. Knight announced we would not be wearing our choir shoes. After the concert we had one of the best suppers all tour. We then got back on the bus and returned home for a good night’s sleep.

Hilary Grant

November 3

Singing in Beasin



November 3

We were allowed to sleep in this morning, but room 123 was woken up at an unearthly hour (8:30am) by a person (who wishes to remain anonymous) having an extremely long and obnoxious shower in room 124. The walls here are as thin as the sheets. The chaperones woke us up just past nine for breakfast at 9:30, which of course meant Cordelia rolled out of bed at 9:35am, and stumbled down to breakfast, and Robyn didn´t move at all.

The highlight of breakfast was watching the recording of us singing in the competition on the computer. After breakfast, we had a few hours of free time. People took showers, rested and studied. Many of us phoned home. There were huge line-ups for the phone.

We had lunch at 12:30pm. It was another bag lunch and we ate in sectionals. In our sectional groups we bonded and discussed ïmportant sectional issues!!¨

After lunch we went to Beasin on our double decker Shrek bus. Robyn slept during yet another long bus ride, and Cordelia did homework. We arrived at the church around 4pm. Even for a sound check it was pretty uneventful.

After the soundcheck we went out for two and a half hours of purchasing. The most common purchases appeared to be purses and bags with an odd pastry here and there.

Then we sang the concert. We sang bravely even though choristers were dropping like flies around us. When the people who did not know the old music sat down, there were approximately 6 people standing in the second row out of the normal 14. During the concert we sang Pater Noster for the guy who wrote it.

After the concert we went to dinner where we had a three course meal which started with a tuna crepe thing, went on to chicken and ended with dessert. We then went on the bus and got home after twelve.

Robyn Nelson and Cordelia Ayers


Dinner in Beasin

November 2

Michel Lombard explaining how to build a
Bsque Chaloupe, St. Jean de Luz



At St. Jean de Luz Beach

At 7:40am, the chaperones woke us all up. After a bit of difficulty we all managed to stagger into the dining room where we had our usual assortments of packaged breads and warn cocoa. So that was breakfast.

We then all went and got ready for the bus ride. This included picking up our packed lunches from giant, heavy-duty garbage bags. Then at 9:30am we were headed for t. Jean de Luz, only this time we were on a new bus, but it was still a funky green colour.

Hen we arrived we all got off the bus and gathered around a man named Michel who stayed in Newfoundland and Labrador for three months while he and some other people built three Basque boat replicas. And now he is building another here in the Basque country. Michel then took us to the marketplace which was in a building that used to be a train station. One there we met up with “the most famous man in St. Jean de Luz”, the bar owner – “Jean”. We sang “Sarah” for him. Then we got to go shopping for an hour. WOW – shopping in France!! We found a nice arts store, and many other nice stores such as clothing and jewelry. Since almost all the stores in France close at 12:00 noon, we met and walked over to the harbour and here Michel talked to us about fishing history and the connections between the Basque region and Newfoundland and Labrador.

We then headed for the beach. Once there we ate our packed lunch in bare feet in the sand. Then we rolled up our pants and started to jump waves. We got our pants soaken wet. Finally we washed the sane off under the outdoor showers. Then we met back at the church where we had given a concert on Sunday night. After that we headed back to the bus.

After a couple of minutes on the bus we arrived in a small French village called Ascain. We explored the town and looked at their beautiful old buildings. After our adventures we hopped back on the double decker bus.

Our last stop before Ametzagana was the town where Javier Busto lives, Hondarribia. While there we met up with Javier at the beach that was a source of inspiration for part of his song, Zai Ixoiten. Then Javier began to talk about some of the songs we did and said why he liked them, why they chose Alami (the required song in the competition), about the main part of the music and the conveying of emotion. Also he said that although we were not the most technically perfect group we were able to convey the emotions and this is what made us stand out. Finally he ended with agreeing to come and see us some time and write music for us.

We jumped on to the bus and drove back to the villa. We arrived at about 7:00pm, had an early supper at 8:30pm, went off to do homework and, of course, sleep.

Claire Jenkins and Lucia Westin


Javier Busto talking with the choir.

November 1

Receiving the Award


Today was decently eventful. It began rather slowly (that may or may not have been caused by Halloween´s festivities) with the usual breakfast at Ametzagana. Everyone made themselves look decently presentable for our concert. Only the Tolosa 40 were singing in this concert,so all of the grads and choral scholars were going to watch. BUT there were no tickets left,so we decided to go shopping. BUT as this is Europe every singles store in town was closed for All Saints Day, so we all just kind of hung out in a cafe.

(Meanwhile, across town, the Choir sang two songs for the final concert, and received the trophy for first prize in the youth category.)

Then we all hopped on over to the barn for lunch and the closing of the festival. After another long mean of beans, bread, cake and cheese, all served by people in traditional Basque dress, we left for Portugalete, just outside of Bilbao, where we were having a concert. A seemingly eternal bus ride followed then. We arrived at the location of our concert (AKA - drum roll - a Church). By the time we actually got there it was almost time for the concert, so we had a quick dress rehearsal and all got changed. The concert went well, no giant explosions or anything, so we really can´t complain. The Spanish audience seemed to enjoy adding on their own comments for the whole world to hear in the middle of Mrs. Knight´s speeches. The concert ended up being taped for some form of TV show, which was nice. Afterwards we all ate a late supper, hopped back on the bus to Ametzagana for a good night´s sleep.

Chris Earle


Singing in Portugalete


Dinner after the Concert

October 31 - Two Postings

Overlooking San Sebastian

Monday, October 31 (Morning and Afternoon)

The day began with the age-old tradition of getting up phenomenally early on choir tours. We had the usual Dr. Atkins nightmare for breakfast, which I think is quite splendid (bread followed by pastries). And then we boarded the bus.

San Sebastian, our destination for the morning, is absolutely beautiful. We traveled to a hill overlooking the city to take pictures. We discovered a castle and amusement park there which, tragically, was closed. We then divided into groups to either go to the beaches of the city, or shop (which was inevitably the most popular). And such shopping! Spain, with its fashionable but pricey boutiques, has been an inspiration to us all to get the highest paying jobs that we can.

We then wound down with some lunch, rest and studying. And parents, please note, we have been studying during study time!!!

Next we had a rehearsal in the cafeteria and rushed back to our rooms for …HOTEL TRICK OR TREATING… Our trick or treating was pretty impressive with lots of good candy and some VERY original costumes.

Erin Aylward


Halloween




Monday, October 31 – evening

After ‘trick or treating’, we were all excited to get dressed up for our night out – as we understood it – for supper and a dance. The choir met, looking FABULOUS, at the bus and continued into Tolosa.

We arrived at a sports arena about a half an hour later, not really understanding what we were doing there. Lo and behold, we were there to watch a match of Zesta -punta – a traditional Basque sport like squash. It was a sight – all of us girls dressed to the nines in the middle of what, in Newfoundland, would be considered the same as a hockey league match.

Following the match we continued on to a church in town for a concert. We arrived and our reserved seats had been already taken. We had to sit in the balcony with only two pews. When the concert ended, everyone was tired and confused. Next came supper – are we overdressed for that too?

We shortly arrived at the usual supper place known to choristers as ‘the barn’. Supper was OK consisting of plain noodles with butter and an unidentifiable meat. This night was going so strangely.

After supper rumour had it that we were going to a dance. We weren’t sure if it was to watch or take part but we knew if we had to sit through something else we would fall asleep! At the end of supper we began to walk to this “dance” and we were brought back to the sports arena where we first watched the zesta-punta game. The phrase I heard most choristers saying was “are you joking?” It’s not until we are seated inside (to watch the dance) that we heard that results for the competition would be announced tonight – in one hour – at 12 midnight.

When the dancers came out all was well and dandy, the men did high kicks better than any cheerleader I’ve seen! Suddenly we realized that one of the men had actually ripped his pants. He is lucky it was an underwear day! People were laughing so hard they were crying. He was a real trooper. The show must go on. And the high kicks kept coming. The hilarity didn’t die down. Then he chose someone from the audience to come for a dance, and Emma Young was the lucky girl! More choristers and audience members were chosen to partake, even Rubes (Ruby Chaytor). Soon it was over. The night was rejuvenated.

It was then time for the drawing of a prize, and then the much anticipated results. First, Garry Dart was chosen to draw for a prize. Then, the details of the winning choirs were projected as a giant image on the wall of the arena. First an adult choir was announced, and then best children’s’ choir. They started with third. Then, when second was shown (Hungary), our nerves were wrecked because we were sure they had won. Then - #1 – the Newfoundland Symphony Youth Choir – Canada.

I cannot even try to describe what happened next. Hugs, kisses, tears, all inhibitions gone, and just pure happiness and pride. Pride in each other and the family we have created. Pride in what we have done and what it means for our choir. We could not stop smiling, yelling and dancing! There are no words to describe the joy that came with the announcement.

Heading home on the bus, after a bit of dancing, we were all singing. The magic of how special this thing – this choir - really is was setting in. There were so many extreme feelings felt today, but in the end there was only one that rang true, and that was what we have together is something special that can’t be matched with technical perfection which is exactly what we have been told all along.

Charlotte Genge


We Won!!! (...right after the announcement)

Shallaway Wins Choral Competition

October 30

October 30 – Competition Day

All of our hard work, all of our hopes and contributions, all of the practice and all of the heartfelt music led up to this day. It was a day we dreaded and a day we were certainly ecstatic to have come so soon.

As we walked through the Sportsplex doors there were many things going through the minds of every chorister. The anticipation, determination and focus were some of the most intense that this choir has probably ever seen. We got out there onto the stage and tried as hard as could and sang the way we always love singing. Having some of our fellow senior choristers in the audience made the performance that much more honourable.

Some of us first thought that this competition was about winning and keeping our good reputation up. But the reality of it all is that we shared our music and touched many hearts.

On a more personal note, after we sang Alami, in which we use sign language to tell part of the story, we saw a number of hearing impaired people stand up and sign “Thank You”. It was an amazing feeling that was indescribable.

So after many hugs and recognitions, and after another lunch at the Barn, we boarded our bus to start our drive towards France.

Our destination was St. Jean de Luz, a very important community for us because 500 years ago many Basque whalers departed from here for Labrador each year. First we went shopping in the quaint French shops. Some of us walked over to the beach and some of us looked at the harbour. Then we had supper before walking to the grand old church in the center of the town to hold our concert.

We performed along with a local Basque Men’s Choir. The church was breathtaking and the sound was exquisite. Our program contained many songs that we had not practiced in a while because we had been focusing on the competition songs. Even so, it was a fantastic concert, we were proud of our performance and the audience was very loud in their applause.

It was an overall eventful and exciting day for everyone – a day that we will never forget.

Chloe Abbott


Review in Diaro Vasco


(The Choir sang in the Tolosa competition on Sunday, October 30. The blog entry is forthcoming. The following is a link to the music review of the performance in the San Sebastian newspaper, Diaro Vasco. http://www.diariovasco.com/pg051031/prensa/noticias/
Cultura/200510/31/DVA-CUL-058.html. The following text is an English translation of this article.)

The children’s choir competition is usually one of the most popular days in Tolosa, because added to the many fans of choral singing found in the Basque country and the devotees from abroad drawn by the high level of competition, there is the presence of many very young members of the “home” [family] groups. Thus, again this year, tickets were sold out for yesterday’s matinée, which packed the Usabal Sportsplex for a concert of great quality, but surely also less attractive for the kids in the audience than other years.

Perhaps the fame that Tolosa has achieved at the international level has led the participating choirs to opt for repertoire dominated more by technical difficulty than diversity, by demonstrations of skill rather than pure entertainment. Yesterday this happened and pure competition won out over the choice of original or entertaining programs, thus the competition ended up tough and perhaps a bit boring.

A total of five choirs of kids of very different ages appeared in the contest. Mbidizo, from the Czech Republic, opened the competition with a mixed group with a definite female majority, and showed the median level of the day. Dressed with colourful ponchos and quite young, they achieved their best moments in Blecha-moucha, composed by their director, and in which in addition to singing they added some choreography.

The girls of Hungary’s Miraculum Children’s Choir, quite a bit more grown-up, provided a major contrast. With a sound more like an adult women’s choir, they were remarkable for their great vocal projection, achieving truly outstanding interpretations of pieces such as the Salve Regina by Kocsár - a lesson in dynamics - or the difficult A 150. Genfi zsoltar [?] of their compatriot Kodály, in which they offered pure music.

The level was maintained, but with a different style of singing in the Canadian choir [Shallaway]. The voices seemed more natural than those of the Hungarians, and demonstrated mastery of such important parameters as balance, intonation and [? impasto? something to do with texture?]. Warm and with very good dynamics, they offered a beautiful interpretation of the imposed work “Alami” of the [composer] from Pasaia Josu Elberdin. Their closing piece, the rhythmic “Tjak!”, had force and character.

The San Cugat Catalán children’s choir gave a remarkable performance with its very young singers. The ensemble, with a very different timbre than the previous choirs, showed great musicality.

The children’s choir competition closed with the performance of the Bat-Kol Children’s Choir from Israel, which had an uneven performance. Their best moments were in ixil ixilik dago, by Escudero, and the rhythmic Saperi tama.

October 29

Tolosa


Hey Blog!

I, Sonicka, am in Spain! Wow! It is so unbelievable. It has not sunk in yet at all. So far, pretty well everything is going really well. Today was spent mostly rehearsing (what a shock) and we also went shopping! Ahhh! I am not describing the mall, especially since you've all been in one before. But we shopped in Tolosa for the first time. It was very beautiful (the streets and buildings). After a day of shopping we enjoyed a concert at the Tolosa stadium. Unfortunately, we left early to get some very much needed sleep. Once we arrived in Ametzagana, our amazing graduates gave us a little surprise. They wrote each one of the choristers a personalized letter. How sweet! What a great idea. Thank you graduates. It was so thoughtful and appreciated! We love you!

Okay, now a quick note to Newfoundland. Love you Mom and Dad and Shawnray. To my friends - Hi, miss ya! Love ya!

See you soon.

Love,

Sonicka


Attending Concert at Tolosa Sportsplex

October 28

Sound Check at Tolosa Performance Site



Hello, it’s Anna here.

Today when I woke up at 8:00am, it was pitch black. We (Rebecca, Rachel, Kristen and me) were all really confused, and it took us about a half hour to find out that it really was morning. We didn’t have to go to breakfast this morning, so everyone in my room stayed in bed until 9:00am. We had a practice at 11:00am, and at 1:00pm we had lunch. It was curried rice and seafood platter. There were chicken lumps mixed in there as well. It was different and not many people liked it. We also had deep-fried battered squid and other seafood. I liked the squid but everything else was kind of mushy - not like anything you could ever get in Newfoundland.

We had a really good practice after lunch. Tjak sounded amazing. When we took a break, there was a Praying Mantis outside. It was very disgusting, but interesting. I wanted to pick it up but I decided against it. I was afraid I might panic and flick it somewhere.

When all the rehearsing was finished, around 4 o’clock, we took a double decker “Shrek meets Spaceship” bus to Tolosa, where we did our sound check. The acoustic in the gym wasn’t very good, made worse by the rain falling on the roof.

Next we went to see three adult choirs perform. Most of us enjoyed ourselves. One choir sang a really cool barking song called “La Chasse”. At the intermission, some of us went downstairs to the vending machines. On the way back up, Stephanie, Anna Westin, Lucia, Claire, Catherine, Chloe and I got stuck in the elevator. It was very warm and small and we had to rely on Stephanie’s Spanish “speaking skills” to get us out.

We went to supper in a barn (no joke). We actually ate supper in a barn. It was a flat bean and carrot stew that we had to eat with a fork. We also had fish and bread and bottled water. I conclude that the food groups of Spain are as follows: water, fish and bread. It will take a while to get used to.

After the “tasty” supper, we came home and went straight to bed as it was around 11.


Eating at the Tolosa Barn

October 27

Outdoor Study October 27 morning



SPAIN IS AMAZING! Wow. This morning I woke up to a rooster. How fabulous is that? And there’s so many sheep. And an amazing dog. But anyways, I’m having tons of fun. The place where we are practicing “Tjak” is so awesome! Its like “BOOM”. I mean, wow, right. This is all so cool. Fanta is wicked. Its like Orange Crush X 100! Spain is the equivalent of like everything in Newfoundland. I ‘m not trying to be mean though; don’t worry. Okay, so I am being told there’s a big bug outside. But of course I’m here writing a blog. **Girly screams** Okay, never mind that. Hah – we actually stopped in Germany on our way here. It was fabulous. I miss you all.

Shannon Woodrow


Rehearsal Outdoors after Dinner

October 26 - Update

The most difficult part of this blog is to decide exactly where ‘day one’ ends and ‘day two’ starts.

Let’s start with Frankfurt which was fabulous. There was even an ‘arrivals/departure’ sign that changed the names of cities with shuffling plates! Ooh!

Much shopping ensued with the purchase of magnets, chocolates and postcards. There were other more fancy stores that carried Feragamo, Gucci, Burberry, Hugo Boss, Louis Vuiton, Dior…, well you get the rest. Sorry parents, we’d buy you any of these but alas we could not afford anything.

So two hours passed and soon it came time to leave for Bilbao. Many choristers fell in love with everything that is German in the airport (myself, Allison, included). So anyway, the Frankfurt to Bilbao plane was uneventful as most of the choir was effectively ‘clocked’ by takeoff.

We arrived in the airport (which had a delightfully ethereal look to it) and collected out bags. We then made our way to the bus. Now this was QUITE the bus. It was like a cross between a caterpillar and Shrek. THAT was high fashion bussage. The hotel we are staying at – Ametzagana, in San Sebastian – is very comfortable. It’s a lovely secluded brick housey-thing overlooking the Spanish countryside. The weather is hot, around 32 degrees Celsius. But the night should be nice and balmy. The evening meal will be served in the patio area tonight and then the ever welcoming beds await us.

……mmm…..sleep.

Allison Nicholas

AMETZAGANA

October 26 - St. John's - Montreal - Frankfurt

SHALLAWAY SPANSIH TOUR ‘05

Today was the first day of Shallaway’s tour to Spain. We all arrived at the airport at 8:00am to board at 10:00am. After everyone had purchased their hot smoothies and magazines, we headed off.

After a few hours we arrived in Montreal where we stayed for a good four hours. Many people did homework and others looked around at the shops.

Finally it was time to board again to fly to Frankfurt, Germany. We were all good and tired when we got there due to the very minimal amount of sleep we had. Although we are all a bit nauseous, we are looking forward to the many great days ahead.

Emily T., Tiffany P., and Robyn P.

First photo from Montreal from Group One

Getting Ready for Tolosa