Last post

A fantastic tour is over. We have had a superb final concert at St Thomas', 5th Avenue and everyone is looking forward to coming home. Thank you for your lovely comments; they have really kept us going and see you all on Saturday.

New York

New York

We have arrived and New York is marvellous. All the boys want to do is shop for tat! We dragged them to see the Statue of Liberty and the Staten Island ferry, but the majority were only truly happy once we walked past the shops selling 5 t-shirts for $10 . We have promised them protracted shopping tomorrow, but in the interests of culture, we will also offer a trip to the Metropolitan or a zoom up the Rockefeller building. We are happy to split the group 3 ways, but I have an inkling that this will not be necessary. Last concert tomorrow night and an extremely grand reception to follow.

Posting from 39,000 feet!

Last night's concert was a first in that the boys did an encore; usually it is the choristers who stand there whilst the Gents surf the US of A, so it was nice to swap boots and feet for a change. Andrew used Copland's Simple Gifts (from earlier in the tour) and John Challenger accompanied with organ pianissimo: it's a simple tune, sung in unison, but adored by the audience. Some of the boys haven't quite got the hang of this autograph thing and one went around the reception, offering to sign people's programmes. For free, I hasten to add. The Gents did four songs in the reception and were rewarded with champagne before being whisked off by their lucky homestay hosts.

Sent from my iPhone.

Concert #7

In haste. Fantastic concert tonight in the cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta. There was a huge crowd of very happy punters and a wonderful reception to boot. We have had a busy day: get up, travel to the airport in Houston, check in, arrive Atlanta, bus to the cathedral, rehearse, concert, reception then hotel. The hotel is stunning and boasts koi carp and suites with games consoles and fantastic 'facilities'. The boys all think that it is the best yet. Shame that we are only here for 7 hours or so! We have an early rise tomorrow and catch a flight to NY. Rest day tomorrow and the final concert on Thursday. I will attempt to blog from New York but cannot guarantee this as we are staying in a boarding house.

Another nice review.

Thanks for the tip-off, Caroline. For those who haven't found it yet:

http://www.facebook.com/stjohnschoircambridge

More Houston photos

Antlers at Austin and Houston photos

Houston

Right, as promised…the phone bills. Caroline went to check out this morning…imagine her surprise when she found $500 worth of phone calls from the boys’ rooms. The individual winner was one young chap who had racked up $94 for one 5 minute phone call. We had told the boys to phone home very quickly and ask you to phone back. Unfortunately, it would appear that the minimum charge for this is $14.96. Looking at the room bills, the two in Room 427 were the clear winners with $231 between them. Next, with a rather paltry $39.28 were the couple in Room 425. The two rooms with no charges were 418 and 402. The Radisson, although clearly a lovely hotel, does not hold back on their phone prices. Anyway, all ended happily when Caroline had a quiet, firm word with the girls on the front desk, who wrote off the entire amount. Phew indeed!

Following this calamity we have decided to radically change the Phoning Home Policy: Tomorrow, the boys should be in their rooms 12.30 – 13.00, GMT. On Wednesday, they should be in their hotel Rooms 12.00 – 12.30 GMT. Thereafter, the choristers will be staying in the dormitories of St Thomas’ Choir School and I doubt very much that there will be phones in the dorms. If any of the boys need to speak with you urgently, of course, they can phone home whenever, and all are aware of this.

We were sad to leave Austin with its bats, its catapults and its wonderful university. Hunter was there to wave us off and we will miss him.

The coach ride to Houston was fine and passed without major incident. The Wi-Fi on the bus crashed due to the sheer weight of traffic (the Gents had their laptops, you see, and some of the choristers decided to download free games onto their iTouches), but the signal lasted long enough for me to let certain boys know about Andy Carroll’s heroics against Man City. We stopped for lunch at Jason’s Diner, which was great, and then treated the boys to a quick shop in a 99 cent store. The problem with this was that the 99 does not include tax, so everything was actually $1.08 and this created mayhem at the tills. Some star purchases included: a straw hat; bottles of Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein aftershave (which smell like Fairy Liquid and Jiff, respectively); three rubber band balls that don’t bounce, and lots of t-shirts that don’t fit. Fortunately, it is a concert day so the boys were not able to purchase the 2 gallon bottles of coke and the monster packets of Life Saver sweets.

We have arrived at St Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, which boasts the largest congregation of any Episcopal community in the US (7,500). There are 90 members of staff and the church is astonishing. Built in 2004 (the former church wasn’t big enough) it was constructed in 6 months and is copy of a gothic church but with a hint of space rocket about the spires. George Bush Senior worships here, apparently, although he’s not going to be at tonight’s concert.

That was a superb concert, helped by the marvelous acoustic. The audience took a while to warm up but by the end they were in complete awe. The boys were great during the reception, chatting to the punters and even signing autographs. Georgia tomorrow.

Concert #5 photos

Pat Ball in the changing rooms













Ching-a-Ring-Chaw

Concert No.5, Faculty of Fine Arts, Austin

It was a busy day today, but thoroughly enjoyable, not least because the concert and the programme were a fun mixture: early English Church music (Lassus, Stainer and Parry), Mozart's Coronation Mass, four barber shop numbers from the Gents, the Finale from A Midsummer Night's Dream and three folk songs (Copland x2 and Britten, which were sung by the choristers and 150 local school children).

The Bass Concert Hall at the University of Texas is ginormous - it seems the same size as The Royal Festival Hall, which is amazing considering that this is a university campus concert venue. The performance was exceptional and professional, as ever, and the boys have been wonderful: patient, good humoured and just plain fun to be with. This has been the theme throughout the tour and will continue, I am sure. Instead of a reception, we were treated to a Texmex meal - this was a first for most of the choristers and all 16 found something on the menu that they liked the sound of and then ate!

Today, we head off for Houston but by bus, which is brand new and boasts excellent leg room and even has Wifi. On another note, the gift shop here at the hotel does not sell bouncy balls but does sell catapults. I am at a loss as to why: alternative bat watching sessions, perhaps? Anyway, I have only had to confiscate one and I shall return this to the lucky parents when we arrive back in Cambridge.

We will miss Austin; the hotel has been excellent and the hospitality of the university has been outstanding. Houston, here we come and, fortunately, we have no problems...I'll tell you about the phone bills later!!!

Hunter C March (on the right)

Winners or the biggest and the most.

Down by the lake

Austin, Day 3.

Yesterday was a scorcher - 32 degrees and the sun high in the sky; needless to say, the boys have been slathered in sunscreen. The arctic pool has now taken on another dimension and is dreamy in its coldness.

As planned, we enjoyed a lazy day yesterday with a long swim, a boxed lunch and a play in the park. At three, we reconvened at the hotel and were taken to one of Austin’s 7 inter-connected lakes, deep in the countryside. This was for supper with friends of Hunter. And what a house. The building is built on the steep slope running down to the lake, which lies about 100 metres below the gardens. Inside, the rooms are air-conditioned and there was a Wii waiting for the boys, and cooler boxes of bottled beers waiting for the gents. Heaven. But if gets better. The slope down to the lake is jolly steep - the owners have built flights of wooden stairs down, but if you are feeling lazy (or if it is 32 degrees) then you can always ride down on the private funicular. I don't suppose the poor lift has ever been given such a workout.

At the bottom, there is a floating pontoon which houses a speedboat, kayak and plenty of fishing gear. Worms were duly delivered from above and the boys spent hours fishing and, more surprisingly, catching fish. The two biggest were landed by Peter and the largest number were caught by Jason. Not a clue what any of these fish were and we put them all back. If we had caught a large-mouthed bass (the prize catch of the lake) then I'm not entirely sure what we would have done with it. The boys must have pulled out in excess of 50 fish and this, together with the house, the running machine (!), the games console, the multi-room sound system, the two dogs, the funicular, the hammock...are memories that they will never forget.

We are back on the concert trail again tonight, after a couple of days off. The choristers are excited by this; the programme includes the Mozart and they will be singing Copland, Britten and Mendelssohn with various Austin children's choirs in the Festival of Children's Voices. The concert is at 5pm, too, so there will be plenty of time to enjoy the reception and have fun afterwards.

Day 2 at the Radisson

There is a bug doing the rounds but, thankfully, it is mild in its workings and seems to have petered out. Sum total: 3 Gents and 2 boys. Our fastidious and regular hand washing seems to have done the trick. Considering what could have been (I remember the Form 5 French trip of 2009 with a shudder), we have been lucky.

The boys enjoyed an excellent day yesterday which started with a lazy morning by the pool. We then caught the bus to the university campus for a rehearsal of the Mozart Coronation Mass, joined by a top student choir and orchestra from the University of Texas. After a picnic lunch (which we ate indoors because it was too hot outside) the boys and the Gents went bowling in the superb Union Underground. In the evening, we ate at a restaurant called Friscos which is in the suburbs of Austin. This was a terrific experience; I doubt that they get many foreigners there, let alone choirs, and it was lovely to be a part of the real America and eat chicken fried chicken (sic) and drink iced tea. The patrons were treated to a rendition of Surfing USA and everybody had a thoroughly good time.

There has been an unfortunate trend amongst the boys of purchasing bouncy balls from gift shops. This has, in part, been fostered by the gentlemen's game called 'Pat Ball', which the men seem to play whenever they find a wall, a tennis ball and five minutes to spare. One might call it urban squash played with the hand (hence the 'pat' bit). Anyway, I can hear the monotonous thumping of a ball as I type, which does at least indicate that Alec and Andrew are awake. I think the themes for today will be the confiscation of rubber balls and much relaxing (with a barbecue tonight).

For some reason, the photos will not stick to this post...scroll down to fine them.

Also, I think you might enjoy reading this: http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/reviews/article_fe5eba22-608d-11e0-aca5-0019bb30f31a.html

The pool at The Radisson, Austin.

Rocking chairs for sale outside Cracker Barrel. Choristers not included.

Day 2 at the Radisson photos

Capture the Flag and rehearsal at St Austin's

Concert No.4...almost.

There was an unexpected turn of events this evening. We performed our customary preparation ahead of tonight's concert, with Sarah doing her usual sterling suit bag checks and chivvying and Mr Cobb sweeping the rooms, ensuring that the boys had their suit bags and that they were heading to the hotel lobby for 5.30.

One young man walked past me and said that he didn't feel so good. I could see this, as he was a very funny colour. I was standing outside my hotel room door at that point and estimated that it would be quicker if he got to the loo in there, rather than go back to his own room. A well-hatched plan that nearly worked, but not quite, as I was standing in his path. Ho hum - with a bit of scrubbing my suit jacket is okay. Far, far more importantly, Alex J is okay, and five minutes ago he was sitting up in bed, professing himself to be feeling fine and ready for a bit of food.

We have had an excellent day today; it has been quite humid and very warm. The breakfasts here at the Radison are stunning and plenteous and all ate well. No waffle maker...it is far too classy a joint for that. But there is an omelette maker in the form of a waiter who stands behind the counter and makes omelettes to order. After this, we went for a walk along the banks of the Colorado and found a park where the boys were able to run around and play Capture the Flag or spot turtles in the lake and skim stones (but not at the turtles, obviously).

We ate lunch on the Campus of the University of Austin, where Hunter March (our host) is Professor of Music Education and Associate Dean for Arts Education. There were lots and lots of students and it was great to be brief part of a working university in America.

Then to the rehearsal in the St Austin’s Church and back to the hotel to suit up for tonight and this post has come full circle. Two concert-less days now follow which will give us a time to relax and enjoy the hotel and the city Austin.

Another photo from St Louis...

Photos from St Louis

Some more from Akron...

Andrew's shirt was dropped in puddle so hand dried by two able assitants.

As promised, photos from St Paul's, Akron

Missouri, the Show me State (whatever that means)

Phew...that was a busy three days. There were no more wobbly choristers, thankfully, and we are now flying to Austin, Texas, where the grass is green and the temperature is 78 (whatever that means). We are looking forward to the pool, not least as this will solve all our odour problems in one fell splash.

We woke up in rather an odd hotel - hadn't really noticed on arrival at 11pm. At breakfast there were two women who came downstairs wearing rollers. More disconcerting was that they looked about my age. Mind you, wish I had enough hair to roll in the first place. The food was unusual, too; cereal (Lucky Charms) that appeared to have angry fluorescent marshmallows mixed in, beef burgers and shockingly yellow scrambled eggs. And worst of all...a waffle maker. It took the boys seconds to clog this up with batter and the horrible memories came flooding back: fire alarms; never ending queues of hungry faced choristers; tutting hotel staff; gunge everywhere. In the circumstances, I did the honourable thing and hid behind a pillar, pretending I wasn't with them. As mentioned, today is a day of rest and sweets and pop.

The third concert.

Just to fill in some gaps from yesterday. It started raining at 9am and continued all day. Not a problem as the day was all about travelling, eating and singing.

One highlight (other than the concert, of course) was dining in a Cracker Barrel. This is rather like a Little Chef crossed with set of The Waltons, with rocking chairs for sale everywhere - the long line of chairs outside made for an excellent photo opportunity.

At the end of the concert, one chorister started to show signs of flagging. Mr Cobb decided to get him off, pronto. Rufus was handily at the end of the front line so he gratefully walked off. This was during the very last piece, the Gents Surfing USA combo. Unfortunately, the rest of the choristers followed Rufus. As if by perfect synchronicity, the last boy left the stage as the Gents finished so a happy ending, especially as Rufus was (and is) fine.

Tonight's concert, the third in a row, was in the Cathedral Basilica of St Louis, a kitch version of the church at Siena; lots of marble and mosaic frescos. Although the echo was not as long as St Paul's, it was still pretty long and the magnificent organ sounded great, as did the choir and the boys performed wonderfully. The programme was the same as the first concert and the standing ovations and the glamour were the same, but just on a larger scale. More time for us tomorrow. After an early departure, we will touch down in Austin, Texas and there is a free day and a swimming pool at the luxury Radisson Hotel. Photos of the last two days to follow.

Akron

I'm sorry to put you on the spot re the back of your sons' heads. I had to go around with my mobile phone photos today to verify...and I think (but cannot be sure) that the top is Alec, next is Jed (who claims multiple crowns but I can't see them), third is Ethan (sure on this one) and last (with the bit of ear) is Peter.

Akron seems nice. We got on the coach in Cincinnati, travelled for five hours, rehearsed, performed, went to the reception and then bed. Although the programme was the same, the acoustic was utterly different: crisper and more unforgiving...this didn't matter a jot, as the performance was faultless. Mr Nethsigha did 6 encores, which sets a tour record.

Hygiene and all that

Thank you all for leaving such lovely comments and apologies that I have replied to not one. That said, I have just picked up Victoria’s comment re clothing (or more to the point, lack of change of clothing) and feel that I must offer reassurance.

Ironically, Peter had a terrible accident last night (with some pasta in tomato sauce) in the crypt of St Peter in Chains: the pink hoodie is now out of action for the rest of the tour. Hopefully.

Anyway, it’s what lies beneath that really counts; when Jason returned from Denmark, Celia noticed, with sadness, that he had only worn one set of clothes throughout the tour, socks and pants included. This is a worry for us, as Denmark was a considerably shorter tour. I think it’s time for a Staying Safe Talk on Personal Hygiene, and the impact that one’s BO might have on others, the American public and concert performances in general. Sarah and I have been encouraging the boys to shower regularly. This morning is a good example, as we all need to shower prior to travel to Akron, as there will not be time time to wash when we get to the hotel.

Other minutiae of travelling with 16 choristers: one plaster administered to a hurty thumb; one episode of motion sickness (on the coach journey to Heathrow); one case of children making coffee in their hotel coffee machines; one incident of two boys making microwave popcorn in their kitchen microwave. Oh well…how do you risk assess for that? You can buy the bags of unpopped popping corn from the vending machines in the hotel lobby and off you go. Actually, I was rather impressed by the endeavour of it all.

Here are some photos of bedheads taken during rehearsal yesterday morning. Can you recognise your son? I’ve completely forgotten who they are, bar one, and that is because I accidentally included a bit of ear. Please note the lack of greasiness and general food debris; testament that our Showering Policy is taking effect. Don't get me started on the Gents.