CATALONIA MUSIC TOUR
A 27 hour coach journey, the Esglesia Parroquial de St Nicolau, a visiting Headmaster and an unheated swimming pool in October. Brrrr.
If you follow the School Twitter accounts, then you will not have missed the recent music tour which travelled to Catalonia during October half term.
The TA Hall was packed to the rafters at the Pre-Tour Concerts on a rainy and dark October Friday night. The Soul Band and Ben D Band rocked all present with plenty of audience participation. As our final Orchestra performance then received an encore, the pupils were bracing themselves for the 27 hours of travel ahead. We discovered that sleeping overnight on a coach is quite hard work: just as we had gotten the hang of it, the coach driver decided to wake us at 4.30am for breakfast, but McDonalds was shut: aaggghhh!
The seaside town of Tossa de Mar made the journey worthwhile. After a quick shower and unpack we were all off into town for a game of bowling followed by a now famous 'Mr Gaz's Super-quiz' and a very early night.
The Port Aventura Theme park was bathed in sunshine on Day 2, where the variety of rides meant there was something for everyone, including those who liked to be doused in freezing cold water.
Day three saw the start of biblical rainstorms, this did not however dissuade our happy musicians from trying out the unheated hotel swimming pool. This proved a great way to prepare for our first concert. The Esglesia Parroquial de St Nicolau was stunning, with an immense ceiling. This provided wonderful acoustics for the Strings who beautifully started off our first public tour concert. The Jazz Band echoed around too with their fabulous rendition of Chicago. All of the groups were very well received and the pupils deservedly proud of their performances.
A visit to the Dali museum followed the next day and then the final concert back in our home town of Tossa de Mar. It was fabulous to see our Headmaster and family to support us in the audience, he said “everyone was brilliant but the Orchestra were particularly magnificent – not an easy space to fill with sound, but they managed it with ease. Well done to @warminstermusic and thank you – well worth the journey.”
The pupils all had a wonderful time, Niamh said “We all had an absolutely amazing week, this was definitely my favourite school trip ever and I would very much like to thank Mrs Robinson, Mr Gaz, Mr Page and Miss Windsor for giving up the first week of their half-term holiday to take us.”
Caroline Robinson, Director of Music