Stars and Stripes Finale Video

http://youtu.be/X4aESZtrnuA

Tour Day 11: Bietigheim-Bissingen Farewell Concert

It's been a fabulous final day of touring and performing with the District 99 Honors Band. This is an incredible entourage of young adults and it has been a true privilege to chaperone them through Europe over the past two weeks. Parents, you should be incredibly proud of your children and the way in which they carried themselves as musical ambassadors.

Tonight's concert was a giant success; both ensembles played beautifully. I'm sorry it has to come to an end, but it was a fitting ending as both bands collaborated on the final selection.

I am reminded, every time we travel internationally with the band, that borders evaporate and the planet feels smaller when we make the effort to simply talk to one another and exchange artistic traditions that are culturally relevant and important to one another. There have been some powerfully authentic friendships developed here in the past week, and I imagine many of these relationships will continue for years to come.

We are heading off to the airport in just 5 hours, so I should try to get a little sleep!

Tour Day 11: Heidelberg

Happy Birthday Sarah F!

Sarah, we hope you have a fabulous Birthday here in Europe. We got you a trip to the famous Heidelberg Castle to celebrate!

Footy on the Pitch - a day to remember

Today was a fine day by nearly all standards.

This morning, we visited a private school whose name started with an "L", and heard some excellent jazz. I don't quite know what the students there were expecting of an american jazz band but I think it's safe to say that their expectations were exceeded. The concert was absolutely stellar, with a lot of entertaining soloists. The tour around the school afterwards was also rewarding, with a beautiful atmosphere and a friendly environment. It will certainly be a pleasure for District 99 to visit once more, as they had asked.

Later, we visited the palace at Ludwigsburg. Despite the fact that we have already seen an abundance of marvelous sights and impressive collections of historic buildings, I do believe that most everyone enjoyed our time today. The tour was slightly more personal than what we experienced in Versailles. Our tour had a pleasant British accent, and she even had our chaperone, Gregory, pretend to be the king and have the group bow accordingly. Additionally, the palace was nearly empty except for our three groups.

The next, and possibly most important event of the day was our dramatic struggle on the Fußball field. From the outset of the game, it seemed that the energy and the spirit required to push through for a win were within our grasp. Personally I had a clear perspective of the game from my seat on the side next to our main commentator, Timothy W. It even seemed for a period that the game might have been in our favor, after Kevin G. scored to put us up 1 - 0. Unfortunately for us, the Germans persisted and ended up scoring three goals for our two. However, it is worth pointing out that Kelly J. was an excellent goalie and stopped more than her fair share of shots on goal. MVP of the game goes about evenly to both Kelly and Kevin, but in truth, the whole team put forth a great effort. It may not have been a good day to be an American, but it was still a great day to be a spectator.

Also side note - tomorrow is my host German, Tim H's birthday. Be sure to wish him well if you see him!

With zest,
- Kevin F.

Tour Day 10: Lichtenstern Jazz Concert, Ludwigsburg Palace, Battle for the Loser's Cup

American Jazz and European Lunch

Lichtenstern is a pretty interesting place. It (like much of Europe) is a hodge-podge of history and modern conveniences, but not all of us started off there. Those of us who are not a member of the Jazz Band met at the music school in Bietigheim-Bissingen. There's an art gallery across the street that we were able to visit, and we even get a guided tour of the exhibit. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but the exhibit was the epitome of modern art. There were abstract sculptures (some of the human body, some were indistinguishable even for the guide), geometric paintings, and odd drawings of different objects with oversized mustaches (one drawing looked like an octopus, but it turned out to be a watch with a mustache) from two modern artists that worked in the mid-1900s. It was interesting to see how art has changed in the past century and to have a chance to infuse our imaginations into the art. Classic art is about beauty while modern art is more about the individual's imagination. We saw much of the classic art at the Louvre, so it  was fascinating to witness the difference as we toured this art gallery.   

Once we finished, we commandeered a city bus as well as our typical tour bus to take us to Lichtenstern so we could listen to the jazz band concert. The school was also very modern, with black metal framework and lots of windows. Natural light poured into the main gathering area from every corner of the building, which gave the concert an open feel, which is perfect for jazz. The concert was amazing. The jazz band performed the birthday song again, and one of the students' birthday was today. She was a little embarrassed about getting serenaded, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. The soloists were on point, which made every improvisation even more impressive. The songs soared around the hallways, creating an amazing reverberation. The students appeared to enjoy the concert, which was the entire reason the jazz band played.

After the concert, we got a tour of the school (the oldest wing is on its 3rd school right now. It used to be a farmer girls' boarding school, then a regular girls' boarding school, and now just part of a private school for non-boarders) and lunch. School lunch in Europe is so much better than in America. They actually cook food that is healthy for you and tastes good. We had sausage, fried potatoes, pasta, salad, and the choice of two desserts. They just don't make school lunches that good in America.

After lunch, we headed off to the Ludwigsburg Castle, which looked like a smaller, German version of the Versailles Palace. And it was essentially, except it was a whole lot less crowed. Our tour guide was amazing. She made the tour exciting by telling funny stories, explaining the history in a practical way we could understand, and showing us cool tidbits about the castle (like how the queen's bell works by actually pulling it, opening up an oven for us to see inside, and showing how the chandlers echo in the Marble Room). We weren't allowed to take pictures of the inside, but we all got pictures of the courtyard and were impressed by the grandeur of the castle. We spent a lot of time in the Queen's suite (she only had, like, 10 personal rooms with people waiting on her every wish and need. Life was very hard for her). Her rooms, like the rest of the castle, were beautifully decorated with much of their original furniture. Each one of the rooms was a masterpiece all by itself.

We then headed to the soccer game. Everyone on the team was excited to play, working hard during the stretches and drills. This work ethic continued into the game. The German team didn't know what hit them. However, they were still bigger, older, and a little better than we were, but a final score of 3-2 is not bad. We might have lost, but I think we all really meant it when we said, "Good game," at the end of the match. It was such a great match of skills that I almost didn't mind losing because the game itself was enough. Almost. But playing together has brought the band even closer together and has (very importantly) given us a better understanding of German culture: they are serious about their football.