2013 Salzburg, Vienna, Prague

From Thursday, March 21 to Thursday March 28, 2013 eligible* instrumental music students and HC Red Devils Marching Band members (and about 80 parents, family members and friends) enjoyed an incredible travel and performance experience in Salzburg & Vienna, Austria and Prague, Czech Republic. The cost of the trip for students was ~$3,100 with airfare, transfers, accommodations, tours and most meals included. Mr. Magalio's daily updates which were emailed to the Band Parent Association and Orchestra Parent Group listserv each evening are below. Photos and links to youtube video of some of the orchestra performances can be found by "Liking" Red Devils Orchestra Parent Group on Facebook. Despite the colder than average temperatures and snow, a great time was had by all.

Day 1 and 2

Internet in our first hotel is extremely slow, so this email may take some time to reach you all.

Our flight day went off without much incident. The instruments all arrived safely, the students were cooperative, the tour guides are extremely knowledgeable and kindly. All in all - considering the changes that took place leading up to day 1 - I'd say it was one of our most successful departures.

After landing, we eventually all wound up in Salzburg (not including a short jaunt around Windsor castle for 30 of our passengers - who have now also arrived in Salzburg and are finishing up a late dinner as I write this email). We had a wonderful walking tour of Salzburg and are now getting ready to tturn in.

I am now on about 6 hours of sleep in the past 2 and 1/2 days, so I'm starting to shiut down now. More updates will follow.

Day 3

Day three was a very busy day. We took the students on a tour of the Salt Mines in Salzburg, which included a train ride into the tunneled out mines, special slides down into the deeper parts of the mine, and a boat ride across an underground lake.

The afternoon greeted us with a performance for the band in a small town outside of Salzburg, where we helped open a 3 moth long music festival with another band from Austria. They played for us (including an American Sousa march in honor of our being there), and then we performed for them. The students did a wonderful job!

Following the performance, we drove to a mountain chalet south of Salzburg, where we had a traditional folklore dinner with a live "Oom Pah" band. Quincy Kastello and I were both given an opportunity to sit in with them and play a little bit on trumpet and tuba respectively. When it was time to go, they improvised a rendition of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and the kids sang along. Then it was back to the hotel for bedtime - which is in two minutes so it is time to go.

Tomorrow, we are off to Vienna - the "City of Musicians"

Day 4

What an incredible day!

We said goodbye to Salzburg, and headed out to Vienna. Once there, the kids had some free time for lunch. After that, we took a bus tour of Vienna, followed by a Schonbrunn Palace (where the MRD will be performing tomorrow).

Following our tours, we had dinner in a beautiful castle- like venue. We then visited a wonderful "House of Music" interactive music museum, with composers' personal items, original conducting scores, acoustics demonstrations and more.

After checking into our new hotel, we are doing bed checks as I type so gotta sign off.

Big performing day tomorrow for both the band and orchestra. Take care.

Day 5

This was a performance day! The band was out in full force, performing at the same palace we toured yesterday. This was a first for most of the band students, as we performed in THE SNOW. About 4 inches fell overnight and it continued to snow during our performance. But, as the song goes - "The Marching Band Refused to Yield" Kudos especially to the color guard for sticking it out in their lighter uniforms. The band looked and sounded great.

Later in the day, we were back in the center of Vienna, where there is a walking street filled with stores and cafes. The students had an extended amount of lunch/shopping time before returning to the checkpoint for our next destination.

We then drove two hours to a beautiful performing arts center - Grob Siegarts. In addition to our families and bans students, about 40 -50 town residents came out to watch the performance. The really loved it - so much so in fact that they demanded an encore, for which we re-performed Radetzky March - an Austrian favorite!

After the concert, we struck the stage and returned home. It is time for us to get some sleep and get ready for our move to the beautiful city of Prague.

Day 6 and Homeward Bound

What a week!!!

Today's last full day consisted of a very energetic walking tour in the beautiful but cold city and Castle of Prague. After that was an extended lunch time and free time, where the students did their last bit of souvenir shopping. We then took a group photo in front of one of the scenic river views before boarding the dinner cruise for a wonderful farewell dinner. It was a bit emotional as this was a wonderful trip and it is hard to see it come to an end.

But end it must, and tomorrow we will be returning home. Attached is our flight lists for returning to Newark. It will take some time to collect instruments and load everything. Every seat on each bus needs to be filled in order to get everyone home, so we may be at the airport for a while before leaving. I plan to send buses home to HCRHS as soon as they are full. I will instruct your students to begin calling home when they are on the bus leaving Newark Airport (those without phones can borrow those with phones to get in touch with parents).

I will be closing out now and the next time I will be checking email will be when we land in Newark. Wish us safe travels and we will be home soon. *Instrumental Music Students Eligible to Participate: MARCHING BAND & WIND SYMPHONY, FRESHMAN, INTERMEDIATE, and ADVANCED STRING ORCHESTRAS