By Justin Zhang
The 2024 Europe Music Performance Tour was a rich experience for all 38 students of the tour group. Over two weeks, the tour group travelled to five Central European countries—Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia, and Germany. It visited a collection of cultural landmarks, restaurants, plazas, malls, and museums. The students, comprised of the string orchestra, the wind orchestra, and the choir, performed in various venues, from the Haydn Hall of the prestigious Esterházy Palace to the historic Commonwealth War Cemetery in Berlin. This article summarises this tour and highlights specific experiences over the two weeks.
Austria (Österreich) – Vienna and Eisenstadt
Days 2-5
On the first day, we boarded planes to Vienna via a connecting flight from Dubai. It was many of the boys’ first time in Europe, and throughout the trip, many looked out the window at the unique European city and countryside scenery. After a good night’s rest, we spent a day practicing with a renowned conductor from the Vienna Classical Players, exploring the idyllic grounds of Schönbrunn Palace (meaning ‘beautiful spring’ in German), and going on rides at the Prater amusement park. On the second full day in Vienna, we went to the historic town of Eisenstadt, where we performed and toured the Esterházy Palace, where Haydn spent decades of his life working for the Esterházy family and composing some of his most famous works. We then visited the Haus der Musik, an enjoyable, interactive musical museum. We passed the towering St. Stephen’s Cathedral on the way to dinner at the upscale restaurant Rathaus Keller.
Image: Schönbrunn Palace
Hungary (Magyarország) – Budapest
Days 5-7
After stopping at Parndorf, an expansive shopping destination, we finally arrived at Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Budapest can be divided into two cities, each on opposite sides of the bank of the Danube River. Buda is the western side, Pest (pronounced pesht) is the eastern side, and Óbuda is the old city north of Buda. First, we stopped at the beautiful Buda Castle, an enormous Baroque palace. We then strolled the streets of the Castle Quarter, arriving at the Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church, also known as the Church of Our Lady of Buda Castle, both incredible feats of classical architecture. The next day, we visited a Hungarian school, the Deák Téri Evangélikus Gimnázium, where we did activities and sang with the Hungarian students. After then exploring the streets of the Pest city centre, we visited the House of Terror, exploring the intriguing rise of the dictatorial regimes that controlled Hungary during the Nazi and Soviet eras. To end the day, we dined at another upscale traditional Hungarian restaurant.
Image: Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church
Slovakia (Slovensko) – Bratislava
Day 7
Leaving Budapest on our way to the Czech Republic, we were bussed to the Slovakian capital, Bratislava, where we had lunch near the busy main square near the city centre. Many of the boys tried Slovakian cuisine, such as ‘Slovak Steamed Dumplings (Goulash)’, which are actually steamed pieces of sliced bread…
Image: Slovak Steamed Dumplings (Goulash)
Czechia/Czech Republic (Česko) – Prague and Cheb
Days 7-10
We finally saw the Prague skyline on the Vitava River after a lengthy bus trip. Speaking of the river, we first did a scenic river cruise along the river, with a buffet and musicians onboard. The next day, we toured the city and the Prague Castle District, including the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square, the Astronomical Clock, and St. Nicholas Church, where we performed in front of some spectators. This is also where the choir clip we saw at last week’s assembly was filmed. After dinner, we witnessed professionals of the Czech Philharmonic playing Bach and Mozart at Dvorak Hall. The last full day in Czechia was in Cheb (where the ‘ch’ is like the ‘Loch’ in Loch Ness Monster). After lunch at the Cultural Centre, we had some free time in the town centre and visited Black Tower, part of the Cheb Castle complex. We then returned to the Cultural Centre to perform our repertoire.
Image: St. Nicholas Church, Prague
Germany (Deutschland) – Dresden and Berlin
Days 10-13
On the tenth day, we arrived at the final country, Germany. We first stopped at Dresden on the way to Berlin, where we once again observed the marvellous architecture of European cities. Continuing to Berlin, we walked around our hotel, looking at the remnants of the Berlin Wall. Throughout the city, marker lines denote where the wall once stood. The following morning was arguably the tour’s climax – the Berlin Anzac Day Dawn Service, where the students performed in the historic Commonwealth War Cemetery before a group of ambassadors and officials. We woke up at about three in the morning to perform. Though we were shiveringly cold, we still played in front of distinguished guests, including the Australian and New Zealand ambassadors to Germany. Of course, the day went on, and we visited the Berlin Spy Museum as well as having afternoon tea at the historical landmark known as the Reichstag Building. On the last full day of the trip, we saw the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra rehearse, had lunch at the Mall of Berlin, and lastly, had a farewell dinner at Alexanderplatz, where the senior boys gave shoutouts to the students. The final day was getting bussed to Hamburg Airport to catch the plane back to Sydney via Dubai.
Image: Checkpoint Charlie Memorial, Berlin
Hotels, Food, Guides, and Music
The trip was even more fulfilling because of the many hotels we stayed in, which were all clean when we returned from a long day. The food was also splendid, with a mixture of Western-style foods and traditional European cuisine and a buffet for breakfast. We also had the pleasure of having the helpful guides Lucy and Ivana who helped organise and told us about the landmarks we were seeing as well as helping us brush up on our German, Hungarian and Czech. There was also the hard-working bus driver, Nick, who transported us across Europe for the entire duration of the trip. We had a specific repertoire over the two weeks, with pieces like the choir piece “Ubi Caritas” by our very own Savvas Sousamidis, ensemble piece “Abide with Me” by Henry Francis Lyte, band piece “Where Eagles Soar” by Steven Reineke, and strings piece “Palladio” by Karl Jenkins.