Music Trip to The Netherlands and Belgium
On Wednesday May 27th, during half term, a party of sixteen musicians travelled by boat and train to Amsterdam.
It was a long journey but we were richly rewarded on arrival by the beautiful canals and elegant gabled town houses, a Four-Star Hotel (or was it actually Three-Star?) and dinner at the Pancake Bakery. We ambled back through the misty Amsterdam streets, the sound of Man U’s defeat heavy in the air.
Next morning we awoke to the bright, early-summer Dutch sunshine. We walked via the little bakery’s chocolate croissants along to the AnneFrankMuseum, in the shadow of the great Westerkerk. Here we spent a thought-provoking hour in the company of a little girl called Anne, who, sheltered in the secret attic of her father’s office building, escaped the attentions of anti-Jewish Nazi Officers for some two years, before her death at the age of 15.
We moved on to the fabulously pretty Begijnhof Chapel to give the first of our two concerts. Our second concert, the following day, was in the Candle-makers’ Chapel in magical, medieval Bruges, where we were greeted at the door by an elderly man who by chance was born in Deal and educated at King’s Rochester. Small World! (Apparently, they used to thrash SLC back in those days!)
Later that afternoon we sampled the delights of a bustling Brussels Grand Place and returned the next day to Calais, contented, tired, sun-baked and full of chocolate.
We couldn’t have enjoyed a better advert for Europe: the excitement of trams, bicycles coming at you from all directions and double-decker trains; street entertainers, glorious architecture, carillons ringing out from lofty church spires; the cobbled streets, sweet shops, and those mysterious red lights; exotic, yet curiously Northern cuisine; and bizarre, guttural languages that seamlessly flip over into English or French in a trice - all this crowned by the most fabulously sunny weather!
Headmaster, the group was impeccably behaved (even if getting off to sleep took appreciably longer than hoped!); they performed brilliantly - in solos and ensembles, then joining together in some strikingly beautiful choral singing. The tremendously high standard was the result of a lot of hard work, of planning, rehearsals, fundraising and meetings. I am certain that the group reflected most admirably on our College. Thank you for allowing us to go!
P M Stubbings Director of Music
