Beaumont School Music Department

I meant to post this before half term. Many thanks to Eddy Willson for the tip-off: Cistercian monks, who are based in a monastery in a Vienna forest, have been recording a CD of plainchant in response to an advert in the Catholic press by the recording company Universal . The choir of monks from the monastery Stift Heiligenkreuz will not be touring to promote their CD, remaining adamant that they "sing to God, not to people". It will be interesting to see how popular their CD (aptly called Chant: Music for Paradise ) will become. Click here to read more about this project and here to find about more about Stift Heiligenkreuz. For more information about their CD, click here (the two latter links are in German) or search "Chant" in the iTunes Music Store.

The latest Herts Advertiser has a great article about the Vienna trip. Click here to read it.

Our success abroad has been reported in the St Albans Observer and This is Local London .

I attended the concert given by students from Beaumont School at the Haus der Musik, Vienna, yesterday, and I am writing to say how much I enjoyed the performance. I was very impressed by the standard of the playing, and by the musicians' behaviour and demeanour. You and the staff at Beaumont School must be very proud of your students. They are excellent ambassadors for their school, and for British schools in general! (Ms Sian Stickings, British Embassy, Vienna) I just wanted to say that you really can be proud of the kids, I never had a group where the children were as punctual and happy and friendly. I really enjoyed it. (Daniela Loidl, Club Europe Tour Representative)

Below is a selection of photos from each of our concert venues in Vienna. These photos (and many more) can be found in the school's Central Resources Library under "School Trip Photos/VIENNA 2008". View Upload your own View Upload your own View Upload your own

Performing in Stephansdom was a real privilege for the Choir and Vocal Ensemble. Whilst tourists were wandering around the cathedral, they enjoyed a selection of European sacred music, including Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine and Mendelssohn's Verleih Uns Frieden. A very short excerpt of the latter can be found below:

Click here to check this week's weather in Vienna. If it's similar next week, you'll have to wrap up warm...

Due to a brand new Austrian public holiday, we will no longer be performing at the British Embassy, which is a bit of a shame. However, we will be performing at Haus der Musik instead! This does mean that our itinerary has been changed. I have amended it here on the blog and you will receive a copy on the coach. Please check the posting if you want to see the changes. Just click on the label Vienna 2008 and you will find it. Nur 6 Tage! Woop woop!

It's not long now! I received this today and got rather excited (you know me...). This poster will be up around the Stephansdom area: we're famous!

Saturday 9th February 13:45 Meet at Central Drive. Sunday 10th February 15:15 Arrive at HOTEL MOZART , time to unpack and relax 19:00 Evening meal at hotel (first meal included) 20:00 Short meeting, relax and early night after the long journey Monday 11th February 07:30 Breakfast. Collect lunch packages afterwards. 08:00 Depart for Mozarthaus Vienna 09:00 Start of self-guided tour. 10:00 End of self-guided tour. Time for some time around Vienna, etc. 12:45 Meeting point St. Stephen’s Cathedral 13:00 Lunch time concert in the cathedral 13:30 End of concert. Time to go shopping (Wiener Kaertnerstrasse and Graben are excellent shopping streets with plenty of restaurants and Cafes) or relax in a traditional Viennese Kaffeehaus. 16:00 Depart by coach for Hotel Schloss Wilhelminenberg 17:00 Time to set up and rehearse. 18:00 Concert. 19:30 Depart for hotel. 20:00 Evening meal. Tuesday 12th February 08:00 Breakfast at hotel, collect lunch packages. 09...

It's been a long wait, but the extra-curricular tour to Vienna is coming in just over 4 weeks' time! The Vocal Ensemble, Choir, Orchestra and Concert Band are looking forward to an excellent trip to arguably the most significant musical city in Europe. We are very lucky to be performing in some prestigious venues (see the links on the right), such as Stephansdom and the British Embassy. There will also be time to soak up Viennese culture and heritage with visits to Haus der Musik , the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt, Kunsthaus Wien and the Vienna Prater. Updates will be provided here, but you will, of course, be informed of major changes in writing. Get practising everyone; it's going to be fantastic!