Sunday — January 3, 2010
Hillary Curran (Junior)
I feel so incredibly lucky to have been given an opportunity to come to one of the most famous cities in the world! I have always wanted to travel to London and this past week I received my wish. I was also fortunate to have such an organized trip. I never had to worry about anything. First we experienced a traditional English meal in the Albert pub. The atmosphere was the best first impression I could have received because it provided me with a taste of what was coming. The food was great and I really enjoyed it.
The next day we took a tour of the city of London and I couldn't believe my eyes, all of the sites were intriguing and I took so many pictures! The bridges, the buildings and seeing all of the differences between our countries were extremely interesting. One of my favorite parts of the trip was performing with PCJB in St. John's cathedral. The acoustics were awesome and it made the experience that much better. I was fascinated by the royal buildings with King Henry the VIII's castle (Hampton Court), the Queen's Castle (Windsor), the Tower of London and everything else. The history was ubiquitous and I couldn't have enjoyed it anymore.
Another favorite part of the trip was the "Jack the Ripper" tour. It provided a different perspective of the history of London and shared how London used to be with the Pea-soup smog and how different it was in the 1880's.
Moreover, all the meals were fantastic and I also loved experiencing eating in different types of places and being kind of on our own traveling in a tour group of 10 people and a chaperone. The trip has made me want to travel more and come back to London to do more sightseeing and have even more fun. I had an endless amount of fun marching in the parade, seeing all of the sites, experiencing the London Eye in addition to all of the other fun things we experienced.
I am so grateful and thankful that I came on this trip and I extend my thanks to Mr. Mazzeo and all of the chaperones that made it possible. Happy New Year!
Saturday — January 2, 2010
Jenny Hughes, Trombone Section Leader (Senior)
Jillian Roberts, Flute Section Leader (Senior)
The trip in London was an amazing experience for the entire band. We saw many historical places like Hampton Court, Windsor Castle and the Tower of London. The extraordinary beauty of these places had a huge effect on the band and everyone had a great time.
The PCJB performance in St. John's Cathedral was entertaining for everyone. The bands and choruses from around the world were really good. PCJB's performance was exciting, the band was really impressive, and was well received by the audience.
Another great experience was marching in the New Year's Day parade. It was unforgettable to be in another country for New Year's and to perform in such a prestigious parade. The 575,000 plus crowd's energy and enthusiasm for our band made the experience that much better!
We couldn't have thought of a better way to spend our last winter break in high school.
Friday — January 1, 2010
Heather Erhard, Color Guard Captain (Junior)
My time in London has been amazing so far. Our first day was quite tiring, but we got to see Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and London's Eye. On this trip I've gotten to see the actual sights from Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes. The jet lag was pretty bad at first, but the hotel is so comfy and cozy that we soon got over it.
New Year's Eve was a lot of fun. During the day we visited Oxford University and then took a ride through the country-side to Windsor. At Oxford we learned that during dinner people usually get into full out debates. While in Windsor we took a tour through Windsor castle which is actual use today by Her Majesty the Queen. In the evening we went to a party and mingled with a bunch of other bands.
I'm excited for the rest of the week but I really don't want to go home.
Thursday — December 31, 2009
Zack Greenfield, Band Captain (Senior)
Over the past three days I've had the experience of a lifetime. Even though London is only a 6 hour plane ride, culturally it is a world away. Everyday activities that we take for granted in the United States are entirely different. When walking throughout the city we must be careful to look right instead of left when approaching an intersection! Although America and England both speak English it is different to understand because there are words that are unique to the English. Elevator is a lift; a line is a queue; the subway is the tube. Traveling around London via the tube has been my favorite activity thus far. London is very similar to Philly and New York but much cleaner. Our days have been jam packed beginning at 7:00am and ending at 11:00pm.
Highlights of the trip so far have included: a walking tour of the parade route including traveling through Piccadilly Circus; Dinner at the Albert Pub; seeing Big Ben, British Parliament; touring Henry the VIII's Hampton Court; the Tower of London; Oxford; Windsor and Windsor Castle; seeing the play "Sister Act" and playing with PCJB at St. John's Cathedral with its English beauty and wonderful acoustics.
We performed Tuesday night with PCJB as a series of concerts for London's Music Gala. There were performing ensembles throughout the US, and Europe and the ensembles ranged from concert bands, choirs and jazz bands with only one ensemble receiving a standing ovation-you better know who that is! The Hampton Court was incredibly big. The Tower of London was extremely historical and featured the Crown Jewels.
"Sister Act" was awesome and I really enjoyed the acting and the music of the pit. Throughout the trip the tour guides have been great. They are informative, educational, insightful, helpful and nice.
Wednesday — December 30, 2009
Jacob Cox (Freshman)
On Tuesday we had a very busy day. To start off we had a huge breakfast buffet to eat. After we ate, the groups got on three buses and we took a guided tour of London. We stopped at Westminster Abbey and the Tower Bridge. The sights are great!
After the tour the Concert Jazz Band got dropped off at St. John's cathedral. The Jazz Band stayed together the rest of the day because we were performing that night. We put our equipment away and headed for lunch. We decided to eat at Pret A Manger which was a nice café with sandwiches and soups. After that we went to Starbucks.
When we finished the jazz band headed back to St. John's for a practice and sound check. PCJB went back to the hotel after the sound check and went out to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant where almost everyone ordered personal pizza's. With our hunger gone we went back to the hotel after stopping at the mini-mart for snacks. We changed and went to the concert after joining the rest of the band. It was a cool experience watching the other bands from around the world perform and the announcers accents!
We performed last. I was a little nervous at first but then settled down once we started playing. The first song sounded great. When we were about to play our second song "Three and One" Mr. Mazzeo announced that he was dedicating the song to me the youngest member in the band. Then he whispered to me "Big Start Here Jacob." I was still jet-lagged and kind of confused and went along with it.
We started playing the first measure and on the fourth beat I played my first note and no one else did and the entire band started singing happy birthday to me (it was my birthday) and then I had an entire audience of about 1000 singing happy birthday to me. It was embarrassing but really nice. We did really well on the rest of the program and received a standing ovation.
Afterwards we went back to the hotel. It was an exciting day.
Tuesday — December 29, 2009
Isabelle Punchatz (Junior)
Our trip to London began with a delayed flight but once the plane began its decent onto Heathrow's tarmac there was tremendous excitement. It's what we have been looking forward to through every practice. As tired as I was still had enough energy to walk around London. You hear about all of the things that there are but actually being there and experiencing it is a different story.
After dropping off the luggage in our rooms at the hotel we walked from the hotel to the tube (subway) and the exquisite scenery engulfed me and had me turning my head from side to side and snapping a picture every chance I could. We saw Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey and had dinner at the Albert (named after Queen Victoria's beloved husband).
After dinner we walked the parade route and not even a picture can describe the incredibleness. When walking down the parade route it reminded me of strolling down the great white way only London is more exciting. London has always been one of my favorite cities because of its history and beautiful appeal you just have to experience it first hand!