April Showers have begun to fall and the lawn is developing this beautiful emerald color, trees are beginning to pop and the buds on my daffodils are swelling. I’m hoping this year that they will actually bloom. Last Spring was not kind – we had a warm spell and then a freeze – darn near [...]
The last of the summer European tours is behind us. The Rose Ensemble headed out to Paris and Tours for a whirlwind 4 days in France with 2 concerts in different cities. We had a blast. The first concert, part of the Festival d’Ile de France, was in an ancient cathedral (not surprising) in the [...]
Well, our last European tour of the summer is rapidly approaching. On September 12th The Rose Ensemble will board a plane and fly to Paris where we have been invited to perform our Hawaiian program at the Festival d’Ile de France in the Eglise Saint-Mathurin de Larchant on Sunday, September 14th. The Festival d’Ile de [...]
A wonderful three weeks in France has come and gone and we have so many great memories from this tour. It’s hard to describe the experience of singing music written for churches of the medieval period when you sing them in the buildings they were designed for. These buildings have amazing natural acoustics, something that [...]
This is just stunning. After an 8 hour drive from Autun thru ever changing landscape and vast vineyards and a brief stop in Cluny, we reached the ancient city of Vaison la Romaine. Taken over from the Celts by the Romans in the 2 BC, the city is one of 2 parts. The old medieval [...]
It’s Wednesday, and that means Market Day in Autun. After coffee with my friend Ginna, I wandered over to see what was for sale. Every Wednesday and Friday until about 1pm lots of vendors displaying their (uhm) wares. You can find everything from cheap jewelry to shoes to clothing and even French underwear. Yes, brassieres [...]
Welcome to Brion, France. A small village with an estimated population of about 200 in the Morvan outside of Autun. The Rose Ensemble had an extraordinary concert there last evening. Our bus arrived at this lovely little church for our pre-concert rehearsal. The priest is very conservative, so we were asked not to perform our [...]
I love France. I love the people, the villages, the churches we sing in, and oh yeah, can’t forget to give homage to the baguette. That lovely soft, slightly salty soft center with the golden brown crispy crust. Today is Sunday, a free day forus, and I just had coffees with Linda, Kris, Ginna and [...]
A medieval town in the Burgundy region of France. Wow – went for a lovely walk this morning after a breakfast of coffee and baguettes. I found out on my walk that Autun has probably the longest and best preserved walls in the Roman West still in existence and was begun at the end of [...]
The Rose Ensemble arrived safe and without issue at Charles DeGaulle Airport this morning. After retrieving our luggage, we met our guide, Dominique, for the first Festival in Autun. Wearily, we boarded our bus and headed south and east for the 5 hour journey. I love France. The countryside is so lovely – quaint villages [...]
It seems that I just got back from Legnano, Italy and here I am, preparing for another tour this time to France. The first festival that I will be performing in with The Rose Ensemble will be The Musique en Morvan 2008: Festival de l’Oratorio in Autun, France. We are one of six choirs invited [...]
I can’t believe it’s been 2 weeks. The Hotel Elitis is now quiet with the last of the choirs leaving this morning. The Festival Chorale International definitely kept us busy – 12 consecutive shows in 14 days. Of course in that 14 days, 2 of them were spent traveling to and from Italy. We have [...]
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