Hello from Austria

Hello from Austria
Hi From Austria
HI GUYS I FINALLY MANAGED TO GET ONLINE AT AN INTERNET CAFE RIGHT DOWN THE STREET FROM THE HOTEL. EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL HERE, and I apologize in advance for the typos in the letter, many of the keys are in different spots and there are added ones that we dont have at home. The flight was safe and fun with all the choir people. We had a nice and easy connection in Frankfurt to Munich. Then when we arrived in Munich we met our guide who took us to our tour bus. They are really nice, think royal coach meets Mercedes Benz! It took about an hour to reach Salzburg, but the drive was beautiful! There is so much green it is amazing. Mom, you would love the freeway direction signs, they are about 3 times as large as ours and they are blue. The freeway on and off ramps are all nicely landscaped with trees and grass. there is a lot of green but not so many colors like our highway daisies or CA poppies. The alps are beautiful, my hotel room window faces them and we got to view them all the way to the hotel. The Weather has been pretty good. we have had sunny days with nice cool cloud cover which turns into light rain in the evening. there are so many thunder storms, youd think you were in North Carolina :)

We are staying in what's called New Town, which is right on the outskirts of the main historic district known as Old town. There are three main churches in Old Town, the salzburg Dom (cathedral), University church, and St. Peters. We have had all our practices in the University Church, which is right across from Mozart's house, and is the church where Mozart's father and then Mozart were the churches musical composers. The Salzburg Dom is the main, well known church in Salzburg. We just left our first rehearsal there with the choir of over 500, and the orchestra and brass choir. The brass players are excelent. They are as excelent as the Kings brass, but with a tone that is even sweeter, if you can even imagine a sweeter tone. The French horns played so tight that it sounded as if there was one. And the trumpet solo in "festival Piece on St.Anne" Sounded to perfect to be real, but there he was playing it. And the oboe introduction on one of the othere pieces was unimaginable. The refinement of the musicians skills is like nothing else known to those in the states. For as much as we think we have it all, the music in the states dulls to the refined perfection of the musicians, and at such a young age!

We have had enough down time to explore the city on our own. I have taken over 200 pictures and I am so glad I brought my computer to load them onto. The city is so beautiful and singing the music is such a unique experience. Singing the Coronation Mass in the church is was written for seems so surreal. The Dom has 5 organs in it. One main one at the back, and then 4 smaller ones in each of the corners (hehe) of the circle underneath the Dome. Each of the churches are very beautiful, but everything seems so wrapped up in ritual and history, that it seems like some of the experience and reason for the churches existence gets lost. The churches are like gilded jewelry boxes, but with out the jewelry they are pointless. It was really amazing to watch each persons face as we sang in the cathedrals, the echo after we finished seemed to go on forever. The voices just echoed on to the heavens, it really made the songs come alive. Visiting the churches it was interesting to see people from all backgrounds and faiths become quiet and reverent as they entered the buildings. For some unspoken reason the building reminded everyone that wether the faith was theirs or not, this was a place that commanded respect.

The shops around the University church are very quaint. It is very reminiscent of carmel or solvang. The tiny shops are tucked away in every little nook and cranny. Some are no deeper then 6 feet and no longer then maybe ten, and that is from wall to wall, and then the shelves come out another foot and a half. But it is nice, there VERY VERY few cars in the city. everything is pedestrian traffic, so there is no fear of getting run over. Here in the city everyone walks, from the elderly to the young. One walks or bikes or takes the bus. We have seen a lot of the sites used in the Sound of Music. I must say the camera does wonders and makes them look a lot larger ;) But they are equally beautiful and cool to visit. As soon as I figure out how to load pictures I will send some. We have one more day in Salzburg, and then it is off to Vienna. The concert is tomorrow night and I am really looking forward to it. I am going to head to bed it is 11:24pm and we have to be up to up tomorrow early for another tour. This is such an aamazing experience. Feel freet o send this off to anyone. The address book isnt loading up and everything is in german and I dont want to loose this letter:) I love you all, and I wish you were here, you would enjoy it, there is something here for everyone!

Love,
Andrew