VYOA Blog

Our first concert in another country!

We played in the Palais Montcalm in Québec City last night- it was an amazing hall. Our audience may not have been very big, but it was so much fun to play in the hall anyway, I don’t think we noticed. This hall was acoustically designed for an orchestra, unlike the Flynn where we normally play, so everything sounded so clear. It was also visually beautiful, with lots of dark wood.

Just before the concert, we were hanging out in the Green Room chatting and laughing. Some of us began chanting “Duncan, Duncan” to get him to fiddle for us. It worked. He played us several tunes, and it was just the thing to rouse everyone and put us in the mood to perform. We were all cheering and clapping- it was awesome!

Because of the acoustics in the hall, we all experienced hearing elements within our playing that we’d never heard before. At breakfast today, we compared notes on these details. Overall, we think the concert went well; we all had a lot of energy, because we were (and are) so excited to be traveling together!

VYO members pose with their tour poster.

When we left the hall after the concert, there was a huge crowd outside. Cirque de Soleil (the biggest circus in the world, based in Canada) was performing a free show as part of the annual music festival in Québec City. The buildings surrounding us were bathed in bright colors; the stage, also lit, was surrounded by manmade fog. A security guard kept telling everyone to move back. We learned why, when fireworks violently exploded nearby!

We are having tons of fun!

Suzanne Calhoun, horn

And More….

The sun finally came out today – it felt nice after a week of rain! I toured Québec with my friends until the late afternoon. The city just as gorgeous as the weather was beautiful. We walked into Château Frontenac. It was amazing inside: walls that were made of wood and gold chandeliers draped from the ceiling. Afterwards we explored the boardwalk and the Citadel, all surrounding the river.

It was great workout going up all the stairs that ran along the edge of the cliff, but very much worth the effort. The cool wind chilled us when we got too hot from climbing and the view from the top was spectacular. We are now on our way to Montréal to catch our plane to Paris…Absolutely cannot wait to be in this beautiful city!

Daphnée Vandal, violin    (Photos: Caroline  Whiddon & Troy Peters)