Sunday, July 15, 2012

BASSANO del GRAPPA - DAY 2




Wow...we thought the last few days were jam packed! Today was an absolutely unforgettable day, with all three touring groups putting on a performance. The day began early, with the choir performing in an authentic Italian church at mass. The acoustics were breath taking, and there were surely some tears in the audience. During their performance, the sound of thunder echoed through the cathedral, and the pitter-patter of the rain hitting the roof was quite spectacular. Following the service, the choir continued their performance on the steps outside. Even in the pouring rain, they put on an incredible show, and the rest of the students were able to watch and listen from various covered locations around the piazza. 


In the afternoon, some students stayed back at the hotel to do some laundry or catch up on rest, while others hopped on the bus and travelled to a nearby mall where they could get some retail therapy. It's hard to compare the mall to the markets of Florence or Venice, but they seemed happy to be shopping nonetheless. Lunch was eaten around the town of Bassano, or in the mall food court (which served...drum roll please...pizza).


Since the band concert was cut short yesterday, Mr. Edwards and Ms. Russell were able to get us time on the stage in the afternoon! The performance was set for 5:00, and at exactly 5:00, the rain came down again. We ducked under the canopies around the town square, and amazingly, after a short delay, the sum emerged and lit up the town for us to perform. The audience was great, and the weather was fantastic! Families with dogs and children were there to listen, and were very excited to catch our frisbees and receive a pin. It's been incredible how many people are interested in our story. They all want to know what brought us to Bassano del Grappa, where we come from, what we do...they are very humbled to have 115 Canadians come to town.


Following our last great Italian dinner, we headed back into town for the Funk Band performance. The choir opened for them with Beautiful Day, and I think this pleased Mother Nature, as she refrained from dumping any sort of moisture on us! As soon as the set began, the Westwood students in the audience became the greatest fans on the planet. They were cheering and dancing, getting the locals excited and involved, and turned it into an all out party in the piazza. It is difficult to describe what happened, but with all three groups performing today, each group supported one another, and by the end of the evening, everyone had come together to celebrate what they'd all accomplished, and they did it with a huge exclamation point. With some smoking solos, wicked vocals, and tight shots, the Funk Band turned up the heat in Bassano del Grappa, and won over an audience in the same town the Josh Redman (famous sax player) was performing in, just down the street form us! Not only was the performance great, but the students and locals were able to come together and laugh and talk too. Lots of new Facebook friends were added tonight, and that's pretty neat.


Because all of the groups performed today, there is a huge number of pictures available from the day. Don't forget that you can click on the slideshow and it will take you to a new window with the full album. Click on the album title "10-Bassano2", and you will see all of the thumbnails (little pictures). From there, you can easily go to the group of pictures you'd like to see (choir at the beginning, concert band in the middle, funk band at the end).


Tomorrow we depart very, very early for the city of Salzburg, Austria. We are sat to leave Italy behind, but are excited to be entering some of the most beautiful countryside in the world. Can't wait to tell you more about it! Keep on keepin' on!