We started our day today in Zakopane with a long day of transit ahead. The weather had taken a turn for the better; after a few days of growingly uncomfortable heat, we had a thunderstorm followed by a cool, crisp day that made a Summer’s day abroad feel a bit more like an Autumn day […]

In the morning, we performed for children from local schools. We performed an abbreviated program, with various cuts in the pieces. For most of our audience, this was probably the first time they had ever attended an orchestra concert. I hope they enjoyed their experience, because for many members of our orchestra, attending their first […]

“Arbeit macht frei” – Work sets you free. We set out to the distant town of Auschwitz from the Penderecki Center. As bus rides go, the roads were familiar: bumpy, long, but fun. The atmosphere of the bus was much more restrained and hushed, though. Auschwitz was a place that demanded respect for its symbolism […]

Today was our first day at the Penderecki Center! We were able to get up pretty late that day, as there wasn’t anything planned immediately that morning. We got our first taste of the food at the Penderecki Center, which was delicious! After breakfast we had some free time to do whatever we wanted before […]

Day four of our trip included many new things, most importantly our journey to a new country! An early breakfast prepared us for the five hour drive from Berlin to Wrocław, Poland. On the way, much of the scenery was very similar to that of Berlin suburbs with very flat land and cute clusters of […]

Today was Day 3 as part of the GTCYS Eastern Europe Tour with the Berlin Philharmonic filling our day’s events. In the morning session, the symphony orchestra had the opportunity to work with Stephan Koncz, one of the 12 esteemed cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic, in a Berlin Philharmonic workshop. Madeline Sheard, a Symphony cellist, […]

Walking out of the Berlin Tegel Airport, I was almost positive that I wouldn’t make it through the day. I had gotten about an hour or so of sleep on the 8 hour flight from Minneapolis to Berlin (with a short layover in Amsterdam), and, having landed at 8:30 in the morning, I still had […]