Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Eric Conway: Morgan choir arrives safely in Vienna, Austria!






Mozart






Eric Conway writes:

Hello Morgan Fine and Performing Arts Community,

Yesterday, the Morgan State University choir arrived safely in Vienna, Austria without incident! 

After more than a week of rain in Baltimore, coinciding with our 2018 May Commencement ceremony and Baltimore's Preakness stakes, we had a beautiful day of weather upon departure on Monday, May 21, 2018, to Dulles Airport in Washington DC.  We arrived to the airport with plenty of time to spare.  Our carrier this time was the quality airline of Air France.  We had a short layover in Paris, France to arrive in Vienna, Austria on Tuesday, May 22, 2018.  All went according to schedule, including not one person losing any luggage (small miracles!).

Vienna is a great city if you are a musician or artist. Because of the Habsburg dynasty, who reined for over six centuries, the cultural aesthetic is very much in the forefront of the cities of their rule.  The Habsburgs appreciated good music and fine art.  If you were a musician or artist of any note or talent during their tenure, you were employed by the Hapsburg family to create beautiful music or art. During our time in Austria, we will visit the homes of several musicians.  Yesterday while on the bus, we drove by an apartment where Beethoven lived while in Vienna.

Prior to our welcome dinner, we enjoyed a bus and walking tour of Vienna.  While on the bus, our guide pointed out the homes of the Vienna opera and Vienna Philharmonic orchestra (respectively).   Statues were erected throughout the city of many of the most acclaimed artists from the region including Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, and Goethe!

After the tour, we all had a group dinner where we experienced a typical Austrian meal of meat and potatoes, which was quite tasty!   One cannot visit Austria without tasting some typical Apple Strudel for desert.

No one from the group lost any items. Everyone appeared to be well.  What a great first day in Europe! See some photos attached.

EC

We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. - Aristotle
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Eric Conway, D.M.A.
Fine and Performing Arts Department, Chair
Morgan State University

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