Dr. Eric Conway writes:
Our
third day in Austria was not as exciting as our second. It is fairly
difficult to top a tour of the cemetery where Beethoven, Schubert, and
Brahms are buried, if you are a musician - not to mention singing in one
of the most famous venues in all of Europe!
We
toured the Hapsburg imperial summer palace which was built on the
outskirts of Vienna called Schönbrunn Castle. The word Schönbrunn means
"beautiful spring" due to an artesian well consumed by the residents.
This was a huge property with a backyard the size of a football
field! Behind the castle was a hill where one could enjoy a
breathtaking view of all of Vienna.
We toured
the castle via a headset giving the history of the castle. Unlike in
Spain, this castle was very crowded where one could barely move though
the residence. All rooms were so guarded and blocked off, one could not
get a true sense of the building, except for its large size of 1,441
rooms!
After the tour of the castle, we had a
group lunch eating one of the most typical Viennese dishes, Wiener
Schnitzel meaning Viennese cutlet which is a thinly breaded veal
cutlet. The portion of Wiener Schnitzel served was enormous! Once
again, we got a chance to taste the culture of the region. It was
tasty!
Our concert in the evening was at the
Minoritiekirche Wien, translated as the Vienna Minority Church! Of
course we had to chuckle at the idea of singing at the minority church -
being an HBCU. And of course I immediately asked why we were singing
at the Minority Church. Apparently there is an order of monks or friars
called: the Order of Friars Minor Conventual - they were called minority monks! The church was given to this order of monks in the thirteenth century.
We
had a great full-length concert! The space at the church was smaller
than that of St. Stephen’s cathedral. Due to a relatively more intimate
setting, the sound of the music was better. In trying to connect with
the Austrian people, having taken German in college, I announced the
concert in German. Although not perfect by any means, the attempt of
speaking the native tongue was certainly received well. See photos from
the day attached.
EC
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