© Marianne Grimont - Namurimage.be
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The World Youth Choir rehearsing and during their concert in Namur, Belgium
The initial phase of the session closed with a successful first concert at Sint Michielskerk Cathedral on 19 July. There, the WYC saw its consolidation as an ensemble fulfilled. During the official farewell, the selfless local team, who had showered the WYC with attention, enjoyed some minutes of singing especially dedicated to them. The night was crowned by the joy and colors of Ghent Summer Festival. In the morning of 20 July, the ‘WYC machine’ was ready to begin its concert tour starting in Utrecht (Netherlands), where the project had the immense challenge to sing for the Europa Cantat festival before an audience of about 3000, choral singers and conductors from all over the globe, including many of the well-known personalities from the choral world. Utrecht was also the place for a brief reunion of those of us who had been in previous sessions with some former WYC members, who were taking part in Europa Cantat or who came just to be part of our audience. Soon we saw ourselves inevitably enchanted by the songs of previous sessions, a sign of reassertion of our kinships. Backstage we also received greetings and congratulations from a few former WYC
conductors and other well-known personalities. It was without doubt a fantastic beginning for the concert tour. This continued in the Lorraine region, France, from 21 – 26 July, with concerts at “Arsenal Hall” in Metz, Saint Adelphe Church in Albestroff, the “Palais des Congrès” of Vittel, the Madine Complex and Fraize Church. In the Lorraine region we also had the first opportunities to have a closer contact with people beyond the formal concert. We visited two old people’s homes, where after singing we were blessed by the gratitude of these senior citizens, with whom we shared lunch, genuine signs of understanding, empathy and affection. The entire choir also visited a children’s summer camp, one of the most memorable moments for all of us with a joyful and emotional exchange of songs, plays, dancing and laughter. The journey continued to Namur (La Marlagne), Belgium, where the “Centre Culturel Marcel Hitcher” hosted a pleasant concert on 27 July in the presence of several important European musical and cultural authorities who had shown their committment to the World Youth Choir project by having contributed to its
development and continuity. And on 28 July this venue hosted the WYC 09 recording session, with Catalina Prieto in charge, a young musician from Colombia and former WYC member. On 29 July, Germany was the next country to welcome us with a friendly reception at Bonn City Hall, where Sonja Greiner, General Secretary of Europa Cantat, was one of our hosts. For the Bonn Schumann Festival, the World Youth Choir had a special performance at the Schumann House and a concert at “Trinitatis” church. This concert was recorded by “Deutsche Welle”. www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4541179,00.html In Germersheim, we were welcomed at the “Jugendzentrum Hufeisen” by our hosts from the “Südpfalzlerchen” youth and children’s choir, Herxheim. Afterwards, we went to meet our host families, another opportunity to overcome the language barriers for human and cultural exchange. The venue in Germersheim was beautifully decorated with the 32 flags of the countries represented in the WYC 2009, which made the occasion even more special for the group. The next morning was filled by emotions and nostalgia for the whole choir, for we had
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