CHOIR TRIP TO ROME

It was 7.15am on a dark and miserable Derbyshire morning, right at the end of the Lent Term, but the promise of four days in Rome was enough to keep 45 pupils and seven members of staff excited and wide awake, as we began the long journey. A visit to “one of the best service stations in the country” (according to Mr Walker!) maintained our spirits en route to Gatwick and, despite delays, by the evening we had reached the Eternal City.

Day One and our first stop was the Vatican – one of the world’s great museums, and full of priceless, breathtakingly beautiful artwork and sculptures from the last 2000 years. One of the most interesting parts of the building for me was walking through the Gallery of Maps, where instead of an ordinary atlas the Popes had maps of Italy covering the entire wall. The Sistine Chapel was our next destination. To have the opportunity to see this in person and take in the extraordinarily intricate painting all around us was a oncein-a-lifetime experience. After lunch (pizza and pasta, of course), we headed to St Peter’s Basilica, where we would later be singing for Mass. Performing in the Basilica itself was a really moving experience. Even if you are not particularly religious, to be part of a service in a place with such worldwide significance – the burial place of St Peter and the heart of the Roman Catholic Churchcreated a very special experience. It was brilliant to hear pieces that we’d been practising for months in the Beldam Hall, such as the Kyrie and O Bone Jesu, come alive in such a magnificent setting. We rounded off a memorable day with some authentic Italian gelato in town.

On the second day we headed out to Ostia Antica - the port city of ancient Rome and a fascinating archaeological site, featuring magnificent frescoes and lots of impressive mosaics. For me, the most impressive part was the large Roman amphitheatre, which gave panoramic views of all around the site for miles – and where the Reptiles and the Choir gave an impromptu performance! It was so lovely to see the supportive reaction of the public who were watching, and the impact that the music had upon everyone. In the afternoon we all headed to St Paul-Outsidethe-Walls for our second service of the tour. Despite the sermon being entirely in Italian, it was a pleasure to sing in such atmospheric surroundings. As it was our second concert, the performance was more polished and we were able to really make use of the great space around us, which allowed the music to soar. After taking the huge group photo that we needed for the school Twitter, we returned to the hotel for dinner and more gelato, then to bed to prepare for our last full day.

After breakfast, we headed to All Saints’ Anglican Church for rehearsal for the service and concert planned for later. The church itself is a Gothic Revival red-brick construction, one of the only ones in Rome itself. After a Eucharist service given to the congregation, we got to explore Rome a little bit more. It was amazing to see world-famous sites such as the

Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon in person, and to see the detailed craftmanship of the Roman artists close-up, especially in the case of the Trevi Fountain. After a lovely lunch in the cobbled streets of Rome, we headed back to the church for a rehearsal. The concert featured a much larger range of repertoire than the previous services, such as the Repton hymn Dear Lord and Father of mankind, the beautiful Bogoroditse Dyevo by Rachmaninoff, and an organ solo (Nimrod by Elgar). The concert finished with Ireland’s Greater Love hath no man - a fittingly triumphant conclusion to such a fantastic series of services and concerts. After a reception where we said goodbye to and thanked all the parents that had come to watch the services and concerts on the tour, we headed back to the hotel for - you guessed it – dinner and gelato!

After some free time on the last day, we headed back to the airport for the return journey, finally arriving in

Repton at 1am. To have performed in such distinguished places of worship in one of the most beautiful cities in the world was truly a singular experience that will stay with all of us forever. Special thanks must go to Mr Walker for organizing everything, all the staff that were with us on the tour, and also to all the many parents that came out to support us at the services and concert: it was much appreciated by all.

Harriet H (L6G)