High Notes From Sweden!

Today we got to spend a lot of time with the children who go to the Adolf Fredriks School.  We got to work with the fourth graders in small groups and talk to them about New York and the USA, and they shared with us about Stockholm.  After we learned about each other's cultures, we played a fun game of charades and exchanged small gifts with one another.  There are so many children in this school, and between spending time with them in their classrooms and staying with their families, we have felt so fortunate to be able to be completely immersed in the experience of what it's like to live in Sweden.  Everyone is so nice!

-Ashley, 14

YPC Choristers | Adolf Fredriks Let The Future Sing International Choral Festival

 We're about to go into our second concert!  We performed two pieces this morning as part of the morning assembly, and tonight is the Cavalcade Concert - all six invited choirs are performing.  The choirs are from Armenia, Canada, China, Estonia, Hungary - and the United States of America (us!)  I'm especially excited to perform "Run Children Run" and our step dance tonight - and then we have to prepare for more concerts that we're performing tomorrow and the day after.  So far, the tour has been really fun and amazing.  Our homestay families are making us feel so welcome, and Stockholm is a beautiful city.  It has been so cool to meet not just the children from Sweden, but the choristers from all over the world who have come together for this festival.

-Maud, 14

I came on this trip as one of the few Concert Choristers joining Cantare, and I already feel really lucky to be part of it for so many reasons - both musical and social.  One of my favorite parts has been that we have learned a lot of different countries' folk songs that we might not otherwise be exposed to, by hearing choirs from those countries sing them - and even teach them to us.  The people I've met here - both the Swedish people and the people from the other choirs from around the world - are some of the nicest people I have ever met.  The other visiting choirs are so unbelievably talented - each singer has a remarkable voice and they come together to create these stunning sounds.  It's simply inspiring.  I have been particularly fascinated by meeting and hearing the choir from China, especially after singing a song in Chinese by Bright Sheng at the Transient Glory Symposium just this past February.  I know that my new friends from around the world that I'm meeting here are going to be people I learn from and stay friends with for a very long time.

-Victoria, age 16