The Hills Are Alive (With the Sound of Music): A Panorama Sunset

3/24/14

Hello everybody!

Today was a very exciting day! We started off touring the house/academy of Franz Liszt, an incredibly famous Hungarian composer. We learned that he not only taught his pupils for free, but that he also gave free concerts in his personal concert hall. Talk about a legend! The tour was an emotional one for our fabulous teachers, who even got to play one of Liszt's glass pianos--a piano the great composer touched himself. The singers also took advantage of the space, and gave an impromptu performance in Liszt's concert hall. The acoustics were beautiful, and we all enjoyed singing both "Ubi Caritas" and "Ave Maria"--two group favorites. Most of us then helped ourselves to purchasing some of Liszt's music in the gift shop--if we're going to splurge on a music trip, it might as well be in the house of one of the greatest composers of all time!

After lunch, we found ourselves winding up the hills of Budapest, headed to a senior center for our second performance of the trip. After a bit of difficulty setting up those world-traveling bells, the concert was underway and was a huge success. Afterwards, one of our audience members pulled out her own Hungarian old-fashioned guitar, and treated us to a performance of her own. We then enjoyed socializing with the audience over cookies and a gorgeous skyline (pictured below).

Finally, we ventured to dinner, served in an old Hungarian military fort. The breathtaking view of the city was enhanced, as we arrived to dinner just in time to take many pictures in front of the sunset. As we ate our delicious meal, city lights soon found their way into the dimly lit room, making for an unforgettable evening.

Tomorrow, we head to the much-anticipated Kodlay School, a music school. Kodlay, another Hungarian composer, composed Esti Dal, the Hungarian song that our singers sing at every concert (to rave reviews)! We are currently preparing our short speeches about going to Baldwin to present to the students tomorrow.

Hard to believe that our time in Budapest is drawing to a close. Wednesday morning we are headed towards the hills of Austria!

Wishing you, as always, my BudaBEST,

Erica