Music Tour 2010
On Saturday 11 September, 28 very excited girls and five members of staff met at Melbourne Airport to board the Qantas flight taking us to New York, Boston, Montreal and Los Angeles.
After the 22 hour journey, we arrived in New York tired but elated to be in one of the world’s greatest cities. The next three days included a cruise around Manhattan Island, shopping on Fifth Avenue, Soho and Times Square, West Side Story on Broadway, touring Radio City Music Hall, and visiting Central Park, Grand Central Station and the World Trade Centre site. In between all this the girls managed to fit in two performances!
Our next stop was the Dana Hall School in the leafy suburb of Wellesley, about 30 minutes drive from downtown Boston. The girls experienced home stays for the first time and were excellent ambassadors for Ruyton. They spent time in class, and performed to the Dana Hall School girls, and to Montrose School. They also spent time with their hosts visiting Boston sights and participated in the famous Duck Tour.
We then travelled to Montreal, where we were hosted by two schools, The Study and The Queen of Angels Academy. It was a very different cultural experience being in the province of Quebec: we were greeted in French and exposed to French culture all the time. The musical highlight whilst in Montreal was a combined rehearsal and mini concert with the young people from the EMNBS Chorale. It was a special night, - Ms Jane Summers and their choir director, Ms Patricia Abbott, led both groups in warm ups and the rehearsal of new songs. At the end of the night we performed for one another, with our girls singing some of their repertoire in French, which was enthusiastically received.
Early on Friday 24 September, we flew to Los Angeles via Dallas for a brief visit, fitting in the Santa Monica Pier, Rodeo Drive and Hollywood Boulevard. On our final day, the 35 degree heat at Disneyland did not prevent us enjoying all that was on offer. Then it was straight to the airport for our journey home.
Congratulations to all the girls for their co-operation and positive attitudes. Sincere thanks go to Ms Jane Summers, Ms Sonja Horbelt, Mr Shaun Jones and Mrs Amanda Russell for leading the tour.