Montréal Trip 2011

Well, it's been two weeks since we've returned, and it's about time for a post about our awesome trip to Montréal. Here's the lowdown...

Wednesday - a long day in lines at both airports, but an easy 2-hour flight north. The later flight group was tucked into bed around 1:45AM EDT, which made for a short night.

Thursday - a tour of Old Montréal with costumed escorts. We saw the beautiful old buildings and learned a lot of history. After lunch in the Underground, we had a wonderful clinic with Prof. Alain Cazes at McGill University. He worked with us on three of our pieces and made lots of useful suggestions. Then we toured the school of music and saw their incredible facilities. Dinner was traditional "smoked meat sandwiches" followed by a concert by the Orchestre Metropolitain at an intimate theatre in the Outremont district. They performed a fine rendition of Bruckner's 3rd Symphony.

Friday - We began with a trip to John Rennie High School where we performed our five pieces for a very appreciative audience of over 100. Their director, Craig Hogdson, was very complimentary of our group and thanked us for providing his students an example of mature music making. Then a number of our jazzers sat in with their jazz band for a tune, much to everyone's delight. Lunch was on our own back in the old part of town, where my group was treated like treasured guests at a small sandwich shop. It was a lot of fun to practice our French with the owners. After lunch, we went to an IMAX movie and the "Science 26" exhibit at Le Centre des Sciences. It was a lot of fun watching students strap on headgear and battle each other with brainwaves to move a ball back and forth along a line. Dinner was at La Sucrerie de la Montagne, a maple sugaring shack, where everything we ate was served with maple syrup. The entertainment was old-time French Canadian fiddle music. By the end of the evening, students were drinking the syrup straight.

Saturday - The now traditional Band Trip Fun Run stepped off at 6:30AM in the 35 degree cold, with 12 hardy band students and myself. Everyone ran at least 1.5 miles, and five of us finished the 5.1 jaunt through the sleepy streets of the city. After breakfast, we went to tour the Notre Dame Basilica, a marvel of 19th-century architecture. Then we played our performance at the Montréal Tower in Olympic Park. Two of our AP French students announced our pieces "en français," and when they mentioned we were playing a Belgian march, we heard cheers. It turned out there was a group of 20-something Belgians who were in the audience. Although we never had more than a couple dozen people listening, that was enough to make my day. Afterwards, we went up the tower and saw a panoramic view of the city and the St. Lawrence River. We also toured the Olympic Stadium site, seeing the huge pool complex and the indoor stadium where the Expos used to play. We capped off our visit with some time in the Biodome, where we saw animals, birds, and plants from four different climates, beginning in the rain forest and ending in the Arctic. Our final night in Canada included an amusing performance at Le Festin du Gouverneur, where three singers cracked silly jokes and involved the audience in a taste of Old Montréal culture.

Sunday - We took a quick drive up Mont Royal, but it was drizzly, cold, and foggy--hard to see anything. Then it was off to the airport for our return trip. All in all, a great experience full of wonderful memories! You can relive it all with this slideshow and the archive of our Twitter feed.