Tales of an Orchestra Den Mother | Part 9, Concert at Peterskirche

Wednesday, April 20: Leipzig Performance

After that morning's incident, it was good to see that The Bear had her game face on. Or, at least she seemed to have her game face on; her eyes appeared very determined.

Alte Peterskirche (Old St. Peter's Church) in Leipzig is an imposing nineteenth century Gothic church so confined by the surrounding city that getting all of it in frame was a challenge.

Though damaged during World War II, evidence of ongoing restoration was apparent. 

Poor Luke left his music stand on the bus and as it pulled away, he went chasing after it down the streets of Leipzig in his concert attire.

The performers' entrance.

Yana, Zhenya, and I helped set up chairs for the audience. This was a much larger space than what was available at the church in Berlin and, to our amazement, the citizens of Leipzig came in droves. We were told to expect about 500 people.

It was an imposingly magnificent building that lacked only a beautiful blue sky as a backdrop. 

Yana circulated this on the group chat with the comment, "Husbands Gone Wild". Must have been all the "barfing"?

As the HYSO rehearsed, Yana, Zhenya, and I went to a local store to find snacks for the bus ride to Prague the next day. We found...Batman Oreos? Not what we expected in Leipzig. We truly are part of a global community.

Photo by The Bear.

The Bear captured this panoramic of the warm-up room in Peterskirche.

During the Leipzig HYSO concert.

The HYSO carried off a high energy performance that the musicians were all proud of. The Bear's reed actually split a few measures before her duet with a bassoon, but she resourcefully swapped it out for another pre-moistened reed just in time. I was so proud of them, playing so well, so far from home, before so many people, in such a beautiful place. What an amazing experience!

Photo by Yana.

A pair of young Leipzig residents were enthralled by the whole thing. Casey, the HYSO director, was completely unaware of their presence until I shared Yana’s photo with him after the fact.

The triumphant Hogwarts students after their Leipzig performance.

Beautiful church, but the artwork was a little odd.

There was a mix-up with the buses and we did not make it back to the hotel for dinner until well after 10:00. Despite the long day and late hour, the cacophony of young musicians filled the Pentahotel restaurant with excited chatter. They had just outdone themselves in performance and they knew it.