Day 3, Silk and the Hangzhou Angel Philharmonic Choir

After being here a couple of days, one things is clear.  The internet in China is really spotty, and sometimes impossible to get on.  So for those keeping up with this blog, the slow postings is not for a lack of trying to post, it's just really hard to get connected and then bypass all the blocks.  All the kids have noticed that too.  But there are ways :)

Anyway, I have to say that yesterday was an absolutely incredible day.  The morning began with a visit to a silk museum in Shanghai.  Wow.  The things that a worm can produce.  We were shown the life cycle of a silk worm and even able to hold some worms in our hand - if we really wanted to.  They showed us how they obtain the silk from the cocoons and create thread, and then how that gets turned into comforters and blankets and clothes.  After that, we were able to actually browse their store and buy as much silk as we wanted (of course).  Some of us went away with pretty good hauls, as the prices don't even compare with back home.

Then we visited the Yun Garden.  A beautiful little historical grounds in the middle of Shanghai, along with shops and older buildings.  A great peek into old China.

Then it was off to Hangzhou, a 3hr bus ride west, taking us out of Shanghai.  Hangzhou is reputed to be one of China's most beautiful cities.  Unfortunately for us, it rained the entire time we were there - making it difficult to get a full view of the city.  But once we saw where we were singing, no one cared about the weather.

The concert hall is an absolutely beautiful building in the heart of Hangzhou, and is a phenomenal place to sing.  The acoustics are fantastic.  However, we were a little taken aback by the extremely steep and narrow risers, which we ended up not using.  The main entrance of the building is exceedingly grand and sparked awe in everyone.

We shortened our program because we were doing a combined performance with the Hangzhou Angel Philharmonic Choir - considered one of the best children's choirs in China.  They had sat in on our rehearsal and paid attention to what we were doing.  Both Philip and I had great discussions with several area choir directors about repertoire, technique, etc.  It was great making new connections with colleagues around the world.

The concert began with PTV performing the first half.  The 2nd half began with the children's choir.  And oh my, were they amazing!!  They looked absolutely adorable on stage and their music was extremely well done.  I was completely floored that a children's choir - grades 3s and 4s, could perform repertoire like that so accurately and convincingly.  The girls choir followed and sounded equally impressive and looked beautiful to match.  PTV was able to sit in the hall and watch, as the venue reserved the best seats in the house for us.  All of our choristers took note and our second half was the best I have ever heard our choirs sound.  It was such a joy to be a part of that.  At the end of the concert we combined the choirs together to perform "Mo Li Hua," which garnered just as much enthusiasm here as it did in Shanghai.  All the choristers exchanged gifts on stage, got to know each other, took selfies, and left the hall feeling like they had just experienced something greater than themselves.  It created an incredible buzz in our choirs.  And this is what tours are all about.