Montreal Music Trip
Montreal Music Trip
Bright and early on the morning of April 26th, the students of Assumption’s Concert Band and Vocal Ensemble, along with Ms O’Neill, Ms Lynne-Davies and Chaplain Wayne, set out for their three day trip to Montréal. The event was highly anticipated and everyone was in great spirits as we began our eight hour drive. When we arrived, we were all very impressed by the beauty of old Montréal. We were welcomed by cobblestone streets, horse-drawn carriages and the tents of Cirque du Soleil. The students first dined at a very elegant steakhouse called Restaurant du Vieux Port and afterwards were treated to a three hour tour of both old and new Montréal. On the tour, we learned about how the city flag was formed, how Montréal was discovered and how it got its name. We got to see many different types of buildings and structures. The tour was ended with a trip to the top of beautiful Mount Royal, which overlooks the city lights. After a very long day of traveling and sightseeing we arrived at St. Martin Hotel, where we would spend the next two nights, at about 10:00 in the evening.
The morning of April 27th brought a continental breakfast and a performance at Jules Verne Elementary School. There, we played in a packed gymnasium with great success. We then transferred to Faubourg Ste. Catherine for lunch and time to go shopping. The group of students then split up. The 27 Vocal Ensemble students participated in a workshop with the talented singers from the Montréal Opera Company, while the 24 Concert Band members visited one of Montréal’s oldest music shops, Arcambault Music Store. At 2:30 pm, the Concert Band then went to Point-A-Calliere in old Montréal, where they received a very interesting archaeological tour of the remains of five distinct periods of settlement in Montréal. The tour covered more than 1000 years of history and also included a sound and light presentation. The two groups then met at 5:00 pm to enjoy a theatrical dinner with live entertainment at Cabaret du Roy. The group of students and chaperones then went to Laser Quest for 2 hours where everyone had a blast in the futuristic environment of laser tag. After the exhausting day we returned to the hotel about 10:15pm.
The morning came quickly and started with a visit to the Notre Dame Basilica where we saw the excellently carved wood and breathtaking beauty of the entire room. After exiting the church we were given another chance to shop before heading to the McGill University for a 60min workshop on how we can become better musicians by using our brains and knowledge of music to add that little extra that makes our music great. After the very helpful and insightful workshop we departed for home taking our new lessons and memories with us on our journey to become stronger and more confident musicians
Written by: Jamison Massicotte
