The trip was just fantastic!

What a wonderful experience this tour was. The kids were amazing. The concerts were fantastic, and the group had a wonderful time together. There are many ways to experience the whole thing. Glen Rosendale's daily blog does a wonderful job of capturing the experience (http://gunn-tour.blogspot.com), and of course Don Anderson's photo gallery is amazing (http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/1C7a6tBl/5425871/3924461). Don also did dozens of videos which he has posted. They are fun, short clips, sort of like watching home movies from when I was a kid. Check it out! (http://gunn2009prague-viennatour.blogspot.com).
There are also many recordings that we are still working on posting. Those will be available soon.

Best,

Bill

Double Check Airport Chaperone Assignments

Please double check the Airport Chaperone Assignments. I made at least two mistakes, and I want to make sure there are not more. The mistakes should be fixed now. Refer to the link here, not the written one in today's packet.
Thanks!

Final Announcements

1) Luggage Tags: Please be sure to fill out all the info and put the Kingsway luggage tags on your checked piece of luggage and your carry on.
2) ID Necklace: Please keep this somewhere where you can access it easily when asked to. Sometimes when we are being served in a restaurant, or being admitted to a particular sightseeing place, that ID necklace will be your ID that gets you in. Please don’t lose it, or wear it in some way other than hanging around your neck.
3) Please keep the tour booklet with you at all times. This will be invaluable should you get separated from the group.
4) Passport copies: Please be sure to have a copy of your passport tucked away somewhere in your luggage. If you lose your passport, it is very helpful in securing a temporary passport if you have a copy of the original.
5) Attire: There are only 3 things you cannot do without on this tour: your passport, your folder of music and your attire. Please check and double check that every bit of it is in your suitcase. Please be sure to pack a lightweight suitbag labeled with your name on it, for keeping your attire in on the way to concerts etc.
6) Your music: Do not leave rehearsal today unless you have every bit of the repertoire in your folder. I recommend at least 2 or 3 pencils in there too.
7) Airport: Please arrive at SFO 3 hours before your departure. You need to check in with me, not your chaperone, and get in line to check your luggage. You will need your passport to check in. The tickets are electronic, not paper tickets. You will then be given a boarding pass. DO NOT LOSE THAT! You can then head on through security and meet your chaperone at the gate, one hour before departure. At that time you will check in with your Air Chaperone. These are different than the land chaperones, since some adults are land only participants and have made their own air plans. It is extremely important when you land at Heathrow that you stick with your chaperone. It is a little complicated making the connecting flight to Prague, and your chaperone has detailed instructions on how to do this. Stay with them!
8) Passport/Money Safety: Please discuss with your parents the plan for keeping your passport and money safe. There are pouches you can buy that hang around your neck under your shirt, or money belts your can wear under your clothes, or fanny packs are not bad either since they are right in front of you at all times.
9) Make sure you have talked with your bank about your debit card working, and your cell phone carrier about functionality and rates while you are there. It can get really expensive if people start using their phones and texting etc while there. Really expensive!
10) Behavior: Please be aware of where you are at all times, and what behavior is or might not be appropriate. When you are on a plane, in a restaurant, at rehearsals, etc. please be aware that there are paying customers all around you, and you need to be aware of the volume levels of conversations, and overall appropriateness of behavior. Especially in the combined rehearsals with our guest conductors, I expect nothing but 100% of your attention on the rehearsal at all times. You should never rehearse without a pencil, and you should be marking scores every time they stop to correct you. Stopping the music is never an invitation for you to talk!
11) Check the packing list, as well as the blog entries and the Tour section on our website before you pack. There is a lot of good info there on size and weight of luggage etc.
12) Bookmarks for parents: In addition to my blog, http://GunnChoirTour.blogspot.com, there are two important sites to bookmark. Glen Rosendale does a great job of blogging during our trips. His blog is http://gunn-tour.blogspot.com and it is linked to the GunnChoir website under Choir Gallery. Don Anderson will be posting photos at http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/1C7a6tBl/5425871/3924461 which is linked to the blogs and our website as well.
13) There is a new Chaperone/Bus list. This is still subject to change. Bus 1 has become very full, and I may decide to move one group from Bus 1 over to Bus 3 just so everyone can breath a little. For now, stick with the bus assignments as they are on the paper. Please double check the difference between your Air Chaperone and your Land Chaperone too so there is no confusion.
14) I made you a little card with chaperone cell numbers, please keep that on you at all times too.
15) Please be aware that when you are out to lunch in your chaperone groups, that tips and taxes add a lot to the amount you saw on the menu. There are always people who try to just pay the amount they saw on the menu, and then others get stuck putting in way more than they should. You should always count on it being about 20% more than the amount you saw when you sit down at a table with more than a few people.

I think that’s enough for now.

See you tomorrow for the start of a fabulous adventure!

Best,

Bill Liberatore

P.S. I am linking the new Bus/Chap List here, check it out, and I am posting the Air Chaperone Assignments as well. I will have hard copies of all of this at rehearsal on Friday.

Today's Email

Hi. I wanted to send out the pdf of the tour booklet the students received at the rehearsal on June 1. I heard from 2 parents yesterday who have not seen it, so I thought I better send out an electronic copy for everyone. It has all the info in one place, hotels, itineraries, etc plus a whole lot of tour questions answered. I will have at least one more email in the next 24 hours with a final checklist of things to be sure of but I thought I would get this out right away. It is too large a file to send as an attachment, so I have posted it here for you to download
http://drop.io/GunnTourBooklet.
I also wanted to let you know that I heard from Don Anderson this morning. He is already in Prague. He said it was thunderstorms and hail today. You may want to consider that as you pack.
Last but not least, if you have any attire issues (broken pearls etc.) the attire moms, God bless them, are coming to the rehearsal tomorrow. Please bring any attire problems with you. The rehearsal is from 12:00-3:00. Not optional, no excuses. Following the rehearsal there is a celebration of life for Stephen Carothers at Mitchell Part at 4:30 for those of you who knew him or Megan and would like to come. Some of Megan's friends are singing Surrounded at the celebration, and I know she would love to have any of you who she knows, or who knew her father, come join in the singing of that. If you would like to sing with us, but don't know it, I can teach it to you tomorrow. The dress is casual so you don't need to get dressed like it's a funeral or anything.
OK, 48 hours to go. Yikes!
Best,
Bill Liberatore

Upcoming Rehearsals

Hey. Great concert last night. I have posted all the recordings online, and I hope when you have a chance you will take a listen. (http://drop.io/GunnSpringChoral09). A lot of it is just great. There are some places that need some tweaking, but we still have 3 rehearsals left. Yeah!
Monday: Treble Choir 7:55-8:45 Concert Choir 12:25-1:15. I hope the seniors will think about coming to the E period rehearsal. There are still so many sections of the big required pieces that we are shaky on, plus we need to finalize the set for the synagogue concert.
Wednesday: Treble Choir 8:00-9:40
Thursday: Concert Choir 8:30-10:10 (Seniors are welcome, but I totally understand you not coming.)
Friday: ALL Tour Participants 12:00-3:00. This is NOT optional.

Please make time every day to review your music, especially the required pieces we are doing with the guest conductors and orchestra: Sing Unto God, Zadok, Missa Brevis, Te Deum.

Attire Checks

According to my last report from the boosters, the following tour participants have not done the attire check. Please arrive a few minutes early tonight so I can check your attire (hems, shoes, etc.)
Thanks.
Bill
Elle Allen, Tamar Cartun, Tarina Cooper, Anna Escher, Ilana Magill, Samantha Riley, Catherine Volpe, Clara Zahorsky, Ben Bowmer, Rafael Brazon, McKay Daines, Trevor Gearin, Isaac Klapholz-Brown, Derek Lai, Michael Norcia, Kale Price, Gabe Rivera, Dane Sims

Permission Slips and $32

Hello all.
This is such a difficult day for a lot of our students, and I hate to have to be a nag in the midst of it all, but.....as of this morning I do not have permission slips from 64 of you, and I am missing the $32 check (made out to Gunn Choir Boosters) that I need to pay the required PAUSD insurance bill from 52 of you!!!! It is really difficult to pull all this together when so many people are not cooperating. Adult participants, all this pertains to you too. Every participant turns in the forms, every participant pays the $32.
What can I do to have this wrapped up by tomorrow?
The forms where given out at the meeting. If you did not attend the meeting, they can be found at GunnChoir.org under the Tour FAQ section. I have a lot to do with all this stuff once it is complete, so please do not make me call you over the weekend and force you to drive it to my house.
Thanks.
Bill
According to my records (I apologize for any errors) I have the $32 from the following 72 people (that's 52 short!):
bianchini e
bianchini t
boselli
bowmer
boyd
brown
burns
carstens t
christel a
christel s
christensen
cooper
daines
ellis
escher a
escher r
freeman rachel
freeman robyn
giang
gold
graham c
graham l
graham s
gratta
grimwood
hall
hammer
hart lauren
hart rene
hawkinson
hayward
hwang
johnson
kao
kelly l
kelly r
klapholz brown
kreps
lai
lee
leong
li
likins n
likins t
magill
melese e
michelson
morales
neumeyer
nguyen
paddock
paulasa
peckenpaugh
pederson
pienknagura ami
pienknagura h
powell
rivera
roodman
rustagi
scrivner
shomron
steck
thapa
volpe c
volpe j
volpe m
welch
welton
wendel e
wise
yung

According to my records I have permission slips from the following 60 people (that's 64 short!!!)
allen
bianchini e
bianchini t
bob-waksberg
bowmer
boyd
brazon
brown
burns
bustos
caressi
christel s
christensen
cliff
escher a
escher r
freeman rachel
freeman robyn
giang
gibbons
graham l
gratta
grimwood
hall (medical in, missing behavior contract)
hammer
hayward
kao
kelly
kelly r
klapholz brown
kreps
lai
lang
latour
lee
leong
li
light
melese e
neumeyer
nguyen
norcia
paddock
paulasa
peckenpaugh
pederson
pienknagura ami
pienknagura h
powell
price
putney
riley
rivera
roodman
scrivner
shomron
simonetti
sims
wise
yanofsky
yung

If your name is not on these lists, please take care of this immediately. Thanks.

Flight Groups Updated

Hey. It came to my attention today that the link here was to an old draft of the flight groups! The sheet I passed out at the tour meeting was correct, and it is now linked here to the blog. Please make sure you double check which flight you belong on!
Best,
Bill Liberatore

A Quick Checklist

Here is a quick checklist of things you should have done or should be doing.

1) Turned in both permission slips with all necessary signatures, etc. ?
2) Turned in the $32 check (per participant, young or older, parent or student) made out to "Gunn Choir Boosters" for the required PAUSD insurance fee?
3) Turned in a copy of your passport? (only a few still missing. Yeah!)
4) Checked the repertoire list to make sure you have a copy of every piece?
5) Had your attire checked by the boosters?
6) Spent 15-20 minutes per day on your music? There are a lot of helpful resources here on the blog to help you be prepared musically. Please take advantage of them. We want the tour concerts to be AMAZING!
7) Made a plan with your parents for ATM use, cell phone use, etc while on the trip?
8) Walking shoes?????

Need help? Let me know. The Boosters and I really want this to be wonderful for you. We have all spent a lot of time and energy making this happen, and if you are having any problems with any of it, let us know so we can help you.

Best,
BL

Check it out!!!

Check out the new link! There is now a link to a playlist of everyone's part to Zadok! Not only is your part played on the piano against an orchestral accompaniment, it has bonus tracks for when you know it better of just choral parts, just choral parts with orchestra, and then a final track of just the orchestra! It's really great, and will help so much with this last piece we have yet to learn.
I want to remind Treble Choir that all Treble Choir Sops are to learn Sop2, and all Treble Choir altos are to learn Alto2.
It doesn't need to take a bunch of time. Just 10 minutes a day with the score in front of you, and you will be up to speed on this in no time.
I also posted a link to the parts to El Yivneh for any guys who need to brush up on that.
Best,
BL
P.S. Passport copies? Permission slips? Walking shoes? Folders with all the necessary music in it?
PAUSD insurance money ($32)?

Baggage Limits

Hi. I just got an email from a parent who was looking into baggage. On British Airways a checked piece of luggage cannot weigh more than 51 pounds. If it does, you have to pay $45. If it weighs more than 70 pounds, you cannot check it! Good incentive to pack light! You can go to the British Airways website for more luggage info. http://www.britishairways.com/travel/bagchk/public/en_gb.

Sheet Music/Changing Money/Attire Check

Sheet Music: Here is the repertoire list for the tour. Please check your folder for any missing piece, and please email me ASAP if you need replacement copies of anything. You must have your own copy of everything (and a pencil) in rehearsal every day. If you let me know what you are missing, I can have it ready for you when you arrive Tuesday morning.
Concert Choir: Hava Nashira, Locus Iste, Beati, Set Me as Seal
Ave, Y'susum Midbar
Chamber Singers: Sim Shalom, Sh'ma Yisrael, Sicut Cervus, Salmo,
I Have Longed, Richte mich Gott (Psalm 43),
Hark I Hear the Harps Eternal, The Cuckoo
Women of the Choir (Concert and Treble):
Tzor Te'udah, Lo Yisa Goy
Men of the Choir:
El Yivneh Hagalil
Combined Choirs:
Go Down Moses, City Called Heaven, Elijah Rock
Sing Unto God, Zadok the Priest
Haydn Te Deum, Haydn Missa Brevis

Money: Hi. I think I created a little confusion with the money changing thing. Let's everyone just hold tight on this and don't contact the guy at Travelex for now. I am going to set something up with him where perhaps anyone who wants to leave with some changed money will bring me a set amount of American cash and I will do one big transaction with him. He does not want 100 people calling him and placing individual orders, and he has to know in advance how much cash to have on hand. Anyway, sit tight on that subject until I get back to you.

Attire Checks: If you did not have your attire with you on Thursday, you need to bring it this Wednesday and have your attire checked at the beginning of lunch. I can't keep asking the parent volunteers to come over and over again, plus we are running out of time on ordering replacements for those of you having attire issues. Please do your best to show up Wed at lunch in the attire. If you have a problem getting it to school, talk to me and we'll figure out a way.
We want you to feel comfortable and to look great!

Trip Updates/ Thursday, May 21, 2009

Rehearsals
We have so much music to be ready for, and so little time left. Every rehearsal has to count. Please do your best to be in attendance at every single one. As of tomorrow, you will not be allowed in rehearsal without your folder. If you are missing any pieces, you must get them from me today. I have to do it this way because of the number of students coming to rehearsal every day without a folder has grown to a proportion that is just unacceptable. You need to be marking your score throughout rehearsal, being responsible for every artistic choice we make, and more importantly circling the parts you are getting wrong so you can put some time into them and fix them. It is discouraging when there is so much about to happen and so many of you are not only not working on your part outside of class, memorizing etc, you aren't even marking a single thing in your music in class. There is no such thing as the choral art without your own marked score.
In addition to the two weeks of in class rehearsal that we have left, we are having 2 added rehearsals for all tour participants. Monday, June 1, 6:30-9:00 and Friday June 12, 11:00-2:00. These are really important. If you cannot attend either of them, you will need to come in and sing your part individually for me so that I know you put in those practice hours on your own. You won't sing on the tour if you don't attend these and then do not sing for me individually as a make up.

Passports
Our tour company still does not have passport copies from the following. This is urgent and I would like the copy by tomorrow please.
Nick Yanofsky
Naomi Shomron
Sam Riley
Gabriel Rivera
Shivani Rustagi
Sam Putney
Sarah Powell
Erin Piper
Brooke Peckenpaugh
Kayla Neumeyer
Kit Miller
Alicia Michelson
Britania Light
Julia Li
Taylor Johnson
Sam Hayward
Ava Hawkinson
Clara Zahorsky
Ilana Magill
Mariam Helmy
Isaac Klapholz-Brown
Currency Information
Some really good info about currency from Mrs. Ellis.
"I went to Stanford Shopping Center today after school and visited the foreign currency exchange across from the travel store.
I inquired about purchasing $100. worth of Krouna = Czech Republic. The woman behind the counter asked about my visit and I mentioned that a group was going from this area. She is planning on having Czech currency at the store after June 1-13 with no charge to us. If the students or the chaperones want some Krouna to have when they arrive, it will be available there after June 1. To reserve the Krouna, call 321-3309 at Travelex. I know a lot of us purchased Euros for the trip to Italy there. The clerk would appreciate having a weeks notice for a pre-order about a week in advance of our departure."

PAUSD Insurance
I meant to explain this to you all at the trip meeting, but I forgot. The School District is required by their insurance carrier to charge us a small fee for the added insurance necessary to go on a school sponsored trip like this. It is not much, $3.20 per day or $32.00. I wish the Boosters could just cover this for you, but when you multiply it by 124 it is a lot. I will need a check from each participant for $32.00 made out to Gunn Choir Boosters. If we could all try to remember this right away it would be great (like tomorrow or Tuesday please).

Chaperone Groups
Just a heads up that these are still being tinkered with. I am trying to get everyone where they feel most comfortable. Please be aware that the experience is much more fluid in terms of who you are with than it looks on paper. Yes, you are on your assigned bus (but we are not on busses that much) and yes you will travel in those groups for city tours, but a lot of the time, especially in rehearsal and performances and meals, free time in the hotel etc, you are free to mingle just like any choir activity. I think it looks on paper like we are separated in to 10 groups all the time and the actual tour experience doesn't feel like that a lot of the time.

A Celebration of Life for Stephen Carothers will be held on Friday, June 12 at 4:30 pm in Mitchell Park. I know a lot of you know Megan well, and certainly a lot of us parents worked closely with Dulce over the last 3 years. I am sure it will be a wonderful celebration of his life. I hope you can come.

Problems? Contact me. This is a crazy time of year and there is a lot to take care of. If you need help getting it all done, ask. I can work with you on your part outside of class, or we can record parts you don't know. We have got the greatest bunch of parent boosters you could ever ask for, and they are ready to help you in any way. We just want this experience to be something you will remember your whole life, and in order for that to happen there is a lot of pre-planning and work that has to be done now in order for this to happen.

Best,
Bill Liberatore

P.S. SHOPPING: There are lot of sales going on this weekend. It might be the perfect time to study that packing list and think about pulling together the stuff you don't have, especially comfortable walking shoes!

Thursday, May 14

Sunday, 5/17. Trip Meeting. All student participants plus one parent. (Both parents are welcome if they want to come, but only one is required. )
5:00-6:30 PM Gunn Library.
There is a lot to sort out and share,
so be there or be square!

P.S. Don't miss the One Acts!!

Wednesday, May 13

Happy Star Testing! We had a great chaperone's meeting last night. It is a terrific group we are traveling with and I know we are going to have an amazing experience! Please remember to mention to your parents that we have a big trip meeting this Sunday at 5:00 in the Gunn Library. Robotics is having a fundraiser in Spangenberg at the same time so parking might be tricky. You may want to consider parking in the neighborhoods and walking in, or riding a bike. The library is the very front corner of the campus. We will be going over all the forms, the itinerary, packing list, room assignments, etc.
See you soon!
Best,
BL

Welcome! With so much going on in the coming weeks, I thought I should start posting my daily announcements concerning the tour, as well as links to the various recordings and resources, so that if you are absent you can immediately find out what is going on. Important things happening this week: 1) Celebrating your amazing performances at CMEA WHOOO HOOO! Download the recordings at drop.io/GunnCMEA09 2) Chaperones meeting this Tuesday at 5:30 in the choir room. 3) Full Group Tour meeting next Sunday, 5:00 PM. Location TBA.