Tonight we gave our formal concert at the Vienna International Music and Arts Center. We missed our wonderful Margot, Zora, and Lillian, and yet we persevered! Everyone sang beautifully and we were joined by former SF Opera Guild student, Katleen Dugas, now a professional singer in Vienna! The audience was small, yet very engaged and appreciative. When we came home we had a hybrid cast party with our infirmed Scouts joining us by zoom. It was an inspiring ending to a dyn

We had a very dynamic and bustling trip from Melk to Vienna, two trains, lots of luggage, and getting to know the U-Bahn in the city. This brought us to the most luxurious hotel yet--a great place to spend our last few days (or longer--read on...) Yesterday we checked in, had a great time exploring the stalls and savories at the Nachsmarkt and then got back on the train to Schonbrunn, the summer home of the Hapsburgs who ruled Austria for 700 years. We explored the palace

What a day this has been! From the early-morning wakeup at 6:00 a.m. and frantic last-minute packing to wishing Coco a happy birthday with apricot-filled crepes, we have had a unique experience on our first (and only) day in Melk! The train ride was quite eventful, as we managed to get on our first train but due to delays had to find another train, one an hour later, to catch. After our safe arrival in Melk Bahnhof (train station), we settled down in our charming hotel, Hotel

Today's rainy conditions did not stop the Opera Scouts from continuing to explore the city of Salzburg. We began the day with a tour of the city's opera house. The three stages are rented by the Festspielhaus Salzburg Festival each summer, but the stages are used by other performers during the year for plays, orchestral concerts, and Mozart's operas. We also had an impromptu rehearsal in the Mozart Concert Hall at the Opera. After a delightful tour, we had lunch as a group at

During our excursion out and about on the Sound of Music Tour, we journeyed a little ways away outside of the bustling city center of Salzburg and into the grandeur and breathtaking beauty of the Austrian countryside. Seeing the glistening, blanketed white mountains whizz past, while we all sang along to the Sound of Music was truly a magical experience. It felt incredibly surreal, as though we were somehow transported into a glittering winter wonderland, all the while learni

Early this morning a troupe of young artists descended upon my township. They were humming tunes that seemed vaguely familiar and asking all sorts of questions about me and my family as if they knew us personally. After a snowy walk from the train station and lunch at Brau Restaurant Imlauer, they marched through town, posing at the Mirabell Gardens, pausing outside my birthplace, catching snowflakes on their tongues and singing in the Dom Cathedral where I played the organ

After a delay and very long flight, the SFO group finally arrived in Paris. We will be meeting the other half of our party in Munich! It did not take long for enterprising Scouts to sniff out the patisseries at CDG airport and relish in their culinary deliciousness. Featured below, Coco and her select Macarons from laduree. Her recommendations: Black sesame and Marie Antoinette. 18 Euro for 6 and just 20 Euro for 12. Many other Scouts soon followed suit.