CYO & CYCh Tour 2018

I have been trying to remember how many NMPAT tours I have been on and I have worked out that it's eight!

Of the previous seven there are always special moments and particular things unique to each trip that help you remember the tours with great affection:

2005 - CYCB & CYBB Italy
Three weeks before my wedding day!?!
Lots of laughs with Mr Green and Mr Bickerdike.
Massed water polo matches in the pool.
Terrible chat up lines from the CYCB alto clarinet player to a school group from Italy - he told them he was "in a band"; they asked "what do you play?"; he replied "lead guitar"!?! 😒

2007 - CYCB & CYBB Poland
Potholes Backpain Potholes Backpain Potholes Backpain Potholes Backpain Potholes Backpain Potholes Backpain Potholes Backpain
Beautiful church concerts

2009 - CYCB & CYBB Hungary
Two students having to return early due to illness - think it was swine flu?! Dealing with projectile vomit in concourse of Budapest airport. 
Terrifying 2am trip to A&E with a brass player (it had to be a brass player...) to get stitches in a deep cut from a broken window?!  Our taxi driver knew no English, and my Hungarian is non-existent!
An unbelievable storm, with branches from trees in hotel grounds being blown off!

2011 - CYCB & CYBB Germany
Serious one here - sitting with a student when we had to break the news that his dad had sadly passed away whilst we were on the tour and trying to offer any form of comfort to him...

2012 - CYO Italy
Peter Dunkley's final tour - Scheherezade - lake Como
Van driving fun and games with Mr Green

2014 - CYO Germany
Nerves! First time organising a tour with Richard Roper
Dresden (beautiful city!)

2016 - CYO & CYCh Spain
Nerves!
Van driving fun and games with Mr Draper
Burgos and Salamanca (both beautiful cities)
Students looking after my children's two Beanie Babies and blogging with them!

However the one thing common to every NMPAT tour is the unbelievably high musical standards achieved by the students taking part and this tour has been no exception! Both CYO and CYCh have performed to levels that are way beyond their years.  It has been an absolute pleasure to have supported them during our time here and to have listened to every concert and witness the reactions from the audiences (and the students) to the music that they created.  It has been wonderful so thank you very much to every student!!

When an academic year finishes and we inevitably lose our Y13s it is easy to panic and think that things will never be the same and that we may not reach the same performance levels in the future.  But it is a testament to the tiered system that we operate throughout the Trust that as our much-loved and valued 'oldies' depart, there are younger players who have been looking up to them and admiring what they have achieved who will step up to the plate and "fill the shoes"...and so the cycle will begin again in September.

So for those who are leaving we did share their tears on Wednesday evening because for many of them their journey with NMPAT has been a long one, and the memories and friendships they have made along the way will help to shape them into the adults they will become: that is one of the enduring beauties of music (and why it must be supported in schools) -- it is a subject that deals in "We"; in collective effort, sharing, supporting, empathy...basically lots of the qualities that make people nice and make life better for everyone!

And for those of you who are not leaving us just yet, I hope that the memories and friendships you have made on this tour can be used positively to inspire you to even bigger and better things in 2018/19 - the future of NMPAT is in your hands!

I must point out, thank and congratulate Richard, Beth and Tim for the stellar work that they have done all year with these two groups; they have been superb directors for the choir and orchestra and the students have been fortunate to have such high quality musicians and educators to work with them each week, seriously well done guys!

My final, and I think special, thanks must go to rest of the tour staff and my amazing and wonderful colleagues - Hannah, Matt, John, Chris, Andy, Sonia, Corinne, Meghan, Jon and Adrian.

Without their agreement to give up nine days of their time, have next to no sleep, deal with 119 teenagers (and the associated needs that come with them!), 3 conductors (and the associated needs that come with them 😂😂😂!!) and put up with a neurotic, nervy, stressy (and at times disorganised) mess that has been me on this tour then it simply would not have been possible!

On behalf of all of the students (and their parents back in the UK) and conductors I'd like to say a huge THANK YOU to you for your support throughout the tour, you have been brilliant!👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

Best wishes for a lovely summer holidays, I look forward to seeing some of you around NMPAT in the new year, and to those moving on good luck and I hope to hear great things about your future journeys, you're all wonderful people!

That's it from me, looking forward to seeing my wife and my boys very soon!  XxxxLue lisää