The
Victoria High School Music Program hosted members of the Ballerup
School Orchestra (BSO) from Friday, October 13-23, 2006. We
hope we were able to repay the incredible hospitality they
showed us when the R&B Band traveled to Denmark last Spring!
FRIDAY,
OCTOBER 13, 2006
Hello to all the Denmark families back home! Well, it was
a tired looking group when Patrick Harrison and I met them
at the Vancouver Airport. We departed from the airport by
bus to the Tsawwassen Ferry terminal, then took a small British
Columbia Ferry boat to Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island and
then once again by bus to Victoria High School in Victoria.
Here they were met by their host families. By the time we
reached Victoria High School they had been traveling for some
27 to 28 hours. Needless to say falling asleep was not a problem.
-Eric Emde
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2006
Saturday was a day to sleep in and everyone did just that.
During the day the Denmark billets and their host families
had a free day. Some went shopping and others did some sightseeing.
On Saturday, we had an evening planned to see Jena Gogo and
her dad John Gogo (a famous musician in British Columbia)
at a restaurant called "Swans". But to our surprise
it was full and there was not enough room for all of us. The
older kids and the chaperones stayed to watch Jena and her
dad while the rest of us went to Mrs. Marion Stokes house.
Her daughter Carly is one of the new singers in the Vic High
Band and is one of the host families. It was a quiet evening
of talking and getting to know one another. -Eric Emde
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2006
Today everyone was still trying to recover from the long trip
but some had enough energy to go whale watching and shopping.
At 5- 8 PM, we met at Victoria High School for an evening
of music sharing, pizza and talk about the week to come. BSO
played several wonderful selections of music and were joined
by a few of the Vic High horn section: Matthew, Amy, Sean
and Megan. The audience (mostly parents and guests) loved
them! Next, the Vic High Band played a few songs with the
new band opening the set and then a combination of the old
and new band played together.
The
highlight of the evening is when Ulrik joined and sang "Treat
Her Right" with the band.! The evening ended with everyone
dancing to "Love Train".
On
very short notice (2 minutes!) party animal Niclas Lyng managed
to throw together an impromptu Sunday night gathering attended
by 5 groups of Danes (and some of their hosts) at Elizabeth
Dubney's on Gonzales Bay. Adam and Tobias even biked over
for it. A fun time was had by all.
MONDAY,
OCTOBER 16, 2006
Today, BSO met at Victoria High School. They had a quick tour
of the school and then walked to the British
Columbia Legislative buildings (the seat of government
here in BC) for an 11:00am tour. Everyone was on their own
for lunch with the afternoon free to shop in the inner harbour
area of Victoria. The new Vic High High Rhythm and Blues Band
rehearsed from 3:15 to 6:00 at the school and everyone was
welcome to come and watch. They met back at the high school
at 5:30 and spent the evening with host families or with friends.
Some went to a birthday party for Morten hosted by Jeff, Kath
and Cam Ward.
TUESDAY,
OCTOBER 17, 2006
Today there was a tour of the Royal
BC Museum at 11 AM. There was tour of the all First Nations
exhibits on the 3rd floor and of Mungo Martin House where
everyone will meet on Sunday night for a pot luck dinner and
First Nations performance.
WEDNESDAY,
OCTOBER 18, 2006
Plans for today are an afternoon concert by BSO at Monterey
Elementary School. In the evening, the group will meet at
6:30 PM for dinner at the Central
Bar and Grill with a performances from 8-10:30 PM by BSO
and a combination of both the new and old Vic High Bands and
members of The
Midnights.
THURSDAY,
OCTOBER 19, 2006
Today, BSO played a concert at Vic high School in the afternoon.
In the evening, the Ballerup School Orchestra, a 38-member
band from the Municipality of Ballerup on the outskirts of
Copenhagen, will perform at the Fairfield
United Church, 1303 Fairfield Road, on Thursday, October
19th at 7 p.m. The Danish students and their chaperones and
teachers are guests of the Victoria High School R&B Band.
The two groups met last April in Denmark, when the Vic High
band was visiting Denmark on a school trip. The band, made
up of students from Ballerup Municipality schools as well
as other community members, ranges from 13 - 21 years of age.
The concert band plays all styles of music including dance,
pop and European classical.
Eric
Emde, Victoria High School band teacher said, "The Vic
High R&B Band spent an amazing ten days in Denmark earlier
this year, as the guests of the Ballerup School Orchestra.
We invited the group to Victoria, and they are all excited
about experiencing Canadian culture." Everyone is welcome
to the concert, which takes place in the church sanctuary.
A special invitation is going out to members of Victoria's
Scandinavian community.
Admission
is by donation, with a suggested $5.00 contribution. Proceeds
from the evening will be donated to the band to help with
the costs of their visit to the Capital region.
FRIDAY,
OCTOBER 20, 2006
A large group went wale watching today and successfully saw
several orcas. A smaller group went to Vancouver with Jena
Gogo for shopping. In the evening, some of the younger kids
went ice skating and the older ones had a party at Jena's.
SATURDAY,
OCTOBER 21, 2006
This morning, another group went whale watching and a few
of the older boys attended a Brewery Tour arranged by the
Martin Family.. Later in the day, we met for a tour and BBQ
at Goldstream
Provincial Park. The tour started at 2:30 PM with a Naturalist
tour of the salmon run and other parts of the park, with a
potluck BBQ following at 4 PM. In the evening , some went
to the Galey
Farms Cornfield of Horrors while others attended parties.
SUNDAY,
OCTOBER 22, 2006
The final farewell potluck dinner was held at 6PM at Mungo
Martin House. Dale Lowden coordinated meal that everyone enjoyed.
After dinner, the performance started at around 8 PM. Our
host was George Shaunessy, who told us the history of Mungo
Martin House. "Mungo Martin House, Wawadit'la, a traditional
"big house" in Thunderbird Park, was entrusted to
the Royal BC Museum by the family of Kwakwaka'wakw Chief Mungo
Martin who also supervised its construction beginning in 1952.
The house is a copy of a big house built at Fort Rupert in
the mid-1800s. Wawadit'la, completed in 1953, is today reserved
for traditional First Nations ceremonial gatherings and is
not open to the general public. The Jonathan Hunt House, on
the museum's third floor, is open to museum visitors."
George introduced us to Lulu, who is a member of the Martin
family and an artist. She provided each Danish visitor with
a signed print of her work.
Eric
thanked the group for coming to Victoria and expressed how
much we enjoyed having them. He gave each of the host families
a bottle of Cherry Point Vineyards wine . Matthew Martin presented
three large pictures of BSO, signed on the back by each Vic
High band member. One copy is for Bjarne, one for Eric and
one will hang at Vic High. On behalf of BSO, Bodil presented
thank-you gifts to their hosts .Next, Matthew and Nicolai
played the Lur and then the dancing began! At the end of the
performance, George presented Bodil, on behalf of the First
Nations community, with a cedar paddle to remember their visit.
The festivities ended just after 9 PM, when most people went
back to the Nealis home to share one last evening together.
MONDAY,
OCTOBER 23, 2006 - Farvel!
A large group of people met at Vic High this morning to say
good-bye to their Danish friends. There were many tears and
hugs and promises to keep in touch before the bus left and
headed for the ferry.
We
hope that you had a great time in Victoria and that we were
able to show you the same hospitality that you showed us last
Spring. We wish you all a safe trip home and look forward
to keeping in touch!!!
