The Paris tour was anticipated to be extremely exciting, and managed to live up to the high bar. After arriving via Eurostar, the entire choir took the Metro straight to Saint-Eustache, our first venue to sing at. After a rehearsal, and a long (nevertheless immensely enjoyed) trip to the Lego shop, it was time for the first concert, ending with ‘Upon Your Heart’ by Eleanor Daley, a Quirister favourite.

The days that followed included a trip to the Eiffel Tower, Place du Trocadero, the Arc du Triomphe, and more. These were all greatly appreciated by Quiristers young and old alike. But, of course, it could not have been forgotten that we were there to sing as professionals, and that, I believe, we did. On the whole, over four days we sang three concerts; one at the impressive Saint-Eustache (as previously mentioned), another in the beautiful and atmospheric Saint-Sulpice, and a final engagement in the delightful St Peter’s Church in Chantilly.

We had a lot of fun and very enjoyable times, in part the perfect combination of professionalism and fun, but also the great city of Paris! 

William G

Singing at the Royal Festival Hall was an amazing experience for the Quiristers. It was fantastic performing with the other choirs, soloists and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in an exhilarating concert. We sang a long piece called Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. The lyrics are from a collection of songs in medieval Latin, French and German - they were weird and unique compared to our usual repertoire. It was an extremely loud and heart-pounding piece! We had a lively conductor, Hilary Davan Wetton, which made the rehearsal beforehand entertaining, and it got us in the mood for the type of piece being sung. The music overall was very exciting and grand, especially at the opening and the finale. The Royal Festival Hall was filled with over 2000 people and therefore the applause was tremendous at the end of our performance. I, and the rest of the Quiristers I’m sure, were pleased to have taken part in this phenomenal production.

Alex A

Royal Festival Hall