| After just a gorgeous day on the Alpine peaks at | | | | they come from places such as Boston, California, |
| the Austrian / Italian / Slovenian border, the | | | | Rochester and even as far away as China. They |
| weather gods were not as kind yesterday. It | | | | all confirmed that they were extremely |
| rained and drizzled pretty much the whole day | | | | well-received in Graz and that they were having |
| and I spent a relaxing day in my home town, | | | | the time of their life, hoping that this European |
| visiting with friends and doing errands. The big | | | | experience will kick-start their careers in classical |
| excitement was reserved for the evening: a live | | | | music. In total the concert had raised 15,000 |
| concert at the Kunsthaus Weiz, a recently | | | | Euros for local needy families, and the event was |
| constructed multi-purpose performance venue. My | | | | a resounding fundraising success. I even ran into |
| sister-in-law Anneliese and I got ready for an | | | | one of my old high school teachers, a sports and |
| evening of classical music that would feature | | | | geography teacher, who was extremely popular |
| works by Mozart, Strauss and Verdi. Just before | | | | with the students. I had not seen him for close to |
| 7:30 pm we strolled into the concert hall and were | | | | 30 years, but recognized him immediately. He still |
| just able to find two separate seats in a packed | | | | had the same bright smile as he did three |
| venue. Many local dignitaries were present, and | | | | decades ago, and although I had to jog his |
| this was an important event in Weiz' social | | | | memory a bit, his face lit up when he started |
| calendar. The concert was organized by the Weiz | | | | remembering our class. Anneliese and I left the |
| Lions Club as a fundraising event and the concert | | | | concert on a high and celebrated the experience |
| featured the AIMS Festival Orchestra and Soloists. | | | | with a night cap in a local café called |
| AIMS stands for "American Institute of Musical | | | | Weberhaus. I mused that a small town like Weiz, |
| Studies", a Graz-based organization that offers | | | | with a population of less than 10,000, would offer |
| six-week long programs in Vocal Lessons, Opera | | | | such high caliber programming whose quality was |
| and Lieder Coaching, Master Classes, Foreign | | | | truly at an international level. So after an evening |
| Language Diction, Conversational German and | | | | of high culture, a more physical and culinary |
| career-related courses for professional musicians, | | | | program was on the menu today. I started the |
| pianists and singers. Twelve young sopranos, two | | | | day off with another photo safari through my |
| mezzo-sopranos, two baritones and six tenors | | | | home town of Weiz, and explored the |
| performed pieces from Mozart's "The Magic | | | | Taborkirche, which is dedicated to St. Thomas of |
| Flute", Johann Strauss' "Die Fledermaus" and | | | | Canterbury. The Romanesque church was first |
| Giuseppe Verdi's "La Traviata". The music that | | | | mentioned in a document in 1188 and expanded in |
| these young artists produced was indeed magical | | | | the late 1300s with a Gothic altar area. Until the |
| and we marveled at the talent of the singers, | | | | late 1600s imposing walls and watchtowers were |
| none of whom seemed to be much older than 25 | | | | surrounding the church, giving it a defensive |
| years of age. The emcee, Andrea Huber, an | | | | character and making it possible for the local |
| American of Swiss heritage, took us through the | | | | population to find safety within the complex, |
| evening. Andrea herself is a highly respected | | | | which was particularly important during the |
| soprano who is now based in Germany and also | | | | Turkish invasions during the 1500s. The church |
| teaches for AIMS. The orchestra was directed by | | | | yard features several gravestones from the |
| Edoardo Müller, a renowned conductor who has | | | | Roman era, indicating that this area was actively |
| conducted in many of pre-eminent opera and | | | | settled more than 2,000 years ago although much |
| concert houses around the world, including those | | | | older pre-historic remains were found in the |
| of Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Munich as well as | | | | surrounding regions as well. The so-called Celtic |
| Tokyo and Santiago de Chile. His North American | | | | Village on the nearby Kulm Mountain is the first |
| assignments include the New York City Opera, | | | | outdoor pre-history museum in the province of |
| the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Dallas Opera, the | | | | Styria and illustrates that this area has been |
| Seattle Opera and the San Francisco Opera. Most | | | | inhabited since pre-historic times. During a stroll |
| of the musicians in the orchestra were also in | | | | through the Main Square of Weiz I ran across |
| their early twenties. The beauty of this music | | | | two old acquaintances, my neighbours' mother, |
| deeply touched me, and in addition I was elated | | | | who I had not seen for at least 20 years and a |
| by the notion that all these international music | | | | friend from my former volleyball team who I had |
| students, most of whom hailed from the United | | | | not seen for more than two decades as well. It's |
| States, came together in Europe to hone their | | | | now almost 21 years that I have been living in |
| craft and pursue their passion. As I found out by | | | | Toronto, but it was great to see these familiar |
| talking to some of the AIMS performers after | | | | faces again and to reconnect after such a long |
| the concert, the AIMS program not only provides | | | | time. |
| a great opportunity for elite musical training, but | | | | Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a web portal |
| also a cross-cultural experience that will create | | | | for unconventional travel & cross-cultural |
| memories of a lifetime. In my conversations with | | | | connections. Check out our FREE ebooks about |
| five or six of the AIMS students I found out that | | | | travel. |