August 9th

This is without a doubt the only non-bus day we will spend. We got to have an entire day in Leipzig, with walking tour, free time and concert in the evening. Probably the most amazing thing was St Thomas Church, where Bach was Kapellmeister for many years and where his bones lie today. We also got to visit the Bach museum and the Mendelssohn museum. This latter is located in the apartment where the composer lived and worked in Leipzig, and included an interactive conducting simulation. There was a baton, electronic scores and a roomful of tall speakers set up to resemble an orchestra, one for each section. One of the available pieces was the 4th movement of Reformation symphony, which is on our concert program for this tour. So naturally, we all clustered around our respective section-speakers and clamoured for Mr. A to take the baton. What a riot! The recording adjusts its speed according to your beats, and certain sections will play louder if you point at them. Everyone was laughing their heads off as EA tried to get the recording to behave. He is probably the only person ever to use that simulation that is better at conducting a real live orchestra than a recording. (For the record, getting a teenage symphony orchestra to play well is exponentially more difficult, and Mr. A does this with ease.)

Here are some pictures of the Thomaskirche and of our concert. After the tour I will add more. Keep them coming!