STEP

On behalf of Jennifer Johnson.

 

On January 4, ten of our senior students from STEP's most advanced group class got on a plane and embarked on an exciting adventure to London, England to perform and to absorb a new culture.  They played 6 concerts in 6 days including two school concerts, two concerts in churches in Notting Hill, and one concert for the UK Wolf Conservation Trust.  This last was exciting as we were taught to safely approach the socialized wolves and actually stroke them!  The sixth concert was perhaps the most exciting because of its unexpected nature:  one of Helen Brunner's (our host) students' mothers heard us play in a rehearsal and was so enthralled with these young people, she invited the group to play at her lawyer husband's 50th birthday party at the Lanesborough Hotel (swanky!) on the Friday night.  It was a paid private concert after which we were offered the possibility of playing on a recital series that our new lawyer friend runs for his international array of clients. The children were billeted with families in Helen's studio:  one pair lived for the week across from Paul McCartney's house, and another pair lived right beside Orlando Bloom!  Quite glamorous!  Their playing improved each time they performed and they reached glorious new heights of ability.  We were all very proud and happy for them!

Helen sent a letter to us a few days after our departure saying that people were still talking about our students' performance at the final concert at St. Peter's church in Notting Hill.  Christina's leading of the group in the fiddle tunes were especially well-received as most of the Londoners had never heard authentic Newfoundland traditional music before.  We arrived home exhausted (23 hours of travelling due to Air Canada delays! and an impromptu concert at Heathrow airport to boot) but extremely happy for the experience.  Thanks to the whole program for your support for STEP's senior group class!