Bon Voyage Concert Was A Hit

Well like the title of this post indicates the Olympic Orchestra was a hit at their farewell concert held in Modesto last night. They performed the various music that they will be performing in China before a packed stadium at Thomas Downy High School's Football Stadium in Modesto. This was a benefit concert to raise money to try and offset the cost for the various students going to China. I took my customary "Ass-load" of pictures and will post them on the photo site later this evening. The kids that are playing in the Orchestra are so calm it's kind of strange. The adults that are going are more nervous and excited than the kids are. I don't really think they realize how huge this really is. I know they will understand once they are there and it has had a chance to sink in. This will probably happen for most of them, some time during our 40 actual hours of travel time. that's right 40 hours with transfers, lay overs, bus rides and flights (Lions, and tigers, and bears on my!) what else can a person say except Holy Sh*t!!!!! I wish that every parent gets to be as proud of their child as we are of Joey. He had his moments last year but I must say he has turned out to be a very focused and driven individual. I feel this is primarily due to his hard work and perseverance. It also doesn't hurt that between me and Joanie and Dan his band director all riding his ass, making sure he was always prepared and he stayed focused on his studies and music and less focused on. . . .Well . . . Girls he is where he is today. It really was mainly Joeys hard work though. Well I guess I better sign off for now before I start crying.

The VERY VERY Proud Drumline DAD!

Latest Update Farwell Preformance

Hello again from Little land. Well we just received a new itinerary that includes not only the Tienanmen Square performance but a photo shoot and performance on the Great Wall of China. The kids are gonna hate that one because the first group are leaving at 4:00am. That's right that is not a typographical error I said 4:00am. As many of you know most teenagers are not prone to being up before 10:00am when they are on their summer vacations let alone 4:00am!!! At any rate we are looking forward to the adventure of a lifetime and alot of stories to tell for years to come.

Tonight is the "Farewell" concert being held in Modesto California. The Mayor of Modesto is supposed to be in attendance to give the performers commendation certificates as well as a "Modesto Pin" to either wear or trade with people in China. There is supposed to also be local media coverage but I am not sure which one yet, but I will keep you all posted. I have also purchase quite a few "California pins that I will pass out to our travelers so that they can trade with the people in China as well. Apparently trading pins is something that happens often. I will update the blog and photo site tonight or tomorrow after the farewell concert.

Special Performance Announced

World projects has announced that the Olympic Orchestra has been invited to perform in Tiananmen Square. The memo was as follows:

World Projects Headquarters: 195 Glen Cove Marina Rd. Suite 201 • Vallejo, CA 94591
Toll Free Tel: 1-800-922-3976 • Tel: (707) 556-5885 • Fax: (707) 556-5896
Web-site: www.world-projects.com • Email: wpc@world-projects.com

July 10, 2008

Beijing 2008 Olympic Orchestra Participants:

We have just received some very exciting news! The Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (BOCOG) Cultural Division has determined that the Beijing 2008 Olympic Orchestra will perform in Tiananmen Square as part of the China/International Olympic Committee Cultural Celebration at the Olympics. We are the first and only foreign group to ever gain permission to perform in Tiananmen Square. The invitation is much like that given to the "THREE TENORS" five years ago when they were the only foreign group given permission to perform in the Forbidden City. This is a great honor for us, and we have been given 50 – 60 minutes to perform.
Due to high security, only 2000 spectators are to be allowed in Tiananmen Square. However, security has accepted an increase to 3000 for our performance only to accommodate the extra media that will cover the event. Entry into Tiananmen Square will be restricted to performers and a small number of staff only. Shadow participants and most chaperones will not be allowed on the Square for this event due to the strict security. However, we will try to arrange an area for everyone to view the event as it is televised. The event is primarily for international media and Chinese television.
This performance is part of a daily Chinese television show that runs from 7:00 – 9:00am leading up to the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games. Our performance date is 3 August, 2008 at 8:00am. The Square is cleared and will reopen for visitors at 9:30am daily. Besides being the only foreign group, we are the only non professional group allowed to perform during this Cultural Celebration of the Olympics and China. We are making history at this event. This performance will be a treasured memory for all participants.

Sincerely,

Kirk Troen
Chief Operating Officer

Upcoming Bon Voyage Party

Well tomorrow (Actually today just look at the time) we have a Bon Voyage party to go to. It is being thrown by the parent of a couple of alumni that will be traveling to China with the Olympic Orchestra. One of the Alumni's that is going has become my drinking buddy at a recent get together at Mikes Roadhouse, a local Bar and Grill that we like to frequent. It doesn't hurt that Bobby our oldest son has worked there for the past two years either. At any rate Joanie baked a suprise "Cake" for the party. We have taken a picture of her handy work and posted it on the picture site so go and check it out. I will add more pictures to the site after the party during the next few days. Until then "Xie xie" ("Thank you" in Mandarin Chinese) pronounced "shi shi".

Pictures Of Our First Souvenir

I almost forgot to let everyone in on our first souvenir. We got them on Bobby's eighteenth birthday. Go to the picture site and check out the pictures. Surprise ! ! !