28 and 29 June updates

28 June pm

The Concert at the Lincoln Hall was an eye-opener; a massive auditorium, balconies and boxes and over 1600 people who came to watch the concert.  The boys and the other 6 choirs, invited to the Rhythms of One World Festival, were to be involved in an opening number and then each choir was to present three numbers of their repertoire before ending off with another world premiere of a song especially composed for the festival.  It was quite an inspiring sight, seeing all the choirs onstage and singing so beautifully after just two rehearsals.  Friendships tentatively formed, at Tuesday’s mass rehearsal, were ‘cemented’ after this concert; especially with the Norwegian Girls’ Choir! Kearsney performed last – they roused the audience and were the proud recipients of a standing ovation with their dynamic and energetic performance.  Bernard was pleased and complimented the boys.  Then it was home to the Hyatt and to bed.  Our Hotel is centrally situated and we can walk to most venues, whether for an organised visit, shopping or restaurants.  The boys have also got the ”hang” of the subway system in NYC (Uptown, downtown) and have travelled far and wide across the city exploring and seeing the sites.

Friday 29 June

The predicted early morning thunder storms growled in with lightning and rolling thunder, not that many boys were aware of the climatic event. Nevertheless some did notice the clean, wet sidewalks as we ambled down to Delmonico’s on Lexington Ave only three minutes’ walk from the Hyatt on 42^nd East where we are staying. Delmonico has become a favourite eating place for the group. Having being issued with $120-00 debit cards, the boys are free to decide what to eat for breakfast (and any other meal). The self-help pealed fruit and berry options are endless, not that they are too interested in that when there is an assortment of omelettes, pancakes, three kinds of bacon and Nesquick chocolate to wash it down. It is a great occasion, is breakfast. A woman who had left South Africa 25 years ago and hadn’t been back, recognised the accents and came over to enquire why we were in the Big Apple. Last night, the SA Military Attache to Washington happened to be in our hotel and again, the accents drew them to us.

After breakfast, we were off to the United Nations building on the East River, a chip and a putt from the Hyatt. The group learned of the origin and functions of this organisation and even observed a portion of a session of the General Assembly. The debate was a serious one, the Libyan contingent was in full attendance but clearly many delegates from other countries had found the early session a a bridge too far to attend. Security was tight as we have experienced all over New York. Bag searches and electronic surveillance is part of life here. With world affairs in safe hands, we decided to hit the Avenues and Streets to see how far our South African Rands could be stretched. With $15-00 each for lunch, the group met later in 6^th Avenue (The Avenue of the Americas) to start their experience in the Radio City Music Hall.  The RCMH is a theatre and home to the famous Rockettes.  The theatre is magnificent and seats 5931 people and has hosted many of the most famous of the world’s entertainers.  Our group was not allowed to take photographs as a rehearsal for a production was in full swing.

Whilst the tour group has been rehearsing, performing and fulfilling commitments, the Headmaster has taken the opportunity to meet Old Boys and others interested in Kearsney. It has been an extraordinary privilege to connect and in some cases re-connect with Kearsney men who have either recently left school  or who have made the US their home for the past 10, 20, 30 and even 40 years. Despite the passage of time there remains the loyalty, love, interest and passion for their old school. This evening is the first of two Old Boys Dinners on this US tour. The New York Old Boys will be meeting at the Chelsea Piers (West Side) just south of the position where US Airways Flight 1549 made an emergency landing on the Hudson River.  Apart from reconnecting with Old Boys, the College is working hard to increase its Endowment (for Bursaries and Scholarships) and also to reach a target of R3 million in order to provide top quality sound and light equipment for the Henderson Hall, in support of the Music, Choral, Art and Drama life at Kearsney. We are delighted that we are already half way to our target, well on our way to achieving our dream of providing a world class stage on which not only Kearsney boys will perform but the youth of Durban and Pietermaritzburg as well.

The boys congregated in the lobby at 4:30pm son we could support the Appalachian Children’s Chorus in their feature concert (like ours on Tuesday night) in the Merken Hall.   This choir will be our hosts when we visit Charleston and they entertained us with a wonderful repertoire of “homebrew” songs.

We then headed uptown on the subway to meet at Stardust for supper.  The meal was a disappointment as we received chicken pasta and not a cheeseburger as many had anticipated.  However the boys did enjoy the entertainment as one by one the waiters serenaded the diners whilst standing on the tables.

The boys then were given free time after supper at 8pm to do some late night shopping in Times Square.  Times Square is literally a subway shuttle ride of 5 minutes or a 15 minute walk away from our hotel.