This Is Why We Came — To Sing!

June 29, 2019, Athens, Greece — After a free morning (spent with Passepartout), all 140 of us had lunch at the Rooftop Garden restaurant with a view of — what else? —the Acropolis!

The neon sign in the resto said ‘Cocktails and Shisha,’ which I took to mean ouzo and shish kebab. Nope. Shisha means hooka. No caterpillars in sight.

I liked the view out the street-side window... I don’t know if this relic is going to be torn down or, I hope, restored.

Here’s a restoration next to another relic.

Lunch was followed by dress rehearsal at the Athens Opera...

... followed by a tasty dinner of 4 granola bars and YAC’s debut in Greece. It was a good-sized audience — there was a rumor Tom Hanks was there (he has a house), but I can’t swear to it. Of course the hanky-waving ‘Bright College Years’ was sung at the post-concert Afterglow Reception, but the file’s too big to post here. You know the last line: ‘...for God, for country, and for Yale.‘

Jeff was pleased with our performance, though the acoustics could be better. The professional orchestra was augmented by youngsters from the El Sistema Youth Orchestra, and they were all very good — and very well behaved. From their website: El Sistema Greece is ‘a community music project that provides free music education to children and young people in Greece. All children—no matter their origin, nationality, or religion—are not only inspired to strive for a better future, but thanks to music, they are given a platform for dialogue and togetherness across diverse communities.’

The Niarchos Cultural Center by night.