July 7-14, 2008

*** Please note that this itinerary is subject to change without prior notice***
PLEASE DO NOT PRINT THIS DOCUMENT
EACH FESTIVAL PARTICIPANT WILL RECEIVE A FINAL SCHEDULE UPON ARRIVAL TO PRAGUE

Morning

 5:20 am
Arrive at Prague International Airport in the morning, Tuesday, July 8th, 2008. (Departure on July 7th, 2008). After clearing customs and collecting the luggage we will load our buses and depart to our hotel, which is about 45 minutes away. As we wait for all participants to gather, you may want to withdraw some cash (Czech crowns) from ATM machines located at the airport. We will make sure to wait for everyone. Please note that there will be designated buses waiting for us. To minimize confusion, and to make sure we have everyone, buses will be clearly marked. Each participant arriving with the group will have an assigned bus. Please make sure to load your designated bus only. Each bus will have an assigned leader who will report to the director when all participants are onboard. Please note that should your luggage be lost for any reason during your international travel, you will need to report the loss before leaving the restricted area, and provide the address of our hotel. The airline would then deliver your delayed luggage directly to the hotel at no cost. The address of the hotel is: Hotel Step, Malletova 1141, 190 00 Praha 9, Tel.: (+420) 272 178 350. Make sure to have this address with you onboard.

 9:00 am - 11:00 pm
Check-in at the hotel. Please note that all high school participants will be required to leave their passport at the hotel's safe for the entire duration of the tour. Adult participants will be encouraged to leave the passport in the hotel deposit as well. Passports will be collected by bus leaders on the bus. Please do not pack your passport to your suitcase after your arrive to Prague's International airport. Also, please make sure to bring photocopies of your passport together with two extra passport photos in case you should lose your passport. Keep copies separate from your passport. As we check to the hotel, please be patient. The regular check in time is at 11:00 am. It will take some time for all of us to get our keys and to register. When you arrive to your room, please try to rest. Only a short nap is advisable, however, to quickly adapt to local time.

 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Optional light refreshment (soup and salad) at the hotel's restaurant.

 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Rest and/or recreation. Hotel Step offers some fine recreational facilities should you be interested including sauna, fitness center, solarium, squash, tennis, whirlpool, swimming pool, indoor golf, and bowling. Please note that there is an extra charge for some of these facilities. For more information, please visit the hotel website: http://www.hotelstep.cz/

Afternoon & Evening

 2:00 pm - 2:45 pm
Meet at the Hotel Congress Hall for an official welcome, orientation, introduction of the festival staff, orientation, and Q@A.

 3:00 pm - 3:45 pm
An introductory lecture about the life and work of Moses Hogan by Prof. Theresa Lee-Whiting, an expert on life and music of Moses Hogan.

 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Bring you music! Professor Raymond Wise will introduce us to his new work Shine the Light, which he wrote in honor of Moses Hogan for our festival. All festival participants will join forces to perform this arrangement on Sunday in St. Nicolas church at the Old Town Square at the conclusion of the festival.

 5:30 pm
Buses depart for our welcome buffet dinner (the same bus arrangements apply for the entire duration of the tour). Please be prompt. The buses can not wait for latecomers. If you do not come on time, the buses will leave and you will miss the event. It would be difficult if not impossible for everyone to wait for just one or two latecomers. Thank you for understanding. You may want to arrange for a wake up call with the reception desk, and ask a friend to double check if you are ready prior the departure. Dress comfortably and informally. Our first dinner will be provided at the famous Vikárka Restaurant located in the center of Prague, just opposite the Prague Castle. For a history of this 16th century building and a virtual tour, please visit http://vikarka.cz/en/. An informal evening program will include a performance by Dubia Fortuna, a fine medieval chamber music ensemble. You can taste samples of their music at: http://www.dubiafortuna.cz/oldweb/indexan.htm (click music). After the dinner, we will take an introductory walk at the Prague Castle area (Hradčany), a seat of the Czech President, where we will visit a breathtaking castle complex and its stunning, more than a thousand year old Gothic Cathedral of St. Vitus. Our walking tour will take us via the King's Route across the famous Charles Bridge (built in 1357). Make sure to take your cameras – there will be only few tourists in the evening and the views at the castle are spectacular. We will return to the hotel in the late evening. An immediate curfew will be required for all high school students. We suggest that ALL participants rest well before the next day's first rehearsal.

 10:00 pm
Load the buses downtown and return to the hotel. AGAIN, THE SAME BUS ASSIGNMENTS APPLY FOR THE DURATION OF THE FESTIVAL TO MINIMIZE CONFUSION. As we return to the hotel in the late evening, an immediate curfew will be required for all high school students. We suggest that ALL participants rest well before the next day's first rehearsal.

DAY 2 - WEDNESDAY, July 9th

Morning

 6:30 - 8:00 am
Breakfast will be provided at the hotel. Please allow enough time to eat and do not come for breakfast at the last minute.
(Note for Staff: please note an important briefing after breakfast from 7:00 - 8:00 am. This meeting is for all high school choral directors, all festival staff, soloists, all chaperones and Hartwick College student helpers on the 8th floor in Lounge E).

 8:00 - 8:45 am
All participants will meet at the hotel congress hall for orientation: (schedule of events, security, hotel and other regulations, health, transportation, food, money exchange, rehearsal schedule, gala concert, Q&A).

 8:45 am - 11:45 am
Warm up and rehearsal with Dr. Ryan Board. (Note: Dr. Armstrong will be arriving to Prague later this afternoon and he will begin to rehearse in the evening). Please bring your music, pencil, eraser as well as water bottles. Note that there are no water fountains in the hotel. However, the tap water is safe in Prague. Feel free to fill your water bottles in your rooms.

 11:45 pm - 12:45 pm
Lunch at the hotel.

Afternoon

 1:00 pm
Busses depart for our guided tour and an introduction to the center of Prague (the same bus assignments!). Dress informally, take comfortable walking shoes and a rain jacket. The walking tour will start at the heart of the city at The Old Town Square near the monument of the Czech reformer Jan Hus. We will walk in Celetna Street to see briefly the venue of our performance, the Smetana Hall. Our short tour will end in St. Salvator Church where we will hear a first special performance.

 4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
Henrietta Davis - a special concert devoted to the memory of Moses Hogan.

Evening

 4:45 - 5:45 pm
Individual dinner downtown.

 5:45 pm
Depart by foot from Jan Hus Monument to load our buses and leave for the hotel and our first rehearsal with Dr. Armstrong.

 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Meet the Czech singers-participants of the festival and rehearse with Dr. Anton Armstrong. Please make sure to bring your music, pencil and eraser.

 10:00 pm
Even though the schedule may seem light, we will be tired as we settle to the new time zone. All high school students are required to stay at the hotel. The curfew for all high school students - including all graduating HS seniors is at 11 pm today! For adults who are planning to return to the town we recommend a taxi transportation as the safest and fastest. A one way trip to the city center costs about 300 crowns. Please make sure to negotiate the price before your enter the taxi as some taxi drivers may take an advantage of foreigners.

DAY 3 - THURSDAY, July 10th

Morning

 6:30 - 8:45 am
Breakfast will be provided at the hotel.
(Note for Staff: a briefing after breakfast from 7:30 - 8:30 am for high school choral directors, all festival staff, soloists, all chaperones and Hartwick student helpers on the 8th floor in Lounge E.)

 9:00 - 12:30 pm
Rehearsal with Dr. Anton Armstrong. Please make sure to bring your music, pencil and eraser.

 12:30 - 1:30 pm
Lunch at the hotel.
(Note: Tebe Poem Choir departs from the hotel at 1 pm to a rehearsal in St. Salvator Church.)

Afternoon

 2:15 pm
Depart by bus from the hotel. Make sure to take your music, and water bottles for a rehearsal downtown later today).

 3:00 - 4:00 pm
A special concert in St. Salvator Church by our special guests from Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Russia - the acclaimed professional chorus Tebe Poem under the direction of Konstantin Yakobson.

 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Free time and individual dinner downtown.

Evening

 6:00 pm
Depart from the Jan Hus monument (the center of the Old Town Square, for a special miniconcert and rehearsal at Hlahol rehearsal hall. (Address: Masarykovo nabrezi 16, Praha 1). Expect about a 25 minute walk. This is a historical rehearsal hall of one of the oldest Czech choirs HLAHOL, which was founded in 1861 and directed by Bedrich Smetana, one of the most important Czech composers. Smetana became Hlahol's first choirmaster.

 6:30 pm - 7:00 pm
A "Welcome to Bohemia" miniconcert by one of the top Czech string ensembles - Skampa String Quartet. Program: Antonin Dvorak: American String Quartet.

 7:30 - 10:00 pm
Rehearsal with Dr. Armstrong.

 10:15 pm
Departure by buses to the hotel (mandatory for all high school and college students). Adults may return individually. We strongly suggest, however, that everyone is at the hotel by midnight to be fresh and ready for the next day.

 11:00 pm
A curfew for all high school students.

DAY 4 - FRIDAY, July 11th

Morning

 7:00 am - 8:45 am
Breakfast at the hotel.
(Note for Staff: a briefing after breakfast from 7:30 - 8:30 am for all high school choral directors, all festival staff, soloists, all chaperones and Hartwick student helpers on the 8th floor in Lounge E.)

 9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Rehearsal with Dr. Anton Armstrong. Please make sure to bring your music, pencil and eraser.

 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch at the hotel

Afternoon

 2:30 -4:30 pm
Rehearsal with Dr. Armstrong.

 4:30 -6:00 pm
Rehearsal with Raymond Wise for Sunday Service (Shine the Light)

Evening

 6:00 pm
Depart by buses to downtown
(Note: BOHEMIACHOR rehearses 6 - 7:00 pm at the hotel)

 6:00 pm
Individual dinner downtown and free time

 10:30 pm
Meet at Jan Hus monument and depart by buses for the hotel. An immediate curfew for all high school students upon return.

DAY 5 - SATURDAY, July 12th

Morning

 7:00 am - 9:00 am
Breakfast at the hotel
(Note for staff: a briefing after breakfast from 9:00 - 9:45 am for all high school choral directors, all festival staff, soloists, all chaperones and Hartwick student helpers on the 8th floor in Lounge E)

 9:00 am - 12:30 am
Dress rehearsal at the hotel. Please make sure to bring your music, pencil and eraser.

 12:30 pm
Individual lunch

Afternoon & Evening

 3:30 pm
Depart by bus with your music (!) and in concert attire (!) to Smetana Hall. (Take comfortable shoes with you for a walk after the concert. You may want to take your cameras, too. Your dressing room will be locked during the concert.)

 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Acoustical and logistical rehearsal in Smetana Hall. Welcome Dr. Andre Thomas for the premiere of his new work My Good Lord's Done Been Here honoring Moses Hogan!

 7:30 pm
Gala Concert in Smetana Hall.

 9:00 pm
Depart by foot for a dinner and celebration (expect a 25 minute walk).

 23:00 pm
Depart by buses to the hotel.

 12:00 am
Curfew for all high school students

DAY 6 - SUNDAY, July 13th

Morning

 7:00 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast at the hotel.
(Please note a staff briefing from 7:45 - 8:45 am for all high school choral directors, all festival staff, soloists, all chaperones and Hartwick student helpers on the 8th floor in Lounge E.)
(Note: Tebe Poem Choir departs from the hotel at 8:10 am to a rehearsal in St. Nicolas Church.)

 9:00 am
Depart by buses from the hotel for a concert at St. Nicholas Church.

 10:00 am
Mass at the Baroque church of St. Nicolas at the Old Town Square (in Czech) - with Bohemiachor from the Czech Rep. and Tebe Poem from Russia. The church has a limited seating, and we ask that only those genuinely interested in the mass take a part.

 10:50 am
At the conclusion of the service, all participants meet outside the church to get ready for a short rehearsal of Shine the Light with Raymond Wise.

 11:00 - 11:15 am
A short rehearsal of Shine the Light with Raymond Wise.

 11:30 am
A special benefit performance at St. Nicolas church by two participating choirs of the festival: Bohemiachor from the Czech Republic and Tebe Poem from Russia. All participants perform Shine the Light at the conclusion of the concert.

 1:00 pm
Individual lunch downtown.

Afternoon

 2:00 - 5:20 pm
Free

 5:30 pm
Meet at the Jan Hus monument (located at the Center of the Old Town Square) and depart by foot for a farewell dinner to Cafe Slavia. (Expect a 20 minute walk.)

 8:30 pm
Optional meeting downtown and jazz performance by our own: Gosplain (Czech Republic), Up in the Air/USA, and Not So Sharp/USA at Klub Akord. We recommend that those who wish to see this vocal jazz and gospel performance reserve tickets ahead of time with the director of the festival (sign up and reservation by Wednesday, July 9 to guarantee a ticket).

 11:30 pm
Meet at the Jan Hus monument and depart by bus to the hotel.

DAY 7 - MONDAY, July 14th