Balkan Day 2 - A Day in Sofia

While most of the choir could sleep in and have breakfast with their host family, about ten of us had a double chemistry lesson with Mr. Hepfer at 07:30. We revisited the law of mass action and Le Châtelier's principle and Mr. Hepfer included us in the class from time to time.

Although we knew that our host sisters and brothers attend a German high school, we were constantly amazed at how well they express themselves and how fluently they speak!

The Galabov Gymnasium is one of Bulgaria's elite schools, where education is highly valued. Students can attend the gymnasium from the eighth grade. Every year, approximately 4,000 students apply, but only about 200 are accepted.

At 09:00, the entire choir made their way to the theater in Sofia. A rehearsal of about 2 1/2 hours took place in the building next door. First, some organizational matters were clarified, then Mr. Hepfer and the Bulgarian math teacher (who could speak accent-free German!) Mrs. Tsaneva officially welcomed us again. At this point, we would like to thank both of them for the great organization!

Together with Mrs. Tsaneva, we then learned the correct pronunciation of the Bulgarian pieces that we performed with the choir of the gymnasium in the evening. After about an hour of rehearsal, they joined us and we rehearsed the two Bulgarian pieces and our repertoire pieces 'Happy' and 'We are the world' together.

Then, we gave a small musical performance outside on the steps in front of the theater. Afterwards, we went on a long walk to the Sofia Music School, where the concert was to take place in the evening and where we could change into our concert attire.

Together with the Bulgarian students, everyone spent the sunny afternoon in the center of Sofia.

At 17:30, we all gathered again at the music school to prepare for the concert. It started an hour later and was a great success. We had a lot of fun singing with the Galabov Gymnasium choir and our rehearsal efforts were rewarded with standing ovations.

After the concert, we all went together to a traditional Bulgarian restaurant where, in addition to typical Bulgarian food, there was music and dancing. We all had a lot of fun trying to master the complex dance steps together.

It was a very successful evening and the end of our stay in Bulgaria!