MUSIC STUDENTS EXPLORE EUROPE OVER WINTER BREAK
On the day after Christmas, seventeen Viterbo students boarded a plane to Vienna, Italy to begin a trip around Europe. Over the course of 17 days, students and faculty traveled to the cities of Vienna, Venice, Assisi, Rome, Florence and Munich. The trip allowed music students to get a taste of what Opera in Europe is like, as well as the getting a cultural feel for each city.
The trip was made possible through the work of multiple Viterbo faculty members. Music Department Chair Professor Dan Johnson-Wilmot lived in Austria years ago and speaks German well enough to have helped the group navigate and communicate with locals in both Germany and Austria. His knowledge of the operas helped students prepare for the performances and kept them thinking critically about the many aspects of the show. Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Sister Laura Nettles also provided insight from her experience traveling in and knowledge of Italy.
Students discovered that the musical culture in Europe is different from the culture in the United States. Classical music is almost as predominate as popular music. Students and faculty saw many parks and stores dedicated to famous classical music. The group was also able to see three operas in Vienna and one in Munich, each with varying styles and stories.
People on the trip got to see as much art as they did live performances. The group saw monuments such as the Colosseum in Rome and one of Mozart’s previous homes in Vienna. They also went to Uffizi, an art museum in Florence, Italy located in one of the former residences of the Medici Family. Junior Vocal Performance major, Arianna Day, was one of the students able to go on the Europe trip. “As a music major, I have learned a lot about the Medici Family of Florence and their generosity towards the arts and their impact on arts culture,” say Day, “so seeing this museum gave me a wider appreciation for just how well cared for the arts are in Europe.”
Day’s favorite part of the trip was getting to experience different cultures with some of her closest friends. “Going from Austria to Italy to Germany was really fascinating because each country had its own peculiarities and ways of doing things, yet [also they have] a lot of similarities to each other and the U.S.” Students found that many of the singers in Europe had a different overall quality to their voices than most American Singers. While many American opera singers favor a large and rich sound, singers in Europe tended to prefer sounds that were more clean and accurate. Day explains, “Seeing these productions helped me realize that many people are successfully working in my field without having the big star names, but the people working are those that are so incredibly dedicated and precise in their craft.”