Impressions from the final concert in Montecompatri

Homeward bound - SBC is returning to Newfoundland from Italy

Just a quick note that the singers and musicians under the direction of Mrs. Etchegary and Ms. Conkey as well as their traveling fan club have boarded the return flight to Canada from Rome this morning. We wish them a very safe journey home and thank everyone for the opportunity to work with and for such a fine organization as the St. Bonaventure's College - for all us from Incantato, Sandra. Your tourmanagers Barbara and Petra, your drivers Massimo and Nelson, your concertmanager Stefania, we will all miss you!!!

Finale Concert at the Church and Convent of San Silvestro a special treat for the musicians and their groupies

The St. Bonaventure’s College Wind Ensemble and Chamber Choir, of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, presented the final concert of their 2011 Incantato Italy Performance Tour and Pilgrimage at the Convento San Silvestro in Montecompatri on Saturday, April 16, 2011 to a small, but very appreciative audience. Everyone, musicians and audience alike, enjoyed the joyful atmosphere and great accoustics of the church perched high upon a hill and overlooking the beautiful countryside.
San Silvestro is a 16th century convent known for its picture gallery, featuring important sacred paintings from the 18th century made for worship and devotion for the Barefoot Carmelites, who were given the monastery in 1604 by Pope Clemente VIII. It was appreciated then for its forested solitude away from the city, which was perfect for quiet contemplation. Many years later, in 1874, the convent was sold to a nearby town for use as a home for old people. It was redeemed at public auction in 1905 and returned to religious service in 1920. It’s in Monte Compatri, a municipality about 20 kilometers southeast of Rome with beautiful views and lush land.

SBC performs in Napoli, Italia

Visit beautiful Naples

Naples is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture, architecture, music and gastronomy, playing an important role in the country's history and beyond throughout much of its existence, which began more than 2,800 years ago. Naples is located halfway between two volcanic areas, the volcano Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, sitting on the coast by the Gulf of Naples. Founded in the 8th century BC, as a Greek colony, before under the name of Parthenope, and later Neápolis (New City), Naples is one of the oldest cities in the world, and it held an important role in Magna Graecia; while when the city became part of the Roman Republic in the central province of the Empire, was a major cultural center (Virgil is one of the symbol of the political and cultural freedom of Naples). The city has seen a multitude of civilizations come and go, each leaving their mark: now the historic city centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Naples was preeminently the capital city of a kingdom which bore its name from 1282 until 1816 in the form of the Kingdom of Naples, then in union with Sicily it was the capital of the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification. Naples has profoundly influenced many areas of Europe and beyond. The city proper has a population of around 1 million people: Naples is the most densely populated major city in Italy. The city is also synonymous with pizza, which originated in the city. A strong part of Neapolitan culture which has had wide reaching effects is music, including the invention of the romantic guitar and the mandolin as well as strong contributions to opera and folk standards. There are popular characters and figures who have come to symbolise Naples; these include the patron saint of the city Januarius, Pulcinella, and the Sirens from the epic Greek poem the Odyssey.

SBC in the news

A special Incantato Luncheon for our first group from Canada

As a small token of our appreciation for traveling with Incantato Tours, we invited the singers and band members, their family and friends to a special luncheon at the magnificent gourmet restaurant Torre Normanna in Maiori on the Amalfi Coast. Here are a few impressions, hope you do not get too hungry!

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St. Bonaventure’s College performs at Chiesa di San Francesco (Maiori) on Thursday, April 14 at 8:00 PM

Incantato Tours proudly presents the Saint Bonaventure's College Chamber Choir in concert at Chiesa di San Francesco in Maiori at 8:00PM on Thursday, April 14, 2011.

The beautiful Chiesa di San Francesco was constructed in 1405. It is located between the convent and the Cove of the Announced one (Grotta dell'Annunziata) in Maiori. The church has a rough history: In 1435 it was destroyed by the army of Muhammad II (Turkey) and rebuilt one year later by Saint Bernardino from Siena. A sea storm hit the Chiesa di San Francesco hard in 1440. It was destroyed and in 1517 reconstructed on the oriental side of the convent. But the work was interrupted again by a Turkish invasion. In 1590 the construction was finally completed. Last but not least there were several constructive modifications after two seas storm in 1631 and 1674. The church is famed world-wide for the miracle of the springing water in the convent. Please click here to go the picture's origin.

Pictures from the school exchange in Maiori

https://picasaweb.google.com/incantatotours/StudentsFromStBonSBondWithMaioriStudentsAtASchoolExchange?authkey=Gv1sRgCOKyltPViPiu2gE&feat=directlink

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First impressions from a special Mayor's Reception and the two Maiori Concerts

Pope explains sanctity can be found in every day life

Pope explains sanctity can be found in every day life

SBC Newfoundland visits the Pope

Sportin the jackets & representing!

Trumpet trio leading the tune...

Pope turns his attention onto SBC...

Ending the day in Maiori

Papal Audience

The St. Bonaventure Wind Ensemble and Choir was present today at the papal audience.

http://www.romereports.com/palio/Pope-explains-holiness-is-found-through-charity-english-3872.html

Front row seats for Saint Bonaventure's College Wind Ensemble and Choir at Papal Audience on Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The Saint Bonaventure's College Performance Tour partcipants are confirmed to present themselves in the front row at the General Papal Audience at the Vatican at 10:30 AM on the morning of April 13, 2011. The musicians under the direction of Mrs. Vincenza Etchegary and Ms. Maria Conkey will have the opportunity to salute his Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. from an excellent position.

Papal Audiences are held on Wednesdays if the Pope is in Rome, giving pilgrims and visitors the chance to "see the Pope" and receive the Papal Blessing or Apostolic Blessing from the successor of the Apostle Peter during their visit.
The Audience with the Pope consists of small teachings and readings mainly in Italian but also in English, French, German, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese and sometimes other languages depending on groups visiting.
The Pope will offer a greeting in each language and specially mention any visiting group such as choirs from various countries.
At the completion of the Audience, the Pope will join with the attendees in praying the Lord’s Prayer in Latin.
At the end of the Prayer, as Head of the Catholic Church, he will impart his Apostolic Blessing upon the crowd, which extends to loved ones who are sick and suffering, and also blesses any religious articles such as rosary beads that people have brought with them for the purpose of the blessing.

While the wind ensemble will play quite a while before and after the event, the choir will be given the opportunity to briefly perform for the General Audience this morning after their school's name is called. Thoursands are expected to attend the celebration this week.

First recording from the Vatican - SBC Chamber Choir sings "Ave Maria" at St. Peter's Basilica

SBC Chamber Choir at the Vatican

St. Bonaventure’s College Chamber Choir sings for Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica on Tuesday, April 12 at 5 PM

The St. Bonaventure’s College Chamber Choir will sing Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 5:00 PM.

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter is located within the Vatican City. St. Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world, holding 60,000 people. It is the symbolic "Mother church" of the Catholic Church and is regarded as one of the holiest Christian sites. It has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world" and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom".
In Catholic tradition, it is the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter, who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and, according to tradition, first Bishop of Rome and therefore first in the line of the papal succession. Tradition and some historical evidence hold that Saint Peter's tomb is directly below the altar of the basilica. For this reason, many Popes have been interred at St Peter's since the Early Christian period. There has been a church on this site since the 4th century. Construction of the present basilica, over the old Constantinian basilica, began on April 18, 1506 and was completed on November 18, 1626.
St. Peter's is famous as a place of pilgrimage, for its liturgical functions and for its historical associations. It is associated with the papacy, with the Counter-reformation and with numerous artists, most significantly Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564), an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer. Michelangelo took over a building site at which four piers, enormous beyond any constructed since the days of Ancient Rome, were rising behind the remaining nave of the old basilica. He also inherited the numerous schemes designed and redesigned by some of the greatest architectural and engineering brains of the 16th century.
Incidentally there are over 100 tombs within St. Peter's Basilica, many located in the Vatican grotto, beneath the Basilica. These include 91 popes, St. Ignatius of Antioch, Holy Roman Emperor Otto II, and the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Exiled Catholic British royalty James Francis Edward Stuart and his two sons, Charles Edward Stuart and Henry Benedict Stuart, are buried here, having been granted asylum by Pope Clement XI. The most recent interment was Pope John Paul II, on April 8, 2005.

Facts about Vatican City

Vatican City, officially the State of the Vatican City, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, the capital city of Italy. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares, and a population of just over 800.
Vatican City is a city-state that came into existence in 1929. It is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the main Episcopal see of 1.147 billion Latin and Eastern Catholic adherents around the globe. Ordinances of Vatican City are published in Italian; official documents of the Holy See are issued mainly in Latin. The two entities even have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, only issues diplomatic and service passports; the state of Vatican City issues normal passports. In both cases the passports issued are very few.
Vatican City is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state, ruled by the bishop of Rome - the Pope. The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergymen of various nationalities. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See (Sancta Sedes) and the location of the Pope's residence, referred to as the Apostolic Palace. The Popes have resided in the area that in 1929 became Vatican City since the return from Avignon in 1377.

Concert and exchange on Monday, April 11 at 10:15 AM for the St. Bonaventure’s College Wind Ensemble and Chamber Choir at Massimo Institute (Rome)

St. Bonaventure’s College Wind Ensemble and Chamber Choir, of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, will give a concert and get in touch with the locals at the Massimiliano Massimo Institute in Rome on Monday, April 11 at 10:15 AM. The Massimiliano Massimo Institute (Istituto Massimiliano Massimo) is a Jesuit school in Rome.
Its roots are in the School of Grammar, Humanities and Christian Doctrine, a small school set up in Via Nuova Capitolina (now Via dell'Aracœli) by Ignatius Loyola in 1551. That school proved a success and so pope Gregory XIII ordered the construction of a larger institution, which opened on 28 October 1584 as the Roman College. In this and other Jesuit colleges was written the 1559 Ratio Studiorum, a document which is still the basis of the teaching methods in Jesuit schools. Those methods were followed in the Roman College until the Jesuits' suppression in 1773 and was restored with the order in 1814 by pope Pius VII.
In 1870 the Italian Government confiscated the building for the Ennio Quirino Visconti Liceo Ginnasio, with the College's professors and students moving to the nearby palazzo Borromeo until the Pontifical Gregorian University was built to take its university students. However, in 1873, father Massimiliano Massimo (after whom the institute is named) inherited the Palazzo Peretti and, in 1879, made it available to the Jesuits for the re-foundation of a school to continue the Roman College's work in secondary education. In 1960, due to a rise in student numbers, the Institute was transferred from Terme (near the Stazione Termini) to EUR, where it is now sited. It stands out from the skyline at EUR thanks to the odd shape of its church and its position on the highest point of the EUR pentagon. In 1973 it was allowed to enroll its first set of students and in 1987 all its classes were made co-ed.
The institute participates in many sports, both in the schools league and the sports associations, such as hockey, long jump, athletics, weightlifting, racing and basketball. It is also the headquarters of the Student Missionary League, a Jesuit movement for the spiritual training of secondary students, organising meetings and work camps, in preparation for confirmation of those in and above their third year at secondary school.

And here is a short video from this morning

First impressions from the school exchange in Rome with Jesuit School "Istituto Massimo"