DAY 12 (CAIRNS)

August 5, 2018

We had a morning call of 6:40. All the ringers had uniform and bell books to go to the Trinity Lutheran Church for two services. We played some hymns along with the congregation and some solo pieces. The congregation seemed very interested in the handbells and the symposium. The second service had a band that played along with us and it was very fun! We enjoyed some food after the services and packed up all the bells and went back to the hotel.

After the services, we had some free time for lunch and to hang out by the hotel pool. Some of us were in the pool the entire time, while some of us went shopping or just relaxed in our rooms. The downtime ended when we went to dinner in town. Once everyone was well fed we had about half an hour to get some delicious gelato from a local shop and then go back to the hotel to meet up and go to the opening ceremony of the symposium. Many student choirs, from all over Australia played their solos. And to end their portion of the concert, they played two pieces all as one. Then it was time for the Asian choirs. These were the best choirs that I’ve ever seen. By miles…. or kilometers. Whichever you prefer. They were literal machines, from playing all of their music from memory, to playing a 14 person piece with only 10 people, while having the biggest range of bells and chimes in the entire symposium. The experience was amazing, and to see what some people can do with bells was both shocking and awesome at the same time. Tomorrow we have excursions planned for ourselves, so we need to get a good nights rest for the early morning.

Jack-Henry and Miyako