Hello! Well this is it... my last entry about Graz. It was a wonderful experience and most importantly, I met a lot of wonderful people! It was so great to be in a place where those around me loved music just as much as me.... and not just the musicians. The citizens of Graz are huge opera fans, so it made the experience even more enjoyable!

Unfortunately, with the new airline security guidelines, we weren't allowed to take our camera's through security. I really wanted to get a picture of Graz from the airport, because the airport has a great view of the town since it sits just outside the city. Ah well... I'll have to keep that view in my long-term memory.

Auf wiedersehen!! PS - Keep your eyes open for my website... coming soon!!

This is the Hall in which the Meistersinger competition was held. A very cool hall.... it's designed like an airline hanger. You can remove the seats and use it, like they do in Graz, for testing car engines. Pretty cool stuff! We met the owner of the building and his wife after the concert. Very nice people and very much in the money. They design buildings like this all over Europe. Here's the orchestra before the concert began. We got our own little 4th of July after the fact... they played "Stars and Stripes Forever" at the end of the concert. It was soo nice to hear! Made me miss home even more.

This is a pic of the 10 finalists for the Meistersinger competition. A pretty tough competition. Very good singers... the results were a little surprising, but aren't they always? My three friends, Stanley, Laura and Dominick were all in the finals!

This is a pic with my voice teacher while in Graz - Donna Zapola-Connolly. She lives in Jersey and is a wonderful, wonderful teacher! I plan to continue studies with her and have lessons when I can get up to the NY area. She helped me to get rid of a lot of my tongue and jaw tension... a God-send! She has also introduced me to some great people - conductors, directors, etc. She is a wonderful woman and great singer! This pic was taken in the lobby of the hall where the Meistersinger competition was held.

Looking up the road from the Jakominiplaz.... this is just down from the Hauptplaz where all the shopping is. You can see in this pic - H & M on the left hand side. They also had all kinds of discount stores and stores that carried Italian leather shoes, etc. Lots of fun.


Here is a pic of some of my closest friends from Graz - from left to right, Curtis from Maryland, Lisa from Australia, Icy from Nebraska, Stanley from DC, Laura from Kansas, myself and Dominick from Nevada. Zehr Good times!!! Til we meet again friends!