Day 5 - Packing Tetris, Performances, and Pancakes

After the buzz and brilliance of yesterday, today’s entry is a little quieter — but no less important in the story of the tour. This was very much a transition day: from the snowy streets of Montreal to the (suddenly snowless!) surroundings of Mississauga, just outside Toronto. The landscape shifted, the temperature rose, and the pupils adjusted again with the flexibility and good humour that’s becoming a hallmark of this group.

We started the day with sleepy but punctual faces at breakfast — impressive, considering the high-octane atmosphere at last night’s Canadiens hockey match. The group is clearly enjoying the novelty of each experience, but they’re also showing admirable resilience when it comes to early starts and long days. After a swift morning briefing, we ran room-by-room checkouts — a valuable chance to make sure belongings, instruments, and laundry (clean or otherwise) all made it onto the coach. Some rooms had clearly embraced the “creative storage” approach, so it was no small feat getting everything repacked and out on time.

The journey from Montreal to Belleville took around four hours, and while not the most scenic in parts, it was a genuinely peaceful ride. Pupils took full advantage of the time to catch up on sleep, music, or quiet chats with friends. A few games consoles appeared, and headphones were very much in use — though our staff seats were just infront of James and Tommy, who spent part of the trip introducing each other to classic rock anthems. We heard Queen, Fleetwood Mac, and even a bit of The Who. Parents, take a bow — your music taste lives on!

There were also some encouraging academic moments. Year 13s were seen working on their A Level  Bach chorales — Year 11 had flashcards for multiple subjects in abundance. It’s one of the surprising upsides of tour life: extended coach journeys provide just enough headspace for pupils to quietly plug away at coursework or revision, and many did just that.

When we arrived in Belleville, we were warmly greeted at Albert College — a co-educational boarding school (relatively unusual in Canada) with a beautiful campus and a very friendly atmosphere. They kindly provided lunch for the whole group  before we set up for our concert. The entire visit lasted just 90 minutes, but what a 90 minutes it was: lunch, performance, mingling, and back on the road.

The choir opened the concert with several well-known pieces, including Elgar’s Ave Verum Corpus, which we’ll be singing again on Palm Sunday. With soloists in place and 300 pupils watching, it was a great test run. Our chamber choir followed with a piece from the recent RHS Easter service — lovely to give it a new audience so soon after the original performance. The acoustic was dry and challenging, so tuning and diction had to be spot on, but the choir handled it really well.

The band followed swiftly, and it’s worth noting just how quickly and professionally they transitioned from audience to performers. Those who saw the pre-tour concert may remember a few wobbles in the setup process — but not today. Within two minutes, they were in place and playing. The Director of Music at Albert College commented on how professional they looked and sounded, and it’s true: there’s a quiet confidence growing in this group, and it’s wonderful to watch.

The band performed several naval marches and a much-improved rendition of Rather Be, which had previously met with some… creative challenges.... outside the cathedral on Monday. There may have been a few inventive rhythmic interpretations from one or two of our drummers today, but overall, it was a strong and confident performance.  (Firework didn’t make it onto today’s setlist — a scandal, frankly. Normal service will resume tomorrow. I will have a word with the boss….)

After the concert, there was just enough time for some friendly conversations with Albert College pupils, including a surreal moment when one introduced himself as being from Southampton. We  launched a recruiting pitch there and then! The students and staff were warm and generous, and it was particularly impressive that this visit came together at relatively short notice. It was also a really helpful mid-journey break — the chance to stand, move, and reset before the next long leg was invaluable.

Back on the coach, we completed the journey to Mississauga in around two and a half hours. The scenery changed dramatically — snowfields gave way to open farmland, and by the time we approached Toronto, winter was all gone (as was most of the French language!). A proper spring shift, and a reminder that we’ve travelled quite a distance, not just in kilometres (566km to be precise!) but in culture and climate.

Our new hotel is quite different from our last. In Montreal, we were tucked into a huge downtown tower — anonymous and bustling. Here, we’re in a much smaller hotel on the edge of an industrial park, but we have an entire floor to ourselves. The rooms are modern, clean, and quiet (with excellent showers, according to every pupil we’ve spoken to), and it’s much easier to keep track of everyone. It’ll also make Sunday’s grand pack-up significantly easier — the “organised chaos” of this morning’s checkout may be slightly more manageable in these smaller spaces. Our proximity to the major road links will be essential over the next few days as our travels take us around the province - much more so than our localised travel in Montreal.

Parents, a quick heads-up: the pupils have discovered that the nearby Burger King and Tim Horton’s are dangerously convenient. If you notice a few transactions popping up on your bank statements, rest assured — they’re well-fed and enjoying their freedom to grab a treat or two.

Dinner tonight was at Denny’s — not exactly haute cuisine, but certainly a North American classic. Rather than a group set menu, we let the pupils choose freely (within a defined budget - that they "mostly" kept to....!), and choices ranged from burgers to salads to towering stacks of pancakes. Most amusingly, the meals were delivered by robot waiters — a novelty for many of the pupils (and a slightly ominous sight for the staff). One can’t help but wonder how long it’ll be before the robots are organising music tours too…

On returning to the hotel, a few pupils popped next door to Tim Hortons for a hot chocolate and a game of cards (Ben tells me he cleaned up — apologies to the others - I believe lunch is on him tomorrow!). Others stayed in their rooms playing UNO, revising or spent time chatting with staff in the hotel common areas. A very chilled and relaxed end to the day.

And now, we’re settling in. Tomorrow we head into downtown Toronto for performances at St. James Cathedral and Royal St. George’s College — a busy and exciting day ahead. Today was about getting from one half of the tour to the next. The mood remains upbeat, the music is sounding great, and your children are a pleasure to travel with.

So while Day 5 didn’t have the razzle-dazzle of hockey matches or exchange workshops, it played a vital role in the rhythm of the tour. And with this new setting comes a new chapter —and we're ready to begin.