Champion Pulls Out All the Stops

See how many of us from LINC Levels 4 and 5 at MicroSkills' Language Centres at 200 and 250 Consumers made it to the PATH Underground City and Roy Thomson Hall Field Trip.

There's Tina, Teacher Yulia, Hellen Mu, Fiona, Jenny, Amy, Christina, Helen Shi, Youlee (sp.?), Johnson, and John.

Getting off at King Subway Station, we proceeded to make a whole series of wrong turns that saw us popping up to ground level and doing U-turns at various cul-de-sacs. The first time we surfaced, we got to see Commerce Court, Bay Street, and Canada's premier financial centre. What's more, we bumped into John and Johnson, who had gone there on their own. So it was all good!

Lots of other photo ops, too, above ground.

 

Eventually, we did wind up at the Roy Thomson Hall and secure some good seats in the middle of the auditorium. We got some pictures in before the ushers came a-tsking at us.

The programme was an eye-opener to some in the group. I personally enjoyed Bach's and Widor's pieces. It's amazing how Bach managed to weave a picture of God--not monochromatic by any means but in all His fathomless Trinitarian intricacy and splendour--using various devices and then resolving it all in bold affirmation in the end. Widor fiddles with the capabilities of the pipe organ, and then some, as he let's rip with what I've learnt is a one-kick "tutti." It's not every day when one gets to hear a pipe organ let fly with all its might.

 

Other exciting pieces included two improvisations by Champion himself. Not surprisingly, he got a standing ovation at the end of the programme.

Well, was it worth the trip and the hike downtown? Let's hear from those who went (like Hellen Mu)!