August 30, 2012

Japan 2005-2007

Japan 2005-2007 is an exclusive 24-page photo album containing pictures of Libera's 2005, 2006 and 2007 Japan tour. No copyright infringement intended. All rights belong to Libera and EMI Classics who decided to print only 1,000 copies!

























Photo album - courtesy of Fan_de_LoK

August 22, 2012

Liblog: Jersey and Guernsey pt 2


Continued from Part 1…….
We packed up from the Jersey youth hostel, and being in dorms of 8 meant it took a bit longer than usual to pack because certain people spread their belongings all over the room. However, we were soon on our way to the port, via coach. It was lovely weather –sunny as usual – but a bit too hot.
The ferry ride was fairly short, and eating on very bumpy waves made it very interesting indeed. Seasickness aside however, we had made it to our final destination: Guernsey.
I must say, on first sight the hotel looked spiffing. I say ‘spiffing’ as it looked quite posh, with lovely trimmed hedges and gardens surrounding it. However we ignored the scenery and checked in to our hotel.
After checking in, we explored the field, playing a huge game of hide and seek and 40-40 home. Some of us hid so well we weren’t even found when we were told to come in! We had to spend the night outside, just to make sure we won the game. Not really.
We had our first dinner in the hotel, and ate some pretty amazing food. We were definitely looking forward to our stay here, especially since we were allowed to use three lounges and even a large chess set. The day ended with us watching some ‘Horrible histories’.
The next day began with another lovely meal, this time at breakfast. We were all pretty excited as well, as today was going to be our first concert in Guernsey. Not many of us had been to Guernsey either, so we all found it pretty welcoming.
Before we had to leave for the concert, we had some free time. In the rooms we set up some gaming devices, and also some croquet outside. And yes, we do know how to play croquet properly!
We had a quick lunch, and then prepared for our show at St James – which is a concert hall converted from a church.  On the way, we handed out some leaflets. Another sound-check, as usual, and we were raring to go. St. James had a very nice acoustic - it was very nice to sing in, and I sounded fantastic, if I say so myself. A quick snack, and then we went on stage.
The show went well, and we slept tight.
The next day began with another nice breakfast, and then something we hadn’t done in a while: we were going bowling! I have to say, even though the island is fairly small, it was quite a trek to the bowling centre. However when we were there, it was fun. Various shouts were heard when strikes and spares we played. We asked for the barriers, so no gutter balls. It was all going well, until someone bowled to hard and knocked the barrier over…woops.
After bowling it was time to go back to St. James for our second concert. The usual routine occurred, with a sound-check before a quick snack and then our last concert this tour.
Our next day was all a big surprise. We hopped on our coach and took a short drive to our ‘mystery destination’. We definitely knew it was going to be fun when we arrived: we saw bouncy castles – three of them – each with different gladiator-style stuff. One had a wrecking ball in the middle, with the aim to knock off another person off the 4 different podiums. Another was a one-on-one battle with two ‘battling rams’. The final one, well, we were unsure of exactly what to do, but it involved a long beam with a sword and a shield. It was very hot weather, so we ran out of energy pretty quickly. 
We split into two groups. Whilst one group was enjoying the inflatable gladiator things, the other group was sent inside to do some archery! 
We ran through a quick safety demonstration, and then let all arrows break loose. It was surprisingly difficult. We even pinned down balloons, and try to pop them. It was great.
After the first activities, we entered the main hall: to begin a Libera 7-a-side football tournament! It was indoors, and we didn’t really bother with all the official rules.  Kavana’s team won, if you were interested.
After the football came lunch: a selection of sandwiches, fruit and crisps. Then we changed into our swimmers, because to end the day we were going to play all sorts of water-based activities. I’m not even going to mention the excitement.
It started with a game of disease: one person is a zombie and has to spread the disease throughout everyone. Its very difficult, especially as hiding in a bush for a long time gives you cramps. Cassius however managed to stay hidden, right until everyone began playing ‘splat’: a shooting style game around the circle, except this time with water guns and sponges. You need quick reactions for that, or you’re soaked. Then came water-hose limbo; dodge the water, or you’ll get drenched. It was all fun. But then of course came the all out water fight. 1 minute to choose your weapons, then sponges begin chucking, water guns begin shooting, and hoses, well, they spray everyone. It was a great way to end the day.
However, it was also a great way to end the tour. We got back for dinner, watched two episodes of the Simpsons and went quickly to bed. We woke up the next day, had some more free time, and then packed. We said our final goodbyes as we boarded our coach to port, went through the usual stages of boat boarding, and boarded our ferry home.
Well that’s it. Our Channel Islands tour is finally over. Thank you all for reading, and we hope to see you soon!

August 19, 2012

Liblog: Jersey and Guernsey pt 1

“Far away”…well not really
SUMMER HAS ARRIVED:
We said our goodbyes, and boarded our plane to the island of Jersey. The flight was only short (unusually), and so we were checked in to our hotel in no time.
Despite being so close to home, not many of us had ever been to Jersey. We didn’t really know what to expect, although it was really welcoming. And it didn’t even require a currency change: hooray!
We had a few free days before we had to perform. After some rehearsals to make sure our voices were in check, we took a walk to the nearby beach, and got the general idea of what was around our area. We did a lot of walking, being the carbon-friendly people we are. The next day we watched Disney’s “The Lorax”, and spent most of it relaxing.

As well as relaxing though, we were mainly preparing for our first appearance in Jersey: to sing in the beautiful St. Thomas’s church.It was a very nice acoustic, echoing our sounds, and also making it fun to listen to our own voices. We sang the mass on Sunday morning and after the service we managed to snack on some refreshments laid out kindly by the church-folk. C’est supercool! (oh, and we’ve been practicing some nearby language). 
As well as that, we even did something totally unimaginable. We got our robes dirty handing out leaflets in a nearby shopping centre. It was very interesting really, having a little competition on who could give out the most leaflets. After we’d been run dry of all our leaflets, we headed back.

A few swims later, as well as some free time, it was time to perform. We woke up, the lovely weather blinding us through the window, and made our way to the main venue in Jersey – the Opera House. Today was a concert day. We bypassed the sea and entered in the bright blue “stage door” - after spending some time looking for it – before rushing in to get ready.
The first night went well, with lots of boys doing new solos and harmony parts – so we were all raring to go for the next one the day after which also ran smoothly,

We decided the next day to take a trip to Jersey’s best aMaizin Adventure park!  We had fun with the mini golf, the various bikes and tractors we could ride on, even the huge “Big Drop” and “Jumping Pillow”. We then had a go at the amazing aMaizin Maze!
After that we tucked into lunch, then had a go at the “Water Warriors”. That was fun too, drenching people with hosed guns whilst you ducked for cover. A quick trip to the gift shop, and then it was time to go back home. Well, “back to our hotel anyway”.
We were now ending our first part of the tour. As well as being a tour though, it was still our holiday too: and so we began packing for our next hotel, which wasn’t a hotel, but actually a hostel packed with all kinds of fun.
A short drive (and I mean short) across Jersey passed, and we arrived. The sea in the distance, bedrooms of 8, the clear skies: we were sure this was going to be a great part of the tour. We hauled our suitcases up the stairs, unlocked the doors and lobbed our suitcases inside.. The food was nice too, and there was plenty of room in the nearby field for games.

On the first day, we began our free time in the games room. We played board games, cards, table tennis and whatnot. Then we went for a walk, again seeing around our area. It was very nice, being high on a hill, and interesting castle to our left and the lovely sea to our right. We were out of breath as we came back for dinner, and ended our first day with a movie night in, watching Disney’s Coraline.
The next day began with a wonderful continental breakfast, complete with boiled eggs and cereal. Then came a catch up on the Olympics afterwards, as we gathered round the TV in the games room. Various cheers for various countries, all sorts. Afterwards though, was the best aspect of the day by far: a trip to the Jersey-famous Durrell zoo.

We arrived there, and were privileged to listen to Lee Durrell, wife of Gerald Durrel (who of course founded the whole place) talk about the park and its main aim: ‘saving species from extinction’. We saw all sorts of animals, from Bears to Bats, Lemurs to Lizards, Chameleons to Chimpanzees, some animals we’d never even heard of! All in all it was an amazing day out. Then came the gift shop afterwards. Some of us even adopted some animals, giving money to a good cause, whilst others bought the most adorable looking cuddly toys, like bright purple snakes and orange frogs. We came back, and ended the day with another film: The Adventures of Tintin.
We decided to spend the last day with a long day at the beach. We went on another walk, hauling all sorts of beach toys and equipments down the road. The sand was crisp and soft, the tide was going out, and more importantly the Speedboat rides were open. That was great fun.
The rest of the day was spent mainly building sandcastles: or in our case, sand villages, complete with a church that had mass at 11:30 and a farm. Others began digging water systems with the water left at low tide. More importantly though, we dug holes and buried many people with just their heads above the sand. Ah, we didn’t want to leave the beach.
But unfortunately all good things come to an end, including our visit to Jersey. One movie night later (watching Madagascar 2) and we woke up packing. It was finally time to leave.
We left to the port and boarded our ferry to the next chapter of our journey: Guernsey. It’s time to go now though, so more on that next time.



August 1, 2012

Channel Islands Tour 2012 Archive


Date: August 1-2, 2012 / Location: Jersey Opera House, Jersey, Jersey, UK
Date: August 7-8, 2012 / LocationSt. James Hall, Guernsey, UK
Time: 7:30PM
Ticket Prices: £10 - £35

Member List:
Henry Barrington
Anthony Blake
Tiarnan Branson
Ciaran Bradbury-Hickey
Jude Collins
Luke Collins
Kavana Crossley
Jakob de Menezes-Wood
Thomas Delgado-Little
Dylan Duffy
Benjamin Fairman
Daniel Fontannaz
Matthew Jansen
Isaac London
Joshua Madine
Matthew Madine
Eoghan McCarthy
Michael Menezes
Kuba Niedermaier-Reed
Cassius O'Connell-White
Matthew Rangel-Alvares
Adrian Sheard
Bertie Smart
Michael Ustynovych-Repa
Sam Wiggin
Lucas Wood

Song List:
Jubilate
Libera
- Nano-Ben and Cassius speech
Song of Life (solo: Isaac London)
Sanctissima (solo: Eoghan McCarthy)
Sanctus (Last Sanctus by Matthew Jansen)
- Cassius and Michael UR speech
I Vow To Thee My Country (solo: Matthew Jansen)
Eternal Light (solo: Jude Collins and Thomas Delgado-Little)
Salva Me
- Jude speech
Faithful Heart (solo: Josh Madine and Matthew Jansen)

Exultate (solo: Thomas Delgado-Little)
Attende Domine (A Gregorian chant. a cappella by Eoghan)
Orinoco Flow
Gloria
- Michael UR and Cassius speech
The Fountain (solo: Matthew Jansen and Thomas Delgado-Little)
Dies Irae (solo: Ciaran Bradbury-Hickey)
Grateful Heart (solo: Thomas Delgado-Little and Michael Ustynovych-Repa)
Stay With Me (solo:  Cassius O'Connell-White. Matthew RA on high notes)
- Josh speech
Ave Verum
Far Away (solo: Isaac London)
Glory To Thee (solo: Eoghan McCarthy)
- Nano-Ben speech
How Shall I Sing That Majesty (solo: Eoghan McCarthy)
Encore: Exultate (short version)

Staffs:
Musical Director: Robert Prizeman
Keyboards: Robert Prizeman, Steven Geraghty, Joshua Madine, Ian Tilley
Clarinet & Recorder: Steven Geraghty
Percussion: Simon Roth
Lighting: Luke Avery
Concert Producer: Ben Crawley
Sound Mixing & Production: Sam Coates
Stage Management: Jonathan Barrington
Chaperons: Barbara Geraghty, Eleanor Lewis, Sandra Barrington
Management: Steven Philipp, Andrew Winter