On the Road with the Asian Youth Orchestra

The AYO 2017 World Tour has come to a close. The final city, host of our last concert, was Brussels, Belgium. At the BOZAR Theatre, our performance under Mr. Pontzious with soloist Sarah Chang was spectacular with all hearts, on stage and off, fusing into one. The standing ovations throughout the hall were enthusiastic and seemed to continue forever. Before going on stage, Mr. Pontzious had a special reminder for us. "Look how far we have come," he said. Only two months ago, we had first arrived at Rehearsal Camp, meeting for the first time with our faculty members and playing our first few notes together. It was a new experience for most, each bringing with us different backgrounds, each appearing to be so different from another. We were unsure of left or right, with circumstances leaving us excited but in awe of what was to come next. And since then? "The orchestra now walks on stage with confidence." First arriving in Chiayi City 2 months ago Ou

Time has flown by. From Italy to France to Spain, then back in Italy. Onwards to Switzerland and Italy for the last time, then Germany. Now we are in Prague. We have loved Europe and Brussels will be our last destination after this. Just imagine, only 28 days ago we'd been so eager to try out authentic American hamburgers and cherry Coke in Washington, D.C. That was before our first concert al fresco at Wolf Trap in Virginia. Today, across the Atlantic, we are in the Czech Republic, savoring, in the rain its capital city's romantic charms, including its eclectic assortment of medieval gothic, gilded baroque, stylish art-nouveau, and minimalist cubic structures and buildings. At every turn of Prague's cobblestone street corners, too, from Charles Bridge to Prague Castle and the Old Town Square, one senses a Bohemian air of the melodies of Czech composers Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana. Smetana Hall Municipal House  Smetana Hall, named after the composer,

From Berlin, we're headed on the bus to Prague, where we will perform our second-last concert of our 2017 World Tour. The bus ride is short in comparison to others we have had, only about four hours. To make it even better, we learned we would be stopping over in Dresden, which is located near the border with the Czech Republic and is the capital city and, after Leipzig, the second-largest city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is "one of the greenest cities in Europe," with more than 60 percent being forest or green areas -- parks, sanctuaries and nature habitats. Dresden stretches out some 30 kilometers on both banks of the Elbe River. Surrounded by mountains, it is a beautiful city with many bridges and historic buildings. These buildings in the old town area were rebuilt beautifully after World War II, given that the city core was heavily bombed by air raids.  It's beauty and history makes it one of the most visited cities in Germany with