What a surprise it was to read you piece on Integration and to be the first couple named. Many thanks. However as Anke says to us integration is the little things around -communication with your neighbours, learning to speak French, using French health services, and paying French taxes rather than avoiding paying tax anywhere. Sadly things too many people especially the British avoid doing.
While we may be seen as the visible face of the Association Restauration Saint Corneille it is everyone else who makes the integration a reality. All our English singers who come and share their confidence in the success of a a scratch performance with the French ones who probably have never sung in such a concert before. The Anglo French logistics team who get the church prepared, sell the tickets and the anglo australian caterers who provide what I consider the most important part of any event, the food. Mark Opstad our Anglo Norweigan conductor and his Polish wife Weronica also play a vital role as indeed does Nicolas O'Neil who for us appears to be just a virtuoso organist but in reality is one of Britians up and coming composers and a wonderful Jazz muscian.
Nicolas has just been given a very prestigious commission - to write the music to mark the 800 anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta in 2015. It was all announced yesterday at a lunch at Downing Street which he thought was great. Young composers continue to be impecunious and in addition to be prestigious this one is also well paid. He loves coming here and we hope that as he becomes really famous he will still find time to come.
Finally we hope that after all those thanks you will be able to give the first plug for our next exercise in integration and fundraiser for the partrimoine of Puycelsi. On Sunday 7th September at 18.00hrs the wonderful Puycelsi Choir will be singing a Mass by Puccini and Beatus Vir by Monteverdi and our soloists from Toulouse Opera will adding their voices in solo. More details will follow!
Ginny and Ross Jenkins.
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