Visits organised by the GCDYO

Pat Pardy, once our Director of Educational Visits, organised all overnight and exchange trips. Sections took part in fund-raising activities and the Parents and Friends Committee subsidised the trips so that all the players could go.

English visits

Hayes Conference Centre

In February 2000, the Senior Symphony Orchestra spent 2 days at Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick, Derbyshire.

The centre is enclosed in a 95-acre site containing a lake, the facilities were superb, and the cost: very reasonable.

Foreign Exchanges

GCDYO members have long experience of visiting their colleagues in Germany. Many families are still in close contact with guests and hosts they met years ago. The trips last for about ten days and most days the players took part in concerts or rehearsals. Trips to see the local area were also part of the itinerary.

The players and adult organisers stayed with families involved in the local music group. The host families usually took two players into their home, but some volunteered to go alone and others stayed in a small group. The accommodation may have been luxurious in a guest room, or an air bed on the floor. Common to all hosts was an overwhelming desire on their part to make their guests welcome. Such was the hospitality that, on return, our players needed another holiday to catch up on sleep!

Bremerhaven

Bremerhaven is Grimsby's twin town. Like Grimsby, it has a long connection with the sea - the Schifffahrtsmuseum possesses a wealth of local history. Visitors can also catch a ferry from the harbour to Heligoland, a small, erstwhile duty-free island off Germany's coast.

Königswinter

Königswinter on the Rhine is Cleethorpes' twin town. During visits to Königswinter the orchestra had the opportunity to play in a concert in the famous Petersberg hotel, visible at the front of the photo. The views from the windows and grounds are spectacular.

Leer

This small town in Northern Germany has strong links with the GCDYO through the friendship of the German Music Director Dirk Ellee and our long-time ex-senior conductor Jeffery Babb.

Every two years there was an exchange between us. Some lasting friendships have been made through these exchanges.

Other Opportunities

Some of our players still attend the European Music Week arranged by the NAYO.