Monday 26th August
It's 4.30 am and 84 excited young musicians and staff are gathered at the Bannerdale Centre ready to load their cases onto the coaches. Meticulously labelled, uniquely numbered and carefully weighed for their journey outside the EU, our instruments had already been on the road for more than 24 hours. We had loaded them onto a van after our Sheffield concert at All Saints Church Ecclesall, on Saturday night and were now eager to catch them up. There's always one, but despite the latecomer we kept to our schedule, departing Sheffield shortly after 5.00am, and arriving at Stansted four hours later for our 11.25am flight.

Stepping off the plane at Trieste airport it was 2.30pm, and smiles lit up tired faces as we were welcomed by the sparkling sunny weather we'd all been promised. For those of us who could keep our eyelids pinned open, the journey from Italy, via Slovenia, to Rovinj gave us our first glimpse of the stunning scenery we were to experience much more of during our stay. Hold-ups at the boarder crossings, and an anticipated 3 hour journey became a 5 hour journey. We arrived at our hotel just in time for tea. There were minor communication problems but we managed to work out the dining system. The food was…..interesting, but much appreciated as our long day had left us both tired and hungry. Rooms were soon sorted, and a brief trip into Rovinj town centre gave us all the opportunity to sample the local 'pivo' (beer). Then it was back to bed, ready for the long and important day and week ahead of us.

Tuesday 27th August
It was up for breakfast at 8.30 today, ready for a rehearsal at 10.00. The rehearsal room we'd been allocated by the hotel was fairly small, very warm, and the acoustics didn't seem to be doing us much justice. 3 hours later we'd made great improvements - perhaps it wasn't the acoustics after all!

After lunch in the hotel, a much appreciated couple of hours of free time. It was a beautiful sunny day, the hotel pool inviting and great fun for all. At 5.00pm we departed for Labin, but the journey took a little longer than expected and on arrival at our concert venue some two hours later we were disappointed to find that it was too small for our 81 strong orchestra. After much shifting of chairs, stands, instruments, and bodies, it was decided that some willing members of the orchestra would sit out in order to create room for the rest to play. Stomachs were rumbling by 8.00pm and the stunned local pizzeria didn't know what had hit them as we all raced in to place our orders. 8.30pm loomed large, many were still waiting for their food to come, we were neither changed nor tuned, and our concert was scheduled to begin in half an hour! Arriving at our own concert 10 minutes late, we were relieved to be met by a friendly audience. Our program opened with Vaughan Williams' English Folk Song Suite, followed by The Lark Ascending (with solo violinist Martin Cropper, former member of the orchestra). A 20 minute interval then gave us all time to prepare for our challenge of a finale, the Rachmaninov Second Symphony. Despite the inauspicious start, our first concert went very well, and our conductor Christopher Gayford, and the rest of the staff were quick to congratulate us in our performance. Arriving back in Rovinj at 1am, some hit the pillow, whereas others put on their dancing shoes and took full advantage of the 3am curfew!

Wednesday 28th August
Not surprisingly, breakfast was a rather more subdued affair this morning. Most endeavoured to get as much sleep as possible before leaving at 9.45am for a full day cruise around the islands off the coast of Rovinj. The sun was shining. Some sat in the bottom of the boat in the shade while others lounged on the top deck topping up their tans. First stop was the Lim Fjord, and a visit to a pirates cave. Other tourists were surprised and amused to hear the 86 of us singing rounds of "Fish and chips and vinegar…", "Can't put your muck in our dustbin…", and "1 bottle of beer, 2 bottles of beer…" in perfect harmony (it honestly does fit together!).

It was then off to another beautiful island where we had a barbecue. Unfortunately as we departed so too did the sun, leaving us under a blanket of thick grey thunder clouds. A sudden roar of thunder, and the heavens opened. Undeterred, we jumped from the boat into the sea and it was amazing to swim with the rain beating down on us and bouncing up from the surface of the water. Back onto the boat, and on to another beautiful island. Rain was still pouring, but this time we were all a little less adventurous and after a moment's hesitation we sought out the comfort of the nearest café for warm drinks, beer, and ice cream!

After returning to the hotel, drying off, and having tea several string players went out busking. Such a young and large British orchestra was something Rovinj's people would never have experienced, and our hope was to give the locals a taste of our talents and lure them to our concerts. A rather earlier curfew tonight, but for the bold, still time to sample a little more of the Croatian nightlife.

Thursday 29th August
It was an early breakfast today ready to leave for Pula at 8.45! We all strained to keep alert faces as our very enthusiastic but rather talkative tour guides gave us far more information than we could possibly hope to digest. First stop was the amphitheatre, impressive enough for a momentary silence all round. There was time to explore a little of the town before finding pizza for lunch. It truly is a beautiful country and the local people very anxious that we enjoy it, but the return trip was equally amusing as the tour guide repeated himself again…and again…and again, giving us his best wishes for our stay in Croatia.

An hour's rest, and then a short 30 minute walk to the Church of Saint Euphemia. Not too bad you might think, but situated spectacularly at the top of a hill it was 80 rather hot and bothered players who arrived at the church ready to rehearse. Worse was to come, for we were to discover that there was hardly space for an orchestra of any size to play. Communication was difficult and the churchwarden seemed a little less than accommodating. For a time it seemed that the concert might have to be cancelled. An hour later, peace was restored and the situation rescued by the negotiating skills of our Croatian concert organiser. We were allowed to move the front 3 pews creating enough room. We set up, had a short rehearsal, but then had to put everything back in place ready for a church service a 7.00pm. There was just time to walk back to the hotel for tea, change into concert dress followed by a taxi boat across the bay, before the hill climb once more for our concert at 9.00pm! Many others had also climbed that hill, the church was packed, and we played even better tonight. We were told that we are the first British Youth Orchestra to play in Croatia since the war with Serbia and by far the largest youth orchestra ever to tour. The standing ovation from our very appreciative audience made us all feel extremely proud to be representing our city, and given the opportunity of sharing our music with these people in such a stunning place.

Friday 30th August
At this morning's rehearsal the orchestra had decreased in size dramatically, and continued to do so throughout the day as more and more people fell ill with a stomach bug. Several people had been violently sick throughout the night, and it was not yet known why. We were all careful to stay out of the heat and not share drinks, in hope that no more would fall ill before the teatime departure. At 4.00pm a very depleted orchestra set off for Pazin, our final concert venue, leaving several behind in bed. We had the same delightful tour guides, and confess to feeling fortunate that the microphone was not working!

Tonight's venue was to be the most impressive of them all. We were playing inside the walls of a beautiful old castle, in the open air. So far it all seemed perfect. After a very brief rehearsal (if we couldn't play it by now, we never would!) we were despatched to the local supermarket to buy our tea. We could have been likened to a plague of locusts, for by the time we had all filtered through the tiny shop, the shelves were stripped of stock, and the shopkeeper ever so slightly stunned by the invasion! Smothered in jungle formula to ward off ferocious mosquitoes, we took to the stage. The concert got off to a memorable if unexpected start as the stand collapsed on the front desk of the second violins! By the second half, players, not stands were collapsing and 3 more of our reduced first violins had to drop out feeling ill leaving the rest of us slightly nervous but determined not to let our loss in numbers affect the performance. Those of us who remained put 110% into this last performance, and it was definitely worth the effort.

After the concert our host provided wine, cakes, and chocolates, and with a little help from a translator spoke to us about our performance. He was obviously very proud of his country and this striking venue, but also delighted to have been able to give us the opportunity to share our music in such a place. We were all touched by his words as he likened the "magic of Istria" to the "magic of our music". It was a concert I will never forget.

The night was still young however as last nights go, and it was back to the hotel ready to prepare for our annual "Cabaret Night". This, a CSYO tradition, and well you might wonder at when there is time to organise. At the end of every summer course, each section of the orchestra performs a cabaret act, which they have put together during the course, for the rest of the orchestra. We arrived home at 10.30pm, only to discover that one of our members had managed to injure her leg on the journey home, and was now on the way to hospital! And just when we thought nothing else could go wrong! We all sensibly went to the hotel bar to wait. 11.30pm… no sign of them, 12.00…still no sign, 12.30 and the injured return, pot on leg! The show however, must go on! Those of us still fit and well set off to in search of a more secluded spot. (We have been known to create quite a bit of noise!) True to form, the remainder of the night was filled with song and dance, acting, laughter, tears - but certainly not of the sad variety, and everyone happily making fools out of themselves - a definite cabaret night success! Then the finale, and the presentation of gifts for our wonderful staff and this year's orchestra leavers, causing many more laughs, and a few more tears, and this time some were of sadness. Our summer course had almost come to an end, and for some also their time with the CSYO.

Saturday 31st August
8.30am and instruments were being loaded back onto the van, it would be some two days later that they would finally arrive back in Sheffield, two very tired parents at the wheel. Four hours later it was our turn to be loaded onto the coaches and we waved a final farewell to Rovinj. As one last treat before going home we were taken to a picturesque farm in a little town named Dusani for a traditional Croatian meal. We were welcomed by women in traditional dress and entertained throughout the meal with traditional Croation music and singing. A magical end to a magical 5 days.

I believe I can speak for every member of CSYO in saying that we are inordinately grateful to belong to a community which opens up for us a world of opportunity. On behalf of CSYO I would like to thank everyone who made this trip possible.

Sarah Elliott, CSYO