The University of Portsmouth music ensembles will perform at the New Theatre Royal on Saturday 19 May ahead of their Spanish tour. Every two years the music ensembles at the University of Portsmouth go on tour to a European country, performing four concerts in a variety of venues. This year they are visiting Figueres in Catalonia, Spain. Concerts are often full and our students enjoy the hospitality extended by locals. On one memorable occasion in Slovenia a local butcher held an impromptu barbecue for the 70 or so members because there was no restaurant in his village. On another occasion the choir performed to a huge crowd at the Zwickau Town Hall celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of the famous composer Schumann. Being part of such a momentous occasion certainly left an indelible memory on the students. In fact, since tour was introduced in 2004, alumni would often come back and join the ensembles for the week-long trip. “Our students really gel during this wee...