Posted on Friday, January 26, 2007
The ¾¨Ó㴫ý Concert Choir and Wind Ensemble recently returned from a successful two-week tour of Spain.
"The responses of the audiences in Spain were overwhelming! Even though there was a significant language barrier between us, when we played, they connected with us," said Sarah Bender, a sophomore elementary education major and member of the Wind Ensemble from Salem, Ohio. "At the end of a piece, they would jump to their feet, smiling and saying Bravo! Bravo!' The feeling at the end of each concert is one that I will carry with me for many years to come."
During winter break, 67 people from the ¾¨Ó㴫ý Music Department traveled to the Andalusian region of southern Spain for a two-week performance tour.
"This was the first time that the Concert Choir and the Wind Ensemble took a tour together. It went so well that hopefully it won't be the last," said Dr. Robin Lind, ¾¨Ó㴫ý director of choral activities and associate professor of music. "The days were filled with sight-seeing and the evenings were filled with song, as they performed for enthusiastic audiences in beautiful and historical cathedrals in cities that included: Palos de la Frontera, Seville, Cádiz, Ronda, Granada, Montefrio, Jaen, and Córdoba."
"It was a wonderful opportunity to explore another culture and to share the universal language of music," said Dr. R. Tad Greig, ¾¨Ó㴫ý director of instrumental activities and assistant professor of music. "It was also important that we were able to take a vocal and instrumental ensemble to demonstrate the depth and quality of our music program."
The first concert took place in the small town of Palos de la Frontera.
"It was the group's first take of Spanish hospitality," Lind said. "The concert was preceded by a festive and delicious reception hosted by the local dignitaries. Everyone then moved into the church where we were warmly received. The next day the ensembles performed music informally beside a famous nativity scene in Seville. Since Christmas is celebrated January 6 in Seville, the atmosphere was festive as hundreds of people stopped by to listen to the groups perform seasonal selections, along with their more formal music selections."
New Year's Eve was spent in Seville, too.
"The best surprise of the evening was the unexpected engagement of two couples in the group," Lind said. "John Buco and Cory Marion surprised their long-time girlfriends, JoAnne Johnston and Rachel Hammond, at the stroke of midnight with proposals of marriage. Happily, both girls accepted."
Lind heard several comments from people in all the cities visited that the ¾¨Ó㴫ý students were wonderful ambassadors for the United States and ¾¨Ó㴫ý both in their friendly and respectful behavior and the high quality of the music performances.
"One woman came up and identified herself as an American from Chicago who had lived in Seville for the last 30 years," Lind said. "She told the students how proud she was of them and what wonderful ambassadors they were for the United States, both with their music and their positive behavior."
While performing, the group crossed paths with the Duke University Chapel Choir and their director, Dr. Rodney Wynkoop, who were also touring Spain. The two groups performed for each other in an area of the Alhambra that is noted for its acoustical excellence.
"It was a pleasure to bump into you and your group," Wynkoop wrote in a note to Lind. "You have brought them [Concert Choir] to a lovely, warm, and expressive sound with which you should be really pleased. It's always exciting to hear excellent choral music coming from somewhere unexpected. I hope to have more opportunities to hear your group in the future."
Everyone who went on the trip has different memories.
"For some it was the incredible amount of walking we did each day sight-seeing or getting to the performance sites," Lind said. "For others it will be the tours of the beautiful monuments, palaces, and mosques left behind by the Moors and Catholic monarchs. High on the list has to be the warmth and friendliness shown by the Spanish people. And still for others it was the stark beauty of the landscape in Andalusia with its sparse vegetation, rolling hills, white-washed towns built on cliffs, and miles and miles of olive trees."
"Spain was an incredible experience that I will never forget," said Kevin Shields, a ¾¨Ó㴫ý sophomore education major from Eldred. "I will never forget eating octopus and flan for every meal, but performing with some of my best friends was the greatest experience of all."
"The awesome encore clap that the audience responded with in Cadiz, and their simple telling faces of amazement, inspired me to continue my musical career after College," said Veronica Geretz, a ¾¨Ó㴫ý junior psychology and philosophy major from Norwalk, Ohio.
"None of us will forget this experience of making music in spectacular cathedrals, in front of enthusiastic audiences, and bringing a message of joy and friendship to people of another country and culture," said Lind.
Contact Lind at (724) 946-7278 or e-mail lindra@westminster.edu for more information.
