Tour Day 1: Serve!

Written by: Drew Thomas

The Cardinal Chorale had another exciting day as we began our journey on the road. Our first stop for the trip was Bowling Green. This is the home of three chorale members, Drew and Aidan Thomas, and Elle Mitsch! 

The day started off with all the members arriving early in the morning at the Coshocton Presbyterian Church. We had some brief notes and then we ~walked together~ to the gazebo so we could take a picture (which you can see on our social media 😉). 

We then had our traditional Chorale Circle to go over the plan for the day. Something new to tour this year are these cute little cards pictured below that help us decide who our seat buddies on the coach. This is one of the many reasons the Chorale is as cohesive and together-sounding as we are… the adaptation and willingness to mingle with someone we may not know very well.

We don’t normally start our tour in northwest Ohio, but we had a special invite to one of our singer’s graduation party. We unloaded at First Baptist Church around 12:30, had some pizza, and said goodbye to Drew so he could get ready to host us.

After the Chorale rehearsed and had some relaxation time at the church, we all loaded back up on the coach and headed to the graduation party for dinner. We had some amazing bratwursts, cheesy potatoes, shredded chicken, and so much more.

The Chorale also had time to sing for a very special Chorale mom, Holliday Thomas, to express our appreciation for having us over. Our traditional way to thank others is by singing “Thank You Very Much,” by

Once everyone was changed into our concert attire, we formed our pre-concert Chorale Circle and welcomed the new members with the famous Cardinal Chorale Medallions.

The Chorale was stuffed from dinner but there was no time for any post-meal napping. We had a concert to perform that night and about twenty minutes to go from graduation party outfits to concert-ready!

The first concert of the tour is always amazing because we are singing for an audience for the first time in four months. Our first concert went so well and we are so grateful for Beth Vaughn who conducted a few pieces, as well as First Baptist Church for offering such amazing hospitality.

You could say that the Chorale definitely ~served~ last night!