Oh, what a beautiful morning the 23rd Edition of the Cardinal Chorale experienced! We awoke bright and early for our final full-length day of Workshop. At breakfast, like every other morning, each Opus was assigned an “Opus Challenge,” in which each member is assigned a specific task for the day. Sometimes they are funny, and sometimes they are serious. Opus Five decided that their challenge for today would be to win the Opus Olympics!
During sectional rehearsals, each voice part continued to solidify their notes, rhythms, words, and memorization of all our pieces. It was always fun for the baritones, basses, and tenors to circle around a piano and see face-to-face with our brothers in song. Some of this year’s favorite songs are “Cry Out and Shout,” “A Choral Fanfare,” “Make Them Hear You,” “The Bend in the Road,” and “Peace in this House.”
After lunch was the annual, super competitive, Opus Olympics! Opus one through eight competed to become the coveted 2017 Opus Olympics champions, which wins a used 2005 Mud Volleyball trophy with a toilet bowl on top and bragging rights for a whole year! Contests consisted of a relay race while holding a paper plate between your knees, passing balloons in a circle with only our elbows, unscrambling words, and creating names for mashups of this year’s songs. The winner is to be determined and announced.
Afterward, our final Opus Huddles were held. In this particular huddle, each Opus partook in an Affirmation, a meaningful explanation of the impact others have had on us throughout Workshop and our lives. We then came together for our final Friendship Circle, which was full of emotions as we had to say “goodbye” to each other. This week, for some, has changed their outlook on music, and most importantly, their life.
“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” -Maya Angelou