The Chorale has been waiting an excruciatingly long three weeks to see each other again since our last performance, so there were many hugs to go around as we all arrived at the Coshocton Presbyterian Church this afternoon. Though we were sad to have to cancel our concert last week and postpone our weekend together due to weather, the right decision was made and we are still glad to still be able to spend some time with most of the Chorale. We started our day of rehearsal warming up our voices together, then moved on to part and sectional rehearsals for a good bit of the day. The girls finished one of their rehearsals early, so we were able to enjoy a long break with some snacks and extra fellowship time.
The day went by quickly and dinnertime soon rolled around with tacos galore! As we devoured the delicious meal prepared by wonderful volunteers, we sat at our assigned tables and enjoyed having conversations with others that we may not usually have the chance to talk to. Staff member Matt Downing even coordinated a Mad-Libs creation with the entire group and provided entertainment by reading us the final product.
As a break between rehearsals, we also watched several videos as a group today, some of which demonstrated what not to do while singing, such as a particular recording of “This Is My Father’s World” that we found very amusing.
It was finally time to sing together again as a full group, which was a wonderful feeling after a full day of part and sectional rehearsals. We sang through several more pieces to prepare for our OMEA performance next month as well as for the church service on Sunday. Mr. Snyder explained to us how helpful this rehearsal weekend is for us and what we should expect from our experience at the conference.It was soon time to head to our home-stays, or to our actual homes if we live in Coshocton, and get some well-deserved sleep to prepare for even more rehearsal on Sunday.