As the Chorale members woke up in the morning, they felt tired but excited for a brand new day. They got ready at their host homes and headed back to the church so that the Chorale could once again gather and share stories of the previous night’s wonderful concert. Stories were shared of lovely encounters with the audience after the concert and also the shameless recruiting of some of them. After a wonderful circle time, everyone loaded their stuff onto the Coach and headed off to Marion OH for the next stop on the tour!
Before reaching the new venue, the Coach made a stop at the Harding Memorial and Veterans Memorial Park to pay their respects and enjoy the gorgeous sunny day. Here, the Chorale spotted someone walking through the park to which they responded by circling up around the man and his adorable dog named Ella and sang to him a few songs and invited him to our concert. It was a wonderful time enjoyed by all.
After the shenanigans in the park, the Chorale once again headed back on the bus and made their way to East of Chicago Pizza! There they enjoyed eating and also singing to the other patrons and staff.
Shortly, we arrived at Prospect Street United Methodist Church to get ready for our performance. Fighting the tiredness and vocal fatique, we continued to improve the quality of our music. This was followed by a “family meeting,” in which our staff expressed to us singers the importance of getting to know every choir member. Studies have shown that groups who know each well perform together much better. Fortunately, the Chorale didn’t need to be aware of those studies to know that; we could already see our improvement as we continued to get to know one another. Friendship is more important to us than singing.
Dinner was served by many generous volunteers. The meal featured steak, mashed potatoes, cheesy potatoes, macaroni salad, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, grapes, watermelon, strawberries, cantaloupe, honey dew, pineapple, cookies, brownies, funfetti cake, and much, much more. Some Chorale members were particularly perplexed by the pink cookies that SOMEHOW tasted just like bubble gum.
After singing “Thank you Very Much” to the kitchen staff, we suited up for our concert and gathered in a circle to express our thoughts. Hayden told the group that the first thing he learned in the Cardinal Chorale was to always look at Mr. Snyder and his conducting. After all, he is a handsome guy.
The city of Marion, like Newark, proclaimed June 20, 2016 “Cardinal Chorale Day,” the congregation prayed for us, and we began our performance. Immediately, audience members appeared to become very enthused by our sound, which really fueled our spirits for the whole concert. Many listeners really enjoyed Tell My Father, an already emotional Civil War-based song, made even more emotional by Jacob’s hand signing.
After the concert, we talked to the audience members, met our host families, and went to their houses to rest up for another big day tomorrow – Lakewood!
