This morning we all woke up bright and early. After breakfast with our host families (or in some cases, a bag of food to go), we met at the church. During our morning Chorale Circle, we took turns reflecting on last night’s concert and talking about all the highs and lows of the day before. With refreshed minds, we boarded the bus, ready to seize the day. Over the next hour long bus ride, singers enjoyed “tacet time,” or a silent period we occasionally have to rest our voices while traveling. Singers studied music, read, played video games, or in most cases, slept.
Upon arriving at All Shepherds Lutheran Church in Lewis Center, we groggily disembarked from the bus and tried to wake ourselves up. After meeting the All Shepherd’s Lutheran choir members, we began to rehearse. It was AMAZING singing under the direction of chorale staff member and alumnus, Josh Dufford. After running through Amazing Grace and Let There Be Peace with the combined choirs, we lined up to sing. Although we couldn’t praise the Lord with trumpets or high sounding cymbals, the service was wonderful, and the pastor even asked that we do an encore of Let There Be Peace which we were more than happy to do.
From there we ate a wonderful lunch provided by the church, and were off to Polaris mall. After an hour of exploring the mall, we all gathered to do an “impromptu” serenade in the mall. We quickly realized the acoustics in the mall were amazing, and that gave us even more energy to sing our best so we could advertise a little. We received a lot of applause for the America series of tunes that many mall-goers paused their shopping to hear.
After that it was a fairly short bus ride to Westerville’s St. Paul Lutheran Church where tonight’s concert took place. When the equipment crew finished unloading the bus, it was straight to rehearsal so we could figure out how to maneuver through the aisles of the sanctuary. When we were finished, we had some free time to relax before dinner. Later, the church provided a FANTASTIC baked potato buffet which was quite a few people’s favorite meal thus far.
The Chorale Circle this evening was full of hope for this concert with everyone looking forward to at least one song we were singing. Then we were ready to sing. Len Thomas joined us during the Fred Waring section of the program to direct All the Things You Are. After the concert, singers worked on recruiting a couple of audience members to join the chorale.
If there’s one thing all Chorale members know, it’s never be afraid to do some shameless recruiting. From there, it was time to say goodnight to our someones and get some sleep, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.
Featured Singer of the Day: John Bordenkircher, Baritone
Coshocton County, Ohio
First year member (Tour Sub)
Favorite Chorale Song: This is My Father’s World
Favorite Part of Today: Len Thomas directing “All the Things You Are.”
Impact the Chorale has Had: “Lots of tiredness, little sleep, but an opportunity for an amazing time.”
Future Plans: Continuing to run his small business of document shredding, tool sharpening, and knife sharpening and eventually study mechanical engineering
