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February 21 - March 1, 2009 :: Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota.

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All Good Things Come to an End

It's mid-week, post choir tour. We're heading into the next concert, which we sing in less than 2 weeks. Time is shifting back into the rhythm of papers, assignments, tests, presentations, and rehearsals. But we have great memories that include: composing songs together on the bus, singing in just about every space imaginable, including the welcome center at Ponca State Park in Nebraska, performing 12 successful concerts to appreciative audiences, consuming more cookies than humanly possible, yelling "What, what!" a LOT, requiring latecomers to wear green shamrock hats and crowns, eating fabulous Indian food in Madison..., the list goes on and on. Choir tours have a way of becoming time capsules of delightful times shared with peers, when music and travel and sleep deprivation and close quarters create friendships that last a lifetime. And provide the discovery that music, sung together, is a connection to others and to the Divine that is indeed a sacred space.

Madison, Wisconsin

Today we set out from St. Paul, Minnesota and drove for much of the day. Luckily, the weather cooperated and we arrived without problems at Madison Mennonite Church in Wisconsin. Unfortunately our ice skating plans did not work out, so we ended up with some much-needed free time. Many used it to relax, working on homework, or resting. About half the group spent some time at a mall close-by. After a restful afternoon, we rehearsed and enjoyed taco salads for dinner.

At this point of the tour, with 9 performances finished, it is sometimes easy to turn on "auto-pilot" and cruise through performances. However, before every performance, we have a student-led meeting where we are given time to focus and prepare for each performance. These times of reflection are very helpful and remind us that even if we have done it many times, it will be the first time that the audience will have heard the music.

Now, I am off to rest, looking forward to a free day in Chicago and beginning the home stretch of the "Great White North Tour of 2009!" -Ben

The true meaning of great white north

Today we got hit with our first glimpses of what this tour was really going to be all about. Yes, I am talking about the snow. Of course our singing and sharing means a lot to us too, but we've been waiting to get struck with the "great white north" that we've been anticipating so much and finally here it is! We were in South Dakota last night and this morning. The snow began last night and by the morning there were several inches covering the ground. Thankfully we all made it to the academy safely, and in time to sing for their chapel. As soon as chapel ended we headed out on the long trek to Minnesota. Thanks to Orla, our wonderful driver, we made it safe and sound, and only about 45 minutes behind schedule. We rehearsed, ate a quick supper, sang, and mingled with alumni and friends. I was delighted to see some relatives of mine there, distant cousins, but cousins none the less. :) I didn't realize that I would be able to make family connections on this tour so that was a nice surprise. And now I'm heading off to bed and getting mentally and physically prepared for another long bus ride to Wisconsin. YAY SNOW!! ~Karla

Hanging out in Des Moines

Today we arrived in the wonderful city of Des Moines, Iowa. The choir had a chance to shop, eat, or go out and explore. The various places that were recommended to us were the botanical gardens, the capitol building, the Iowa History museum, and The Art Center. Some choir members had the chance to visit all of these interesting and beautiful places. The capitol building held an amazing view of the city and was a beautiful building to view, the Art Center was free for all choir members, and the history museum was massive, but my favorite place was the Des Moines Botanical Gardens. The botanical gardens were absolutely incredible. The gardens gave many choir members a break from the constantly brown scenery and cold weather. Plants from all over the world were displaying their bright and bold colors, while turtles and fish swam in a little stream beside them. By the end of our exploration in Des Moines, the choir was exhausted, but content. Des Moines was a much needed break that made everyone thoroughly satisfied.

Yah, Iowa!

We started off our day today (Monday) bright and early at Iowa Mennonite School. After performing for their chapel we stuck around for lunch time. It was rather interesting being back in high school. We sang for the cafeteria workers there to thank them for allowing us to partake in their delectable tater tot casserole lunch. Once we left IMS we headed out to do a service project. We split up into three groups, and headed off to either the Crowded Closet (a thrift store), Salvation Army, or Crisis Center (a food pantry). I was in the group that went to the Crowded Closet; there we did a lot of sorting, pricing, and other jobs that they asked of us. Before we got started, the woman in charge, Karen, had us each take volunteer name tags. Many of the name tags were pre-printed and so as to save them some trouble some of us decided to take names that may not have been our own. I do believe that we had Eldon, Norm, and RoseAnn as part of our group (we’ve been having some fun playing around with our names.) Leah (RoseAnn) and I spent about an hour or so sorting out the clothing donations. Before we left we sang for the people who were in the store shopping and for the workers there to thank them for giving us the opportunity to spend some time volunteering with them. Now we’re on the bus and our way to Sugar Creek Mennonite Church for our evening performance. It has been quite a trip so far, and it’s only Monday; I can’t wait to see what the rest of the week has in store for us.

The Power of Music

It was a privilege to offer our Sunday morning concert at Metamora Mennonite Church in memory of Harold Neumann, a long-time member of that congregation. Harold was a great lover of classical music, and a long-time supporter of Goshen College and Mennonite higher education. Many of his children and grandchildren have attended or are attending GC. In particular, our "Geistliches Lied" by Brahms was an appropriate song honoring Harold's memory. Its lyrics: "Let nothing ever grieve you, be at peace. The One is Lord of all. Whatever God ordains signifies the best." Harold's spirit, and the spirits of many we remember, live on in the music we sing. -Deb Brubaker

Slumber Party with Deb!!!

We've made it through our first full day of tour, and it was an exhausting one. It seems hard to believe that we just left Goshen yesterday. The cycle of sitting, eating, singing, eating, sleeping has been rewarding, but also tiring. Gorged with great food from the earlier potluck, it was nice to have a salad bar prior to our last concert of the day.

Yet here we are at the end of the day, still finding energy to play ping-pong with our choir director! That's right, our home-stay is with Deb! Quality bonding time and some good laughs ensued. Home-stays are usually full of fun times, but how often can you say you had a sleep-over with your choir director?

-Ben (along with Steve Cress and Allen Shenk)

A Wonderful Host Family

Getting to know host families on choir tour is quite an experience. Anna Showalter and I had the privilege and opportunity to be hosted by Jon and Erma Stutzman from Normal, Illinois. Anna and I were greeted warmly by our host family after the concert. We had no idea what was about to happen. Once we were settled at the Stutzman home, Jon showed us his one-hundred year-old cello. He had been playing cello for seven years and was ready to give us a performance! He asked Anna for accompaniment assistance and told me that he was a little nervous, but ready. He started to play a beautiful song that made me smile from beginning to end. While he was playing with Anna, I realized that host family experiences are unique, wonderful, and should be treasured. We shared our stories, discovered social connections, and enjoyed each others company. This was a moment that I will always treasure.

Snowy Departure

Yesterday our choir set off from the music building in the midst of falling snow. Many of us felt that this was more than appropriate seeing as we've dubbed our tour the 'Great White North Tour.' Despite the less than ideal conditions outside, spirits were high inside as we set off west to Bloomington/Normal Illinois. After a round of instructions from Deb, Trish Yoder, and Bethany Swope, we all settled into a bus ride that included movies, cards, discussion, and some much needed rest before our first concert later than evening.

Pre-tour Final Thoughts
Hi! My name is Ben Hoover, I am a junior Business major/music minor from Reading, PA, and I am looking forward to sharing our experiences with you during the “Great White North Tour” of 2009! Today we had our final run-through of the music for the tour and I think it went very well compared to other tours, where we were still learning music on the bus. It is shaping up to be a great program, and it should be a good experience for all who are involved! Today I will leave you with a story about a somewhat frustrating, yet entertaining experience I had.

Last week, I was recruited to join the tone chime group that will be performing a piece on tour. Now I like to think of myself as a pretty musical person, I’ve studied piano, violin, organ, and I am currently studying voice. So tone chimes should be pretty simple right? As I struggled through “Beautiful Savior”, trying to play my 3 chimes, catching a few notes here and there, while our choir director couldn’t keep a straight face, I realized that it isn’t as simple as you might think. As Deb puts it, “the consternation on your face as you dealt with that little black piece of metal was just too precious for words!” Anyway, today it went smoothly, no laughing choir directors, and only a few uncooperative tone chimes, so it should be a nice addition to the program.

That’s all for now. Spring Break!

-Ben
Posted at 01:28 by Thomas Hoover #

Pre-tour Thoughts
Getting ready for tour has been a challenging and exciting process. We have been doing a lot of busy rehearsing and trying to get all of our pieces together as quickly as possible. Rehearsals tend to be jammed pack with singing but we have had plenty of moments for bonding as well. Laughter is almost always a part of our tight rehearsal schedule and I can only anticipate much more of that on tour. Personally, I am looking forward to getting to know my fellow singers a little better, there's nothing like bringing people together through song! :)

As spring break gets closer I can't help but think about how usually I think of warmth and sunshine for spring break. Well, hopefully there will be sunshine on our "great white north tour" but I can't really anticipate too much warmth. Hopefully we wont notice the cold too much because we'll be staying warmed up all the time for all the concerts we'll give!

Altogether, I can say that I am looking forward to this tour with great anticipation for good times and great music making. :)

Ta ta for now.

~Karla

Posted at 16:40 by Karla Santiago #

"The Great White North Tour" of 2009!

Recent newspaper articles are describing record low temps and high snowfall in all of the states we'll be visiting on tour - we're calling this one "The Great White North Tour" of 2009! Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota in February can only mean excitement, right?!

With only 11 rehearsals until we step on the bus, we're beginning to make swift progress in rehearsal towards refinement and memorization of our repertoire. Josh Tyson, one of our tenors and a music education major, commented yesterday in rehearsal that we're singing 12 concerts in 8 days. He's already using his teacher mentality and looking ahead to the enormity of the finished product!

This group of 32 is the largest Chamber Choir I've ever toured with - one of the tenors is my son, which is rather special, too. They're talented, energetic, and motivated. I am certain that our openness to the moving spirit of God will provide opportunities for music and connection that will amaze us all in the weeks to come.

— Deb Brubaker