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Sunday's Concert
What a great trip! It was great getting to know all of these fantastic women. Every concert was so powerful because of the community we built together. Everyone in the area should come to our concert on Sunday, March 2nd at 7:30pm in the Goshen College Mennonite Church Chapel. It will be a wonderful event.
Posted at 16:23 by Laura Dick #

Reflections...
Well, we're all safe and sound back in Goshen, with some time to rest up and look forward to Sunday's concert! Thinking back through the past couple of days, our Wednesday night concert at Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian in NYC stands out to me somehow. We weren't really sure how many people would be there, and I have to admit I was a little worried when the audience numbered exactly zero at twenty minutes to concert time. But as we sang our hearts out to a sparse but faithful crowd of 25 or so, it struck me that size was the last thing of any importance. I realized that we were singing, not because we had an audience, but because we had a song within us that had to come out, that had to be shared. Of course, it's a lot more fun to share songs with an audience, knowing that they are hearing them for the first time- and as I looked out at people's faces, I saw one or two bowed heads, closed eyes from time to time, bright smiles, swaying shoulders, thoughtful looks. As I noticed those responses, I thought about the words coming out of my own mouth, listened more consciously to the collective sound of our voices, and felt myself worshiping more fully through each different response in the audience. It's amazing how much meaning a song acquires, as you sing it over and again, and it becomes more and more a part of you.
Posted at 22:17 by Ana Yoder #

Leaving NYC

We're now at the end of our time in New York and we don't want to leave! Many of us have tried to cram in shopping, museums, eating out, walking through central park, and going to shows in these last 36 hours. Yesterday evening we walked or took the subway to Good Shepard Presbyterian Church to perform. The acoustics were wonderful and the notes of the harp seemed to ring on forever. This evening we sing in Pittsburgh and tomorrow we head home. It will be strange not being constantly surrounded by these women which I have gotten to know so well. The homecoming concert will be a welcomed reunion for us. Bringing our full concert back to Goshen will be exciting. It’s always great to sing for the home crowd. Thank you to everyone who has attended concerts! The positive feedback has been invigorating! Hope to see more of you on Sunday evening!!

Musings from the Maestra

It certainly has been an incredible week! I am so blessed to be able to make music with these fine women. They are strong, full of energy, creative, beautiful, and wise. Our performances have moved people to tears, utterances of "Wow - that's all I can say - wow," some standing ovations, even an encore or two. Click here to read a sample of the comments we have received from our audiences.

We've had opportunity to teach two high school groups one of our songs, have experienced the cultures of south Philly, Lancaster County, and NYC, have learned to know and appreciate each other so well, have laughed and cried together. One interesting observation from a director's point of view - just when you think everyone is having the same spiritual experience you are as you direct a concert, think again. Stories being shared on the bus indicate that other, more mundane things can be happening as other-worldly music is being sung. Things such as wondering how to get your sweaty bare foot unstuck from a large piece of paper as you dance and sway during "Denko," or figuring out how to surreptitiously get the long piece of hair out of your mouth that has somehow wandered in off of your head during a performance. What we don't go through for fine art... Final word: I am so lucky. These women are changing the world.

NYC

As Ana just wrote, we arrived in New York City just recently and I was happy to discover internet in the hotel. The performance at Christopher Dock Mennonite School went well and I think we woke some of the students up with our lively music. We were excited to perform as always, despite being tired. I think that the majority of our voices are holding up, but some of us are feeling the strain of having multiple performances everyday. I'm thrilled to have a longer period of time between concerts to rest my voice. We're all exuberant to be in NYC and looking forward to an Indian meal tonight! When we arrived at the hotel we took over the very small lobby creating a massive traffic jam of women and luggage and had to take multiple trips up the one small elevator and even used the service elevator and stairs. Right now though, the hotel beds look really soft and comfy.

First impressions: NYC
I decided to set a record and write twice in a row. We just arrived at our hotel in the past hour or so, and are mostly settled into rooms. From the ninth floor, the alley behind the hotel building looks like a long way down, and everything's pretty gray, a little wet, and solid cement/stone/concrete. Welcome to the city! I can't wait to get out and just walk around and explore, and am especially excited for Indian food for supper tonight! Yum!
Posted at 13:54 by Ana Yoder #

Sunshine, singing, and sleep

So, yes, the absentee blogger is finally writing. I'm so bad at this. I wrote all this last night, but wrote on the GC blog instead of this one. Oops. But anyway...

Like Laura mentioned earlier, we've enjoyed sharing stories with each other as we travel on the bus from place to place, and I thought the following little anecdote was worth sharing. Yesterday walking around Lancaster city, Christa (Graber) and I found ourselves on a couple of streets towards downtown where I probably wouldn't have felt safe alone at night. But with the sun shining, and all around gorgeous weather for February, we had a really refreshing walk. On one of those streets, we passed by an older man, a bit bedraggled, slowly shuffling his feet along on the sidewalk. As we got closer, his face suddenly lit up with a huge grin, and he said "Jesus loves you" in the best grandfatherly voice. We told him "Jesus loves you too," and kept walking, smiling to ourselves a little bit. He definitely offered us a ray or two of sunshine! More about singing: we had a great time at Philadelphia Mennonite High School this afternoon. The highlight for me was watching students' enthusiasm as we sang, especially teaching them Yesu ni Mtakatifu at the end, and really getting into the rhythm together. The concert tonight at Blooming Glen was also good, but I'll let someone else write more about that. After a full day with three concerts, I'm pretty exhausted, ready for a good night's rest, and eager for the chance to sleep at least a little later in the morning. If someone had told me last week that I would think sleeping til 7 am sounded lovely, I might not have believed them.

Still getting (and giving) goose bumps

And the tour continues! We performed yesterday morning at Akron Mennonite and in the evening at Forest Hills Mennonite and this morning at Lancaster Mennonite School. Many of the women in the choir were able to stay with family and this brought some much needed rest and rejuvenation. The audience seems to like us more and more with each performance and we have been well received by all ages. Yesterday morning when we sang at Akron Mennonite Church, a man came up to me and a few other choir members. He was holding his young toddler and commented that he had rarely seen his son sit as still as he did during our performance! It was decided that our performance at Forest Hills was our best yet. As a group, we have had time to bond and this has had a wonderful effect on our singing. In the beautiful sanctuary at Forest Hills, we were able to let our emotions lead the music. Tears and laughter evoked a special spirit into the songs. I had expected to grow weary of performing so frequently but that is simply not the case! I still get goose bumps when I sing Khudaya, I still giggle when I see heads in the audience pop up after the first note of Denko, and I still feel and overall sense of well being after singing. Soon we will be arriving in Philadelphia and singing at Philadelphia Mennonite School.

Even More Adventures in Internet Procurement

Here we are in lovely Philadelphia, with a good two hours to run around the city. Of course, the first order of business was to find some internet (as always), so we went to the Starbucks across the street, expecting internet. Apparently, it was one of the few who do not have internet. The baristas directed us to a nearby coffee shop called Cafe Ole, and they let us use the internet without buying more coffee after we sang the first few verses of "Sto Mi E Milo". I'm really glad we came here, it very colorful and has an eastern feel. This morning we sang for sleepy high schoolers at Lancaster Mennonite High School, and got to teach their choir some songs afterwards. All right, we should go. The woman asked us to leave when it got busy, and the lunch rush is just coming in...

More Adventures in Internet Procurement
I apologize if this blog seems to be more about a grand quest for internet instead of the Grand Tour itself, but it's hard to talk about anything without it. It's the aqua vita for bloggers, I guess. This morning we participated in a service at Akron Mennonite Church, which went wonderfully. Each time we perform for a congregation, I am reminded how great a blessing it is to share our message with other Christians, and the speaker highlighted this evangelistic aspect in his sermon. The congregation really opened their arms and made us feel welcome (but what may have been more welcome was the table full of desserts!) Most of the women agree that the most powerful concert of the tour so far was our concert at Forest Hills Mennonite Church. Before each concert, we have a time of devotion, and tonight Kimberly Glick led us with a particularly moving subject. Emotions ran high right before the concert, and I believe this led to a more impassioned performance. Many people in both the audience and the choir were in tears at the end of "Khudaya", and we received a standing ovation at the end. Tomorrow looks like an incredibly busy day, with three performances and traveling to boot. Prayers for maintaining sanity would be much appreciated.
Posted at 22:00 by Chelsea Kaufman #

The Search For Internet
We've got quite a bit of free time between the Akron and Forest Hills performances, and so Kristina Mast and I have been running around trying to find free wireless internet. We found a coffee shop that claimed to have wireless internet, but it wouldn't load anything. So! We found a computer in a library, but it will only access .edu, .gov, and .mil sites. Plus, I can't upload pictures. So! A REAL post will happen once we find reliable internet—the holy grail of this trip, it seems. Guess we aren't pure of heart...facebook might be a priority too, not just the blog.
Posted at 14:32 by Chelsea Kaufman #

Traveling Day

Today we spent from about 8 in the morning until 3pm traveling. We started the day with a few women sharing funny moments that happened the previous day. I think this will be a highlight of everyday since starting the day with laughter is always a good plan. After we shared for a while, the whole bus fell asleep from exhaustion. Singing and traveling are fun, but it is enough to wear anyone out. When we finished our collective nap, we had lunch and then passed the time watching a movie and talking until we arrived at East Chestnut St. Mennonite Church. We followed the same routine as we had before our concert at Kidron Mennonite: rehearse in the new space, eat, dress for the concert, have devotions, and then perform. During our devotions we shared things for which we were thankful, including good food, the people who helped us on the tour, laughter, Deb, the churches, and many other things. Following the sharing, we all participated in a group hug! Then, with our newly found strength, we sang our hearts out yet again. We are now all preparing to get lots of sleep before our day tomorrow so we will be ready to give two performances.

Kidron Ohio

Yesterday we arrived in Kidron and sang at Central Christian. Afterwards many of us took a trip to Lehman's Hardware. This was a particularly interesting experience! That store seemed to go on for miles. I was in awe. In the evening, we were served a wonderful, home-cooked Mennonite dinner at the church. We filled our tummies with casserole, salad, cheese, and fancy dessert. Our concert in the evening was concluded with a standing ovation from the audience! Both Krista and Kate gave faith stories. Overall, we had a great day in Kidron and made our way this morning to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Thanks to all who have come to hear us sing!

A Bit of Backstory

So i just realized that we haven't really talked about how ACDA went. Oops. Sorry about that. The morning we performed was a sea of people in tuxes and black dresses, all running around getting ready for their own choirs' performances, so it was quite nice to stand out with our brightly colored fabrics. I think we got a couple of jealous looks too...no one likes boring concert clothing! We had a nice breakfast of bagels and muffins and juice and the like. Usually, I don't like eating breakfast, but those bagels were really tasty. We warmed up in rooms backstage, but there were other choirs warming up on either side of us. However, one of them was singing "All Creatures of Our God and King", and we couldn't help but sing along too. Deb and Vance George gave us some very moving inspirational speeches, and helped us understand the importance of this event—Deb said it was one of the three highest points of her life! When it came time for us to work our way to the stage, we were a little hesitant. We had to leave our shoes in the warm up room, and there was a large docking area that practically open to the outside and had a freezing cement floor. So we hitched up our choir dresses and sprinted across. No frozen floor can stop our solidarity with the women of the word! In the quiet of the hallway as we waited to enter the ballroom, it was apparent that most of the choir was either coughing or sniffling, and I was more than a little worried about how the performance would go with so many of us under the weather. But despite that, the performance was absolutely phenomenal. Afterwards, some seasoned concert directors told us that this was the first time they had cried during a performance. Then we did a more informal performance in the exhibition hall, and there were audible "Wow"s after some of our songs. All in all, an amazing experience to be sure.

Hildegard of Bingen's new Acolyte

Bright and early Thursday morning, the Grand Tour set off on its tour of...Grandness, but not before Deb christened the tour bus with water and named it Hildegard, after a German abbess, artist, author, poet, activist, visionary, and all around amazing woman from the 12th century. Needless to say, our tour bus has big shoes to fill, but I'm sure it's up to the challenge. That afternoon, we sang for Central Christian School in Kidron, Ohio, and in the evening in Kidron Mennonite Church. Both performances were spectacular, even though the audience was a bit smaller due to the winter weather advisory. Hopefully, everyone got home safely. Today we're facing a 7 hour bus ride to Pennsylvania. Go Hildegard, go!

Where are the Rapids?

After a surprisingly tolerable bus ride, we arrived in surprisingly lovely Grand Rapids for the ACDA choir extravaganza! No really, it was quite picturesque driving in the late evening light with the city lights twinkling and the full moon glowing over everything. One almost forgot how cold it was outside. Ah well, it doesn't matter much, since the concert venue is in the same hotel. The hotel is a bit of a maze, but we managed to find our rooms without getting too lost. It's a very nice place, with detail prints of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel above the beds with real comforters, not just scratchy excuses for blankets. Thank you Goshen College! We're on our way to the ballroom for a sound check, and the actual performance will be tomorrow morning. By the way, everyone should go out and see the lunar eclipse tonight. We will!

Last Night's Concert; Getting Ready for Tour

Last night in Sauder Hall, Goshen got a glimpse of what Women's Choir Tour '08 will look like. We sang 4 songs at the end of GC's Earth, Wind, and Fire Choir concert. I must admit that I have been a little under the weather this week and wasn't feeling physically or emotionally ready for a concert. But when we stepped on stage and started singing together I suddenly felt empowered, confident, and generally excited! It was great to see the audience so involved when we sang "Khudaya". Just as Deb had anticipated, our performance shocked the crowd into silence! It was an extremely powerful and emotional moment. Good feedback from family and friends was all the more reassuring that this tour will be wonderful. I'm looking forward to refining our songs even more this week and bringing our music to Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.

A day without rehearsal?
Friday was terribly strange. This week has been littered with extra rehearsals squeezed into odd hours to get ready for the upcoming tour, so a rehearsal-less Friday was a bit of a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it was nice to have a bit of a break to catch up on homework and people one hasn't seen in ages because you've been so busy, but on the other hand, one can't relax or focus properly because you think you should be in rehearsal! But the extra practice has done wonders —the songs are now so ingrained, it seems like singing is now as commonplace as breathing. Less than a week until all of our hard work pays off! It will be nice to get our traveling feet wet in Grand Rapids before we start on the Grand Tour (yes, it deserves capitals. It's that grand), that way all of the little logistical problems can rear their ugly heads and be dealt with now rather than on the road. Personally, I love traveling and the unpredictability of it all, but I worry for Deb and all of the hard work she put in planning it all. For any of you in the Goshen area that might not be able to attend our Grand Tour performances, the winter concert entitled "Earth, Wind, Fire, Water" is tonight at Sauder Hall which will have a few of the pieces we will be performing on tour, as well as performances by the Men's Choir, Chamber Choir and Chorale. It should be a wonderful evening, even though Scott Williamson refused to dress up like a member of the band Earth, Wind and Fire.
Posted at 15:36 by Chelsea Kaufman #

The upcoming tour

Though I’m sure all of the women are feeling the stress of the approaching midterm exams, projects, papers, and anything else our professors throw at us, we are all excited to take a break from the campus and sing our hearts out for… well, anyone really who loves music. To prepare we have had several extra rehearsals (which were even rewarded with food sometimes) as well as fun get to-know- you activities. We have been playing the game two truths and a lie. For those of you who do not know this game, it consists of each choir member writing down two true statements and one lie about herself which Deb reads allowed and everyone has to guess which statement is the lie. Then we learn the surprising truths about our fellow singers. Yet, we have only begun to get to know each other and will hopefully learn much more on the tour, less than a week away.

Tour-Bound...almost
Exactly one week from tonight, we will be in the middle of our concert at Kidron Mennonite, singing our hearts out! Honestly, the practical side of me is just ready to have my papers written and turned in, over and done with. But more than that, I can't wait to have time to spend with people. We have an amazing group of women (if I do say so myself), and I'm really looking forward to all the time we'll have to spend together, as well as all the people we'll get to meet and interact with in each place we sing. All our voices, as one, lifting up songs in different languages and styles, letting the music rise above us, beyond our own time and place, that is what we reach towards. So far, I've definitely found it to be a most rewarding experience. So, one more week of classes. We are tour-bound...almost.
Posted at 19:50 by Ana Yoder #