On the way home

Well, our departure time this morning was probably a bit early after last night's post-concert celebration. We boarded the bus at Rockefeller Chapel and headed north for a quick visit to Chicago proper before hitting the road for the last leg home. Who knew there's be a St. Patrick's Day parade, with thousands of green-clad revelers crowding the streets?

Some of us headed for Giordano's, one of Chicago's famous spots for deep-dish pizza. Others checked out the Chicago River, dyed green for the holiday. And others walked around the Loop, checking out the magnificent architecture and beautiful public art.

Chicago

Well, we made it to Chicago, more or less in one piece and met up with Chicago Men's A Cappella. Rockefeller Chapel is a magnificent Gothic church, far grander than any of our other concert venues.

We rehearsed by ourselves and with CMAC for our combined numbers. After sharing a meal, it's time to get dressed & sing our last tour concert.

Feeding time at the Zoo

Gray skies and chilly temps are accompanying us as we cross Ohio towards Indiana on our way to Chicago. Snow and rain are predicted for concert time, but maybe it won't be too bad. We've stopped for lunch at the last service area in Ohio. We're told the ones in Indiana aren't as nice.

Our final full concert...

It's Thursday night and we've completed our final full concert of this year's tour. Tomorrow night in Chicago, we'll be guests on the concert of Chicago Men's A Cappella, directed by Bruce Tammen, a former conductor of The Virginia Glee Club. We'll be singing  just one set on their program, so tonight was our last chance to sing everything. Fortunately, we had a wonderful space at Westlake United Methodist Church in Westlake, OH, home church of Bob and Carolyn Remington, grandparents of Glee Club Publicity Director Michael Ziegler '15. The audience was enthusiastic and contained a number of UVa alumni (though, alas, no Glee Club alumni). The folks at the church made us a great dinner, so everyone was fully fueled for the performance. I'm hoping they're all catching up on their sleep now to get ready for tomorrow's drive to Chicago.

At last night's concert in Ypsilanti, Brian Ammer's uncle took some shots of the group during our concert (a little Brian-centric, but understandable!). Thanks for sending them along!

It's cold here!

The guys looked somewhat the worse for wear after sleeping in our host church, but they rallied when we reached a fancy Ohio rest stop. Eli, one of our drivers, is from Ohio, and he wouldn't stop telling us how great it is there. All I know is that we're headed to Cleveland now, and it's only 28 degrees.

After watching the announcement of the new Pope on the satellite TV on our bus, we arrived in Ypsilanti, Michigan for our concert at First United Methodist Church. The folks at the church pulled out all the stops and fed us our first home-cooked group meal of the tour. We had a great audience for a fine performance in a beautiful, historic sanctuary.

After a good night's sleep with host families from the church (and some much needed showering!) we met up this morning at Pioneer High School to sing for their Cantare Men's Ensemble. It's always great singing for high school guys and showing them that they can keep singing once they get to college. Onward to Cleveland!

Two more concerts

We had a fantastic time at Millersville University on Monday night, singing a beautiful concert in their brand new performing arts center and joining with their Marauder Men's Glee Club and conductor Mark Boyle for "Brothers, Sing On!" The audience was enthusiastic and there were several Club alumni there, which is always great. There were also a number of Glee Club parents, including the Klings, the Duffins, the Semeskys, and the Talbots.

We began today in a driving rain storm as we headed west across Pennsylvania towards the famous Breezewood Rest Area. While the bus refueled, the guys ate, found amusement and then, like lemmings to the sea, piled on the bus again for the remainder of our journey.

We drove another two hours until we reached the Pittsburgh suburbs, where we spent a couple of hours at a local mall, eating, shopping, playing games and visiting the pet store.

We finally reached our concert venue for the night, Natrona Heights Presbyterian Church. The Pastor, Clerk of Session and congregants were most gracious hosts, and the audience was good-sized and appreciative. It took awhile to figure out what our connection was to the church, but the woman who answered our call for help with a concert venue was Mary Beth Orbin, aunt of Patrick LeDuc (Doppelgänger), a former Glee Club president, and sister of Trish LeDuc, a former parent member of the Virginia Glee Club Alumni and Friends Association board. Everyone worked really hard to make sure we felt welcome, and we greatly appreciated it. We also saw more parents! The Hancocks flew up from Tampa to hear the concert and celebrate their son "Saltine's" 20th birthday.

I hope the church folks are still glad they hosted us when we return in the morning to collect the guys, who are spending the night in the church basement. Their favorite thing so far? An indoor basketball court, on which I saw them playing basketball, frisbee, and lacrosse at the same time. Maybe they'll tire themselves out and go to bed early. Hope springs eternal. Off to Michigan in the morning!

So we survived our 8:25 a.m. performance...

...but it's never easy to sing so early in the morning. As usual, some of the guys showed up late (in time for our third song), and one didn't make it at all. Ah, the joys of touring. We sang for the entire student body at Roxbury Latin, and there was no rioting, which is always a good thing.

We're on the road to Millersville, PA and tonight's concert at Millersville University.

The photo is us singing The Good Old Song this morning. Thanks to Margaret Doyle for the pic and for all she did to make our visit to Roxbury Latin so great!

It might not have been such a good idea...

...to stop for lunch in a place with snow on the ground. I only got hit a few times...

Great 1st solo concert

Our departure from Smith College this morning wasn't too early, and it was a short drive, which was great. Jordan Stillman's mom generously provided several boxes of home-baked goodies for the road. It was a totally unexpected gift and most welcome on the bus.

Today we sang an afternoon concert at the Roxbury Latin School near Boston. One of put first year baritones, Matt Doyle, is an alumnus, and his mother Margaret put the whole concert together for us. Thanks for a great place to sing, dinner and generous host families to house the guys! We'll be back to sing an all-school assembly at 8:35 a.m. Glad we have an early night!

On today's concert, the RL a cappella group, The Latonics, sang a solo set and joined us for the Biebl Ave Maria, which was fantastic. Our own subset, The Gleemen, sang a number as well, and both groups sounded great.

It was nice too see several FOTGC (Friends of The Glee Club) there, including Eric Grub's parents, Sue and Craig, a large contingent from the Doyle clan, and The Virginia Glee Club Alumni and Friends Association Historian and Club alumnus, Tim Jarrett.

Tomorrow, we're off to Pennsylvania (if we survive the morning assembly!).

Show time!

We had a great time at Smith and the concert was a big success. I wonder how often the piece is performed with three different conductors (Joseph Martin, Jonathan Hirsh and yours truly)? It might have been a little confusing for the orchestra, but I think the singers enjoyed the variety.

We're now on our way to Boston for this afternoon's concert at Roxbury Latin. I hope the guys will be able to sing, what with the post-concert party, Daylight Saving Time and all the vigorous singing in Carmina.

It's a family affair

Smith College Director of Choral Activities Jonathan Hirsh plays viola (in the parts he's not conducting) next to his daughter Alyssa on 'cello and in front of his father Jules on bass.

Orchestra rehearsal!

There's nothing quite as exciting as the first time you get to sing a major work with the orchestra! The guys don't look too much the worse for wear after spending the night on campus with hostesses from the Smith choirs. Since the performance is tonight, the day will be a tricky dance of preserving voices and judging balances between the chorus and orchestra. The singers are real troopers, squeezing 150 people into a space more fit for 100.

How many singers can you cram onto one stage?

Our first rehearsal of Carmina Burana with the Smith College choirs. There are 98 of them and 49 of us--good odds for social settings, but perhaps not for major choral works. But from my perch in the balcony, the guys are definitely holding their own. Kudos! We have our one orchestra rehearsal tomorrow and then the concert tomorrow night. It's going to be a great performance and a great experience for the guys. The two Smith conductors, Jonathan Hirsh and Joseph Baldwin, and I are each conducting one of the three sections. I'm going to try and beat them by conducting my part faster than theirs. I heard it was a contest and the first one to finish wins a prize. :-)

And so it begins...

After a treacherous drive north in near-blizzard conditions, the Glee Club made it to Hartford-Springfield International Airport to pick me up. What? You didn't expect me to drive all night on the bus with the guys, did you? We're now on the last bit of our first journey to Northampton, Mass and Smith College. Why do I suspect there wasn't much sleeping on the bus last night? Only 8 more days! :-)

Our Itinerary

It won't be long now before the Virginia Glee Club heads to the Northeast on tour. Come hear us sing if you're within striking distance of any of our concerts! Visit www.virginiagleeclub.org for more info!

Saturday, March 9 – Northampton, MA
Carmina Burana with the Smith College Glee Club and the Smith College Chorus
Smith College, John M. Greene Hall – 8:00 PM
Adults: $5, Students: $1. Tickets at the door.

Sunday, March 10 – West Roxbury, MA (Boston area)
With the Roxbury Latin School Latonics
Roxbury Latin School, Rousmaniere Hall – 3:00 pm
Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead one hour!

Monday, March 11 – Millersville, PA
Collaboration with Marauder Men’s Glee Club at Millersville University
Charles R. and Anita B. Winter Visual and Performing Arts Center – 8:00 pm
General Admission: $10 Tickets available at the door

Tuesday, March 12 – Natrona Heights, PA (Pittsburgh area)
Natrona Heights Presbyterian Church – 7:00 PM

Wednesday, March 13 – Ypsilanti, MI (Ann Arbor area)
First United Methodist Church – 7:00 PM

Thursday, March 14 – Westlake, OH (Cleveland area)
Westlake United Methodist Church – 7:00 PM

Friday, March 15 – Chicago, IL
Collaboration with Chicago Men’s A Cappella
Rockefeller Chapel, University of Chicago – 8:00 PM
Tickets are available at cmacsings.com/tickets.
$10 general admission, U of C students and children under 12 free.