Swansea, Wales, and Off to Ireland...

More news from your other correspondent, David. I'm writing this post from the Imperial Hotel in Cork, Ireland, but being as we will be here for a few days, Susan and I will wait to fill you in on this interesting city. Anyway, our time in Swansea, Wales, was short but fun. After arriving at our hotel we made our way over to St. Mary's Church, which was in the midst of a jubilee celebration.


Pictured above is Ben Baker, Meg Granum, Paul Henderson and Miranda Lubarsky carrying our robe box alternatives. As the four boxes were too heavy to fly over here, the Choir invested thirteen robe bags, which makes for more work for first year members, which I, fortunately, am not...

Katelyn Larsen is seen here carrying Dr. Armstrong's podium in the main sanctuary. The church was rebuilt after the war, like many other venues in which we've sung, and it provided a great place to sing. Our receptive audience included a few local dignitaries, whom the choir was able to meet in a reception after the concert.

Today we left Swansea bright and early to board the ferry that took us to Ireland. Before leaving we said goodbye to our two faithful British bus drivers, John and John, and met our new Irish bus drivers, Liam and Fergus. Their names combined with their accents, well, they certainly fit the profile... We checked into the hotel, spent a free evening in Cork and plan on spending tomorrow sightseeing as a group.

Last Day In London: Concert at St. Clement Danes Church

Our stay in London came to an exciting close on Friday with a final concert in St. Clement Danes Church located across from the Royal Courts of Justice, in the heart of London.



The first structure on the site is believed to have been found by Danes in the 9th century, but it has been rebuilt several times, most notably by famous architect Christopher Wren in 1682 and again in 1958 by the Royal Air Force after it was destroyed by German bombs in World War II. It is now the Central Church of the Royal Air Force and serves as the site for many war memorials and dedications. The war-torn history of this church made our performance, particularly of Penderecki's powerful Agnus Dei, that much more meaningful.

We got dressed in the crypt, the second one to serve as our changing room during the trip! I'm hoping for a few more opportunities in Ireland.


Choro, an excellent local choral group, opened the concert for us with an excellent performance of some great choral works. I especially enjoyed their rendition of our buddy Eric Whitacre's "With a Lily In Your Hand."
After the concert, the church hosted a small reception for us, and then we headed out for night on the town to kick off our great stay in London!

Newly-minted alumni Kate Huebner, Heidi Hartwig, and Sarah Strasen are looking cute at the reception!

Here we are in the tube station, ready for our last night in England!
Next stop...Wales!

-Susan

Day Three: St. Paul's Cathedral and Henley-on-Thames

Hello, Readers, David here. Day three was long, exhausting, and very satisfying. After a hearty breakfast care of our hotel in South Kensington, London, we headed over to the venerable St. Paul's Cathedral. Though St. Paul's has been around for centuries, its current form was built in the 17th century following the great fire of 1666.

As you can see from these photos, the building is epic in scope. The dome towers above visitors, and Susan and I realized that the venue from the previous evening could easily fit inside the main dome alone! After arriving, we warmed up in "the crypt," although it was much less dank and dark than I imagined.

While wandering through the crypt, fellow St. Olaf Choir member and baritone Chris Davis pointed Susan and I to memorial of particular interest to English literature lovers as ourselves. Although not buried in St. Paul's, famous British poet William Blake is seen above. Susan snapped this quick and very illegal photo.

The choir sang a shortened set in the cathedral as part of the Dome Dais concert series. By far the most memorable feature of this venue is its incredible reverb. Following one particularly intense chord in Penderecki's "Agnus Dei," Dr. Armstrong took an extended pause to allow the chord to wash through the entire space, which took advantage of the six-second reverb. This created a powerful effect on the music.

Following the St. Paul's performance, we headed to Henley-on-Thames, a town not far from central London. It was much different than the big city feel of Britain's capital and had more of an English town atmosphere. Above are shots Susan took of a typical street and the choir warming up in Christ Church, our venue for the evening.

Though much smaller than St. Paul's, our evening concert was special for other reasons. The intimate setting allowed for a stronger connection to our audience, which was extremely enthusiastic and receptive. We even had Madam Mayor of Henley-on-Thames Elizabeth Hodskin and member of Parliament John Howell in attendence, both of whom seemed to enjoy the music thoroughly. Tomorrow the choir will enjoy a free morning in London. I plan on taking in a little culture at the famous Tate Modern. More to come...

First Concert: Oxford!

We arrived in Oxford Wednesday afternoon after a quick hour long bus ride from London. The city was filled with idyllic scenery. High Street, one of the main drags (pictured above), was bustling with locals. Our concert venue, the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, was located on this street.

The vaulted ceilings and marble archways enhanced the amazing acoustic of this church, which was originally built in 1328 and has been renovated many times since.




The views outside the church were...impressive to say the least.




Our fearless student manager, David Sandness, helped Crew One squeeze our risers into the front of the church.


Meanwhile returning members Sarah Tengblad, Jason Smith, Eric Little, and Logan Sawtelle hung out in the pews. They're pretty cute here.

Outiside, I stumbled upon some posters promoting our concert!

Our changing room was tucked at the of a winding staircase. This was definitely the nicest changing room we've had in my two years. Arched windows, secret doors, spectacular views of Oxford... a great place to get ready.

I'm glad to say that we had a wonderful first concert and got a standing ovation! My favorite moment was the impromptu encore of the gospel spiritual Praise His Holy Name, complete with tamborine, hand clapping, and Ben Baker rockin on the keys. We definately brought some soul to Oxford tonight! On to St. Paul's tomorrow. Can't wait!

We've Arrived!!

Blurry-eyed and somewhat disheveled, we arrived in London this morning after a seven hour flight and hopped onto our bus for a guided tour of the city. Our tour guide kept us entertained with some great stories and amazing sights, such as the Albert Memorial pictured above.







We also stopped at Covent Gardens for a brief lunch. Above is a view of one of the outdoor walkways.







Westminster Abbey was our last outdoor stop before we headed back to the Regency Hotel for a free night in London. I'm off to explore! More tomorrow...

Bon Voyage!

The day has finally arrived! The last bus of La-La's is about to depart for the Minneapolis airport, and from there, we'll be heading over to Chicagoland for a layover before our six-hour flight to Heathrow. Speaking for the senior class, I have to say that this two week adventure will one great send-off to post-college life. We look forward to bringing some Ole spirit to the British Isles! England here we come!