New pictures from Choir Tour 2009!

New friends from Albia High School!

We combined choirs and sang together!

Our famous Messiah flash cards!

Ben and Noah get ready to perform!

The students load the bus in Lamoni! Off we go!

Tour is underway!

Wow! We've already had three days on tour!

We started Wednesday, and loaded the bus at 9:30am. 

Our first performance was at Lamoni High School, for both high school and middle school students. It debuted our Messiah Hallelujah chorus flash cards, and allowed us to share our music in our local community.

Then, after a pit stop back on campus for lunch, we headed to Osceola, where we sang at Clark High school. The men of Chamber Singers brought down the house with their a cappella encore of "Pretty Saro."

We woke up bright and early Thursday morning, leaving Graceland's circle drive at 8:30am. We headed toward Leon, where we had the opportunity to sing for their choir, then with their choir. With them, we rehearsed a song that Graceland performed two years ago, "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need." Tom spread the choirs out around the room, and the sound was resonant and beautiful. Graceland Choir members Darrell Johnston and Mike Roberts were both members of the Leon Choir, and their former teacher was so proud to see them still singing!

We stopped for lunch at McDonald's, then headed toward Mallory Chamber's home town, Albia, IA. When we arrived, they greeted us with cookies, and the students had made "Welcome Graceland" signs. The choirs performed for both high school and middle school choir students, and helped them rehearse as well, running through "Lean On Me" and "Die Nachtigal" as one large ensemble. 

The Albia High School conductor, Rachel Walker Corpus, asked her students to submit questions for the Graceland students. One question was "Why did you choose Graceland?" Mallory answered, "Because it feels like a home away from home."

Friday was another early day (this becomes a challenge for 50 college students--coffee is a must) for us, as we loaded at 8:30 for Murray High School, about 30 minutes north of Lamoni. We performed in their gymnasium, and had the students sing along with us on our Shaker tune, "Love."

Then we were in for a long bus ride as we headed towards Minneapolis. We stopped in Des Moines for lunch (and more coffee) at Jordan Creek mall. We arrived in Minneapolis around 5:30, and at dinner at Chipotle Mexican Grill. Then we went to the University of Minnesota campus, where we saw 5 women choirs perform at Woman Voice: WorldSong.

After the concert, we headed towards Apple Valley, where host families from the local Community of Christ congregation were generous enough to offer their homes to our students. They made us breakfast this morning, and we are all truly grateful for their hospitality.

Today will be a great day, we are headed to the Mall of America for a well deserved break, then off to St. Thomas Cathedral. Chamber Singers are particularly excited about singing the Slavonic text of Ave Maria--the rich harmonies and movement will resonate in such a large space beautifully.

Overall, we are having a great time, and will update you soon on our continued adventures!

Tour Starts Tomorrow!!

Welcome to our blog!
Check here for updates, photos, and video as we tour southern Iowa and head up to Minneapolis this weekend!
We are eager to get on the road tomorrow--
the bus loads at 9:15 for Lamoni High School.
In the afternoon, we will head to Osceloa, IA.
Here we go!