Choir Tour 2011: Sunday, March 20

August 28, 2011

This may sound cheesy, but today was a wonderful, wonderful day.  We met up in the morning for a performance at Alki Congregational United Church in Seattle.  The building was beautiful, and we sang our pieces interspersed within the church service.  It was a really nice experience; all of the members of the church were so kind and gracious to us.  

After the service, there was a dessert and coffee table set up, and we chatted with the church members for a while. Next, we had a delicious lunch prepared for us by some of the people from the church.  It was so nice to be able to sit and relax for a while after how busy we all had been with classes lately. 

After lunch, we took the bus downtown to Benaroya Hall, the home of the Seattle Symphony. They played a program of Russian music, including Shostakovich’s fifth symphony.  It was a really excellent concert.After the concert, we got a backstage tour of the hall.  Mariel Bailey (LC class of ‘72) and her husband, Bruce, players in the symphony, showed us the room where the players relax before and after the concerts.  We also got to stand on the stage, and even to sing one of our songs (“Water Night” by Eric Whitacre) in the empty hall.  The acoustics were absolutely stunning; this was a really special experience that we got to share as a choir.

After the concert, we went over to Fremont, the “hippie” area of Seattle.  I ate at a delicious Thai restaurant with some friends.  We also went over and saw the troll that is under a bridge (it would be too difficult to explain, you’ll just have to go see it for yourself).  After dinner, we went home with our respective host families.  I had a wonderful time playing a game similar to charades with my host family, and got to bed early!  

Ethan Allred, Bass

Music major & Math minor, Class of 2012