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... about ending the academic year with a choir. We get a week of summer vacation with our good friends, the tour takes us to new places, and most importantly, it grants us one final change to sing together before the summer holiday…
We left Sunday morning for home. Throughout the entire trip, our bus driver Denise had been excellent. She was even able to navigate our enormous bus through the smallest roads of Philadelphia. But on Sunday she certainly rose to the occasion and got us back to Holy Cross two whole hours earlier than anticipated.
After 4 cities and 6 concerts in a week-long tour, Pam proved to be correct: choir tours do make us better musicians.
Pam and I had a nice quiet breakfast together at the hotel on Saturday, which allowed for some nice quality time together. You wouldn’t think that students would be able to develop a friendship with their director, but Pam has become a good friend of mine over the past few years.
We took the metro into the city and headed for the National Zoo. Actually, going to zoo was Evan’s idea, but since he was so sick, he missed the entire day. With Philadelphia being the exception, we had fantastic weather on the tour. On Saturday, there was hardly a cloud in the sky, perfect zoo weather. One of the great things about Washington DC is that all of the Smithsonian Museums, including the Zoo, are free to the public, so we were able to see so much for free! Apparently Pam is a huge monkey fan, so we went to the small mammal house and the ape house for a while. We had so much fun just watching them. Those animals are great: gorillas, monkeys, chimpanzees — they’re so intelligent and active. My mom is a big monkey fan too, so I gave her a call from the ape house to let her know that I was thinking about her. My friends (minus Evan), finally arrived at the zoo, so Pam went off to meet up with some of her family, and I met up with my friends and we continued our zoo adventures.
That afternoon we had our final concert at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. Again, it was absolutely beautiful, gold mosaics, a beautiful organ, and the acoustics were phenomenal. The choir director of the cathedral told us that there is approximately a six second echo in the church. We definitely took advantage of this, both Pam and Rob (who also conducted a piece) took special care to observe the delay, and therefore the cutoffs sounded magnificent. It was such a nice final concert for the tour. All of our concerts went so well.
After having some free time in the city, we had a late farewell dinner at a fun Spanish restaurant called “La Tosca.” The group dinner was a good way to end the tour. We got back to the hotel later in the night, and by then Evan was feeling a lot better, thank goodness. Knowing that we had a long bus ride ahead of us the next day, everyone headed to bed.
Monkey at the National Zoo |
Emily, Rob, Pam, and I at La Tosca |
We had Friday morning to ourselves, so some of us including Evan, Pam, Rob (who was feeling much better) and I went to the National Gallery. We were actually the first ones there when they opened the doors. I don’t think that’s ever happened to me. I had been so excited. The National Gallery houses the nation’s only Da Vinci: it’s a portrait of Ginevra d’Benci. At Holy Cross, I took High Renaissance Art History with Professor Alison Fleming and we had dedicated an entire class to discussing this portrait, so I was ready to see the real deal. Unlike the Mona Lisa, who is famous for her serene smile, Ginevra looks quite sickly and unhappy. Despite her sallow skin and blank expression, the painting is absolutely beautiful. It’s even double-sided — on the back is an inscription of her family motto (“Beauty Adorns Virtue”). It’s not that often that history gets to life, but this was a wonderful moment for me. We also saw some great Impressionist art, which is what Pam and Evan both love. Although I’ve never studied that period, I certainly have an appreciation for it.
We then headed over to the Walter Reed Rehabilitation Hospital. We did a lunch time concert for patients and their families in the hospital, which was nice. After that we had the rest of the day to ourselves. So that afternoon, Evan and I met up with his older brother Lucas (and after we’ve been dating two years, this was the first time I met his brother), who is an actor in DC. We checked out the National Aquarium for a bit, but since it was quite small, we finished going through it within an hour. Then we went to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, which was gorgeous. There were so many side chapels and mosaics. Everything there was so ornate. Not only was the main level beautiful, but so were the crypts downstairs.
Lucas took us out to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. It was a lot of fun hanging out with the Maloney brothers.
Lucas is the floor manager for the Studio Theatre’s production of the Tom Stoppard play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, which I read and loved in high school. It was a really good production. The two leads worked very well together. However, Evan and I weren’t able to sit together because we had last minute seating. Unfortunately, during the second act of the show Evan caught Rob’s illness (they are roommates), and missed the second half of the show. I didn’t even see him leave because our seats weren’t together. So instead of enjoying a night on the town with the Maloney brothers, we had to get Evan back to the hotel. So, Rob and Evan’s room turned into a make shift sick room. Evan was upset, as was I, because he knew of all of the unfortunate events of the illness that were to come, as told by Rob. Although this was all very distressing, the only thing I could do was get some rest so I wouldn’t get this “choir plague” as well.
Ginevra d’Benci by Leonardo da Vinci gate |
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception |
Talk about spending a lot of time on a bus, on Thursday morning we departed for our final destination, our nation’s capital. We arrived in the afternoon and then headed out to Bethesda for our concert at the Church of the Little Flower.
Once we arrived in Bethesda, Pam reminded us that one of the most important things about these choir tours is that they make us stronger musicians. But that was not simply a spur-of-the-moment comment: our accompanist/assistant conductor and one of my good friends Rob had fallen ill with a violent stomach virus and would not be able to perform. Fortunately, one of our basses, Sam knew the repertoire and was able to fill in. We were grateful that he was able to play the music, otherwise we would’ve had to cut out half of our performance. The major piece of concern was David Conte’s “Dance,” which requires two pianists. It was our most challenging piece, yet it had been so fine-tuned by the end of the year that we hated to cut it. As a result, Sam continued to play the part he was assigned to, and Pam filled in for Rob. Mind you, she was supposed to be conducting us, so she used one hand for the piano and one for the baton. It was amazing, we held our own, you never would’ve guessed that something was different except for Pam occasionally standing up to give us a cue. We felt pretty proud of ourselves and I think our audience felt the same way. We had a wonderful and enthusiastic audience.
Rev. Msgr. Peter J. Vaghi is an alum of Holy Cross (Class of 1970), and he and the Alumni Club of DC did a great job putting it together and us after. Once we got back to the hotel, we picked up some stuff that would hopefully help Rob feel better. He slept at the hotel the whole day. We dropped off the get well kit and hoped for the best. Feeling tired and not wanting to go out into Alexandria, Emily, Pam, and I just hung out in the hotel with our good friends Ben and Jerry. We just needed to slow down and enjoy each other’s company (and the ice cream), which made for a lovely end of the day.
Emily, Ike, Emily, and Evan in Maryland |
Pam, Thomas and I after our concert |
Although I opted to sleep in, three of my friends (Kassie, Emily and Katie) decided to go to the Today Show and had a great time. They actually had a great spot, they were right behind Meredith and Matt and they had a College Choir sign. Talk about good publicity for us!
After breakfast, we departed for the City of Brotherly Love. On the bus ride we saw “Borat,” that wild and ridiculous movie featuring Sacha Baron Cohen. It’s actually quite funny and definitely provides an interesting commentary on some parts of American society.
We arrived in Philadelphia in the middle of the afternoon. Like some scenes in “Borat,” the weather in Philadelphia was a bit objectionable. It poured the entire day. Kate Schmieg, a member of the choir, lives in Philadelphia and her family was kind enough to prepare a barbeque for the entire choir. However, since the torrential downpour did not cease, we ate inside. It was so nice of her family to do that, and they came to our concert as well. Our concert was at the chapel at St. Joseph University.
It was a really good space, complete with a balcony. That was particularly great because there were several songs that split us up into two choirs. For those songs we performed them from the balcony, which provided for a unique sound. Some members of the Holy Cross Alumni Club of Philadelphia were present for the concert, and they seemed to be pleased with our performance.
Since the Schmieg’s barbeque was so early in the evening, some of us went out to a restaurant for appetizers and to just hang out. It was a shame that we didn’t have more time in Philadelphia. I had been there before, but a lot of my friends hadn’t. Alas, that’s how these trips are, they just give quick previews of the cities. But after a night of fun together in the city, we headed back to the hotel for bed.
Philadelphia |
Tuesday morning Emily, Alison, Evan and I wandered around part of New York City with a bunch of fliers in an attempt to get people to come to our concert. Normally, I get very frustrated at people who distribute fliers on the street, but hey, this was for a good cause. We had some luck at Lincoln Center, where people were more apt to attend concerts. At Lincoln Center we saw an advertisement for the Mostly Mozart festival in August. 16 Holy Cross students are performing in the festival. They are singing Osvaldo Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos. So Emily, who is doing it, was really excited to see the poster, because the festival will be a once in a lifetime opportunity. We actually had great success, I think, because I recognized several people from the morning at our concert that afternoon.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral is one of my favorite churches in this country. I’ve been there before with my family, but it was amazing to have the opportunity to sing in it. My uncle Bob (my godfather), took a long lunch break so he could come to the concert. Apparently, the subway was running a bit late, so he walked up the main aisle during the middle of one of our more serious songs. I love him; he’s such a goof ball that he gave me a big wave. Of course, there wasn’t anything I could do, so I just smiled back. After the conclusion of the concert, we were able to talk for a bit and I was able to introduce him to Evan. I was so glad that my uncle was able to make it to the concert. That was the nice thing about this being a domestic tour so many people had friends and family that were able to attend our concerts.
Once my uncle went back to work, me and a bunch of my friends walked through Central Park. The weather was so lovely, how could we not? Then we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which I had never been to before. Alison Emery, who is also a budding medievalist, went with me to visit the Medieval/Renaissance sections. Our best find was half of a studiolo (a small study room filled with wooden etchings) from the Palazzo Ducale in Gubbio by Francesco di Giorgio Martini. Alison and I both studied it in Early Renaissance history, so to see the real deal was pretty amazing. The Egyptian section was also great. Lots of hieroglyphics and even some sarcophagi.
After dinner Pam arranged for the choir to see Rachmaninoff’s Vespers. The church was gorgeous and the concert was absolutely amazing. It was performed by the St. Thomas Choir, a men and boys choir. The performance itself was divided into three parts to adhere with the different sections of the vespers and the choir moved to a different part of the church for each section to signify the passage of time. I can’t even describe how moving the concert was to me. For my first Family Weekend Concert at Holy Cross we performed an excerpt from the Vespers so hearing it resurface brought back a slew of lovely memories.
Following the concert, Pam took Evan and I out to the Finer Diner for appetizers. It was definitely not your average diner because I don’t remember the last time a diner had white tablecloths and the like. But it was a lot of fun. Evan and I always enjoy a good time with Pam. It was a nice way to end our short stay in New York.
Me with fliers at Lincoln Center |
Part of the studiolo by Francesco di Giorgio Martini |
We had a bit of free time after breakfast, so a bunch of us headed back to Boston Commons before leaving for New York. It was quieter since it was a workday, so we were able to find a nice spot by one of the ponds to just sit down and enjoy each other’s company.
It’s funny when I first came to Holy Cross, I figured I would be spending a lot of time in Boston on the weekends. Being so busy, this hasn’t always been the case, so I enjoyed our brief stay in Boston. When the bus got into NYC that afternoon, we had the rest of the day to ourselves.
Fran Rogers, a classmate and good friend, arranged to get tickets for some of us to go to the Mets/Cubs game that night at Shea Stadium. I was pretty psyched because I had never been to a major league baseball game before. We do have a minor league team at home in Rochester (go Red Wings!) but this was so much better! I even met Mr. Met and had my picture taken with him. We had a really good time, even Pam came along for the ride. I got really into it, cheering, booing, and even throwing in a couple disparaging comments against the Cubs. To top it all off, the Mets won! It was such a fun game. I was so happy that that was what we decided to do with our free night. The good mood even carried onto the subway ride back to the hotel. Everyone was pleased about the outcome of the game. What a fun way to end the day.
Evan and I at Shea Stadium |
Because finals ended the day before, the only thing I had to do before we departed for the tour was to help close the residence halls. Once that was taken care of, our Silver Fox bus left for Boston.
The Mary Chapel at Boston College is a nice space to sing in and our first concert there went well. After we checked into our hotel, we had some time to ourselves, so my friends and I went to the Boston Commons. Boston Commons were beautiful — the weather was lovely and it was nice to just walk around and relax without the stresses of school.
The restaurant that we went to for dinner, Restaurant Maggiano’s, was fabulous. They did family style serving, which was great because we all were very hungry. Our table, which included Pam and her husband David (it was great that he was able to join us for the night), had a lot of fun. Everyone seemed to be glad to just settle down, relax and enjoy the beginning of our tour.
After dinner, people seemed to get a second wind, so me and my roommates (Kassie, Alison, and Emily) walked around town for a bit, just to get some fresh air and enjoy the lovely weather. Yet, the end of the semester and the day eventually caught up to us and so we headed back to go to bed.
Evan and I in Boston Commons |
Emily, Rob and I in the park |
