Day 3: Evening Concert

good morning Sweden time! just a quick aside to say that all the kids know you are following us on tour and i'm letting them know that you've all been sending love and best wishes - they will have more time to comment back to you over the next few days as the schedule lightens up a bit - i do know that most of them have had a chance to contact you at home already - if they haven't know we are having a fabulous time and all are safe and happy.

Back to the tour....

The chorister's ended their sightseeing at 3:00 PM at filidelfiakyrkan - and we were right back ino rehearsal. I think we are all a little jealous of the facilities here in Stockholm. the AF school is incredible and the hall we play in tonight is a church that is used for concerts as sorce of revenue. as a result it has a great stage and with built in risers (the dad's who help set us up for concerts in Christ's Church would be so impressed). As a result the choir worked hard on running through their stage directions - we wanted to be take advantage of the space and go over the order of songs.

After rehearing with the grade 8 choir from the AF school, we were fed a boxed dinner, and lined upand waited for our turn. Percussion starts, stick are up and Alyssa calls them into action - Uber is first on the list. Thunderous applause - people are looking side to side and you can see them thinking that this is something new.

they sang Zai, Watane (with youth) and then the youth choir ran their set (this is my first extended contact with the youth choir - it's been great getting to know them - not suprising, i know, but they are a talented and great group of young people - and are enriching the tour for all of us) Torn Screen Door and Tondo are very impressive.

then they all sat down for Tjack! The audience loves this piece - they stomp feet and continue clapping long enough for the choristers to get up and rearrnge on stage for Adiemus and then Eternity - (the tears started here for me - but i managed to stay and watch/listen). the overtones in Past Life Melodies were awesome - they reverberated around, over and through the hall. in the end the applause and foot stomping (choristers in the audience can't yell or they'll strain their voices) was deafening and kept going - had we been a rock band an encore was surely being called for - although i understand you "just don't do that in the choral world" :)

We did two mass pieces - MicMaq, for Canada and Sommerpsalm for Sweden.

in the lobby fter the show we were all moved by how excited the audience was. We heard things like "i've never seen anything like it", "that was incredible", "they were marvelous", one woman, who bought a CD from Tricia and I was still moved to tears over Eternity.

i know we are all proud of them - but this was just a reminder of how extraordinary our kids are - and how marvelous Zimfira, Shawn, Meagan and Joel are - they have a very special bond - i feel quite privileged to observe.

well, back at it early tomorrow morning: 9 AM and 3PM performances today!