Punting at Cambridge.

Here we are after our concert upon returning to Cambridge:

Punting at B

More Pix from Ely

Kristin Kahle says that the concert at Ely was phenomenal. Elizabeth says that it was pretty cool. Amanda says that Tegler just won't feel the same again. Others added: tear jerking, wowed, and fantazmagorical.

Ely Cathedral - Saturday May 1.

The day started sunny as we drove for 45 minutes from the hostel to the town of Ely and the chance to perform in The Lady Chapel of the Ely Cathedral which has it’s roots back to the mid 800's. The cathedral is beautiful and grand(how do you even begin to describe something so majestic and awe inspiring. The sheer history of this place reflecting many changes in history. Oliver Cromwell’s house is in Ely and his impact on many churches in England was immense as was that of Henry VIII, but still the cathedral has a spiritual presence that lifts your eyes to the heavens when you enter.
When we arrived we had a tour of the cathedral. The history and the detail are very different from anything we have seen thus far. As we were sitting a procession of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre(50 - 60 people)in their robes and cloaks marked with the crusaders cross. Our guide had never seen such before so we were honored to see them as they went to the chapel for a service. The Lady Chapel is large with awesome acoustics (7 sec reverb). Very different sound from the practice room back at Concordia. Singing in such places gives the choir a whole different sound.
The concert when wonderfully. In this space our choir sounded as they never have before and a few were moved to tears when they got to the final traditional piece. There was a good crowd and now the top experience thus far is The Lady Chapel. As we left the cathedral there was an orchestra and singers preparing for a Gilbert and Sullivan presentation this evening. The amount of culture and opportunities to hear choral music is amazing. We returned to Cambridge for a rehearsal in St. Mary’s where the choir will be singing tomorrow. Later this afternoon we will be going Punting in the Backs. Stay tuned.
PS from Garry: It has been wonderful to watch the choir members react to the acoustics in the various places they have sung. They have risen to the challenge to make some amazing music. We will have more supporters for a new chapel in the future.

On To Cambridge - April 30. Friday

It was quite sad to leave Manchester. We had such a good time there: history to see, our first real experience with ancient spaces to sing in, Karaoke, learning how to use European toilets, and simply enjoying being part of the adventure. We packed and left (right on time) and drove for 4 hours across several shires to Cambridge. Once there our bus left us off a distance from the center of the city which is pedestrian and bicycle only and we walked to St. Mary’s Church where we had some free time to get lunch, followed by a walking tour of downtown Cambridge. Our guides told us about the university system, the colleges and how they all fit together. Only 18,000 students at Cambridge. It is very beautiful with wonderful architecture and lots of history. We even stopped on the site of the pub(no longer there) where English reformers such as Latimer discussed the works of Martin Luther. There is a pub up the street that bears a plaque honoring two of its patrons and the discovery of the structure of DNA that was first mapped out there(Watson and Crick). With 800 years of history it is no wonder that the university has so many famous alumni–including our own Dr. Kraemer. The lawns are green and with all the rain it is a treat for the eyes. We got to our hostel late in the afternoon(much smaller and less modern than our first one which we hear is the best one–too bad). Supper was at Pizza Express a very nice place in an old building on “Jesus Street”–very fitting for our choir. It was cooler and raining so many tried to catch up on their sleep. English countryside and cambridge. A good day to remember.

A Day At York: Thurs. April 29

After breakfast we boarded the Coach(not to be called a bus) for our trip to York. We learned a lot about British roads and history along the way. Once in York we went to York Minster Anglican Cathedral. From our arrival until 1 we were taken on a walking tour of the city and saw places like the Shambles, and medieval and roman walls, gates, and ruins dating back before Henry VIII. We got a lot of info on the history of toilets throughout British history. York is rich in history. At one we entered the Minster which is huge. It is an awesome place, filled with history and now the Concordia Concert Choir. The choir had a chance to sing several selections in the cathedral. After singing in the wonderful acoustics of the ancient space we moved to St. Mary’s chapel in the cathedral and sang again. WOW!!!!! The sound was overwhelming for the choir members. The remainder of the afternoon choir members went about York: eating, cornish pasties, yorkshire pudding, visiting Roman Baths and ruins, and the many shops in very old buildings. Even though it was raining we had a great day before returning to Manchester for our last night there. Anna walked the whole outer wall (3.5Miles). Some are still having issues with flushing British toilets. To sing in such spaces is overwhelming. Too bad all back home could not see our faces when we sang Hodie in the Minster. More fun days yet to come. Tomorrow - On to Cambridge. We also found out that it was at York that Emperor Constantine actually became emperor.

Wednesday, April 28 - Manchester

We got up and had a late breakfast in the hostel. With maps in hand we spread out to see the downtown of Manchester which is just a bit smaller but much older than Edmonton. There is a lot to see and it was a good day to move beyond our jet lag. Tonight is our first concert in downtown Manchester. While walking today some of us saw signs about a special concert for Haiti featuring the CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDMONTON CHOIR. After a mid afternoon nap we are off for rehearsal with the choir we are sharing the concert with tonight.
Our concert at St. Annes church was a great success. St.Annes (1721) dates back to the early day Manchster and it’s bell tower marks the geographical center of the city. We shared the evening with a high school choir from Bolton School, a very accomplished chamber choir. The final piece was Handel’s Messiah where both choirs were combined. It was the ending to a wonderful day and the hospitality of the local people was overwhelming. After the concert many went for food and we tried to visit a former city public toilet converted to a pub called the Temple of Convenience. It was really too small, but we took a look and a picture just to know we were there.