The Chattanooga Girls Choir

Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Day 3: Rehearsal and Exhibition Concert

(Click on underlined links for more information.)

By Megan Cobb and Alexa Schoenfield
with editing and additions by LuAnn Holden

We woke up around 6:00 and at 7:00 a.m. went to breakfast at Burger King, which was next door to the hotel. By 8:00 a.m. we were on the bus with the Partners in Praise choir from Minnesota. (We would be sharing a charter bus for the week.)

Within 30 minutes arrived at the Latter Day Saints Interstake Center (Oakland Mormon Temple). The grounds were beautiful with a terraced lawn, blooming flowers, and fountains and steams.

All of the participating choirs began to gather in the auditorium to practice our combined choir songs with Elena Sharkova, the conductor. She became the rehearsal with energetic vocal warm-ups. She was really hyper throughout the rehearsal!

At 11:00, our group practice was over. We were expecting to receive a bag lunch to eat, but as it turned out, we didn't have any food! Because the schedule said "bag lunch and games" we thought the lunch was provided, but that wasn't the case! (Many of the singers from other choirs stayed in homes of Piedmont Choir members, so the host families provided a bag lunch for their choir guest.) Mr. Holden and the other chaperones made a quick trip to a grocery store for cheese, crackers, raw veggies, and fruit. (That was a little too healthy for some of us, so we included some junk food that we could purchase from the snack bar.) While we waited, we played games like Clue and Strategy.

At 1:10, we lined up for separate rehearsal, with just our choir. We practiced Chattanooga Choo Choo ("Pardon me Roy, is that the cat who chewed your new shoes?"), and How Can I Keep From Singing, which included a wonderful solo, courtesy of Meg.

Our Exhibition Concert began at 3:00 with each choir parading (in lines) through the auditorium. Rachel and Jellinek carried a Tennessee state flag and the pianist played Tennessee Waltz as we entered and followed the path. We enjoyed seeing all the choirs as they paraded through the auditorium, especially the international choirs that were in native costumes.

We heard many wonderful choirs sing, but the choir from China stood out. The choir of probably 50 singers wore beautiful and colorful costumes reflecting each province of China. Their music was beautiful and the folk dancing added to the performance!

We came back to the hotel at 5:20 and got ready for dinner. It was at a wonderful Chinese restaurant called P.F. Chang's. Even our pickiest eaters enjoyed themselves!

When we came back to the hotel, we gathered for a choir meeting. Singers who had been on tour before (the 4th tour for a couple of singers) talked about the importance of the choir having common musical goals and the focus and cooperation necessary to achieve the goals. We closed the meeting with a sense of unity and determination to do our best!

The girls enjoyed making new friends.

Singing isn't the tour choir's only talent!

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