The Chattanooga Girls Choir

Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Day 4: Rehearsal, Bay Cruise, and Church Performance

By Becca Wright and Kimsie Hall
with minor editing by LuAnn Holden

This morning we took our usual hike across the parking lot to Burger King, and of course Jellinek still wants her McDonald's. However, there are no golden arches to be found.

After breakfast we went to our morning practice with Elena. In addition to the instruction in vocal and choral music she often shares with us stories that will help us be more expressive. So… today in an effort to get us to really be expressive with our eyes, she demonstrated how her grandmother in Russia taught her how to flirt with her eyes!! Hats off to Rebekah; she has become so expressive during this tour! You will notice a difference at our next concert.

The Columbia Choir from Seattle knew of our lunch situation the previous day. So last night, one of their chaperones called Mrs. Holden and told her that their chaperones wanted to provide lunch for us. After the morning practice we had a great lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit, cookies and bottled water. What a kind gesture-thank you, Columbia Choir!

After lunch we practiced our program for the concert which was to be later that evening. Then we were off to the Bay Cruise. As we arrived we were greeted by singing and games in a circle. All of the groups from the different cultures joined together and it was as if the whole world had come together in joyful happiness and song.

After the songs and games we boarded the boat. We enjoyed food, drinks and fellowship with all the parts of the world. It was great meeting new people and learning about their home lands and their cultures. We had tons of fun celebrating with new friends we have made through this experience.

After the cruise, it was time for a quick dinner at Subway before we boarded the bus to travel to the First Congregational Church of Berkley, CA. We warmed-up on stage, changed into concert attire, then lined-up for the performance. It was nice to be first on the program, so we could relax then. We were very satisfied with the performance and we had a wonderful time listening to the other choirs. The Chinese choir was full of dance and beautiful costumes from their own country. The choir from Minnesota was also very good. They had lots of instruments and choreography. We rode back to the hotel with the Minnesota Choir and chatted along with them the whole time. They also said they love our accents!!!

Thank you so much for allowing us to go on this trip; it has been a good time to grow in our musical abilities and learn from other choirs. It has been lots of fun and we are loving it. We cannot wait to bring home our new musical experiences and share them with you!

Rachel, Alex, Meg, Alexa, and Kendra on the bay cruise.

Hey, y'all! We're having a great time!

Kayla, Megan, Jerica, and friend cruise by the Golden Gate Bridge.

The beautiful costumes of the Guangdong Experimental Middle School choir from China.

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