We made it to Ireland!

Just wanted to let you know that we made it Ireland safely. It was a VERY long trip and we're all experiencing jet lag pretty badly. We flew to Dublin first, which looked a lot like Birmingham or Atlanta when flying in...nothing there was too different from the US, other than people's accents...and I went to Subway and ordered a sandwich with chips and a drink, and the girl thought I was talking about french fries...apparently chips are called "crisps"...good to know. We got there at about 9:30 Ireland time -- it's FREEZING cold here! Then we took a commuter flight BACK across the country (you can fly across the whole country of Ireland in the time it takes to fly from Bham to Atl) to southern Ireland to Cork, which is where the competition is going to be. Cork is much more pastoral than Dublin, much more like what you think of when envision Ireland -- beautiful green fields everywhere with goats and cows. Absolutely gorgeous. Sam lost her suitcase, which is a bummer; however a group of young girls asked Linc if he was famous -- always a confidence booster :-). The town area is very quaint, but also has a bigger city feel to it -- it reminds me a lot of New Orleans mixed with a little downtown Birmingham. It's not too big though -- still very European. We just got back from walking around and eating dinner despite the fact that we are about to fall asleep everytime we sit down. It is 6:34 here right now, and we have a rehearsal at 7:30. Then tomorrow we get up and sing at 9:30...I don't think it is for the competition, I'm not sure what it's for...we're on a very need-to-know basis for plans....anyway, it's beautiful here and I think you guys would like it a lot. Everything's going great! Keep checking for posts!

The Airport and Beyond!!!

Notice that we effectively annoyed everyone who crossed our path. I don't think hackeysack is an airport-friendly activity....

Keep checking for updates!! We love all of you back home!

Just a few places we're going...

These are some pictures Martin sent me of Bacharach castle, our first stop once we get to Frankfurt. We will actually be spending the night in that castle, which was built in the 1140s.

How excited am I?!

My thoughts on our spring concert as posted on the choir blog...

I'm just getting around to hearing these recordings from our concert ----- here's my humble opinion(s):1. Nunc - I thought it blossomed well in the beginning. Sop. 1 could be a little louder on "secundum verbum..." Sam and Linc, beautiful solos. I like the changes we added to "salutare tuum" to make it more holy and mysterious sounding after the solos as opposed to the way we sing it here. I think Sop 1 and Sop 2 could make a more cohesive sound -- I think we sound very different as sections when we should be matching more...but we've been working on that in rehearsal. Tight, clean ending. Overall, a great performance that felt powerful and strong. 2.Whole World -- excellent dynamic contrast. Great job tenors on the "little tiny baby" part. I liked that we implemented the swell on "world" that you were talking about Dr. C, that really makes it exciting. Somebody stuck out on the "in-A his hand" on the repeat. GLORIOUS ENDING. 3. Silence of Time -- MAGICAL. I get chills every time. Great blend througout. This is my favorite, perhaps because the message of the song really speaks to me and because we've gotten to "live with the song" for a while. Love the swell on the last "in the silence..." I never got to hear how amazing that slide is at the end because I can only hear my section. Absolutely magical. When we sing this song, I start thinking about all the wonderful relationships I've gained from being in the this choir, and those thoughts combined with the beauty of our sound choke me up every time we sing it. Love it.4. Star of the County -- I'm surprised at how different this sounds to my objective ears as opposed to being in choir formation. The parts really sound good together in a way that you can't hear on stage, especially in the last part. I think women have to be careful not to overpower the tenors' melody and not to go flat on our sustained notes in the very beginning. As a choir, I think we also have a tendency to speed up tremendously, especially since it is sometimes difficult to hear each other's parts. Above all, we had fun with this one, and the look on Dr. C's face when it was over was priceless. That look of satisfaction makes every bit of it worthwhile. :-)5. So fahr -- Sop. 1 need to think higher on any EE vowel ("Ich" especially in the very first line)I think we've come a long way on this piece even in the last three days of rehearsal. All the tweaking we've done has really tightened up the sound and blend in this song. Some alto is sliding on "Mein arm.." (maybe you want that, Dr. C??) Love the last page. Solid ending. 6. Regina Coeli -- exciting! Someone stuck out in alto 1 section on "ora probis" -- I think our "eh" vowel could be better on ora pro nobis DEUM -- sounds a little like DAY-oom. Awesome ending. 7. With a Lily -- FANTASTIC-- I love this song, and I love singing with our choir. Not too many bad things one can say about this one. Great blend, good diction. I think the Sopranos could be a little brighter on their "la" in places; sometimes it sounds like it is trending towards "luh". Love the dynamic/mood changes. "Fit inside my heart" was GLORIOUS. Ending was good, but sometimes that last note in the Sop.1 part sounds a little flat to me (of course I'm most critical of my own part). Overall, this concert was ROCKING and I felt so proud of us and all our hard work we put in this year.
Now if we can all get our lipstick to match, we'll be perfect. It does make a difference, I swear. Only confident women can pull off brazen red lips, and we have every right to be confident in ourselves! Yay, and go team!

3 Days Left!

Hey gang. So here's the deal...I decided to make a blog to accurately document our month-long trip to Europe. This blog will also serve as a way for our parents/friends/family/significant others to follow us on our trip! I'll be posting videos, pictures and daily journal posts as our trip progesses. So make sure to check back and see what's new! The countdown begins! Here's to Ireland and beyond!