The Last Installment

Thank you everyone that helped make our trip to Italy a success!

Students--there is no choir tour without you! That many people...that many days...you were awesome! I hope you learned a lot and I hope you had an excellent time sharing and experiencing Italy with your friends! You got to share great music in great places. I hope you'll always be able to hear that "Bravissimi" in your head...the one that was shouted out before we even finished Va, Pensiero!

Parents--good students come from good families. Thank you for supporting your child in this adventure. Also thank you for the cookie dough, cinnamon rolls, coupon books, mattresses, dinners out, CDs, so on. Every financial contribution you make helps benefit the experiences our choir students can have--in the choir room, in the PAC, in Italy.

Chaperones--Mr. Bennett, Mrs. Conover, Mrs. Crutchfield, Mrs. Davis, Mr. Davis, Ms. Harper, Ms. Heinemann, Mrs. Misik, Mr. Sarchet, Mrs. Tuckey--THANK YOU!!!!!!! We could not have done this trip without you! You were usually the first ones awake and the last ones to sleep. You were a great team of chaperones and I'm already hoping to sign you up for 2016!

And, speaking of 2016...please join us at our concert on May 14 when we announce our 2016 tour location. Here's a hint--whatever you're thinking now...that's not it! Trust me!

So closes the books (blog) on this tour. Over 12,500 views of our blog. Over 13,000 views of our impromptu performance in St. Patrick's cathedral. We couldn't have asked for more!

New day

Seems like we just went to bed...

Up again as we start this final leg home! Just confirming--we have arranged for buses to meet us at O'hare. Please meet your student at LZHS. Do not meet your student at the airport. We stress the importance of personal decisions and timeliness and how one person affects the whole group. As 122 of us prepare to board buses and load luggage back to LZHS, you can imagine how meeting up with individual parents just adds an unnecessary level of complexity.

Stay at home. We will come to you. Thanks for your understanding. Thanks for following our journey!

Irish update

There were mechanical difficulties with loading our plane. The pilot said, "10 minutes." That turned into nearly 2.5 hours! The plane took off about the time we were supposed to land in Dublin!

We are here now. 3 or 4 hours of sleep max! You will have some sleepy, sleepy students when they get home! The pace of the trip was grueling.

Today we were in Venice. It was cold and rainy again though people were much more pleasant in this rain than in Florence. We had a very nice farewell lunch before enjoying a few more hours of Venetian free time. The chaperones took a gondola right. Six adults, 40 degrees and raining--yes, exactly the Venice experience we were looking for : )

Some of us also saw a Murano glass blowing demonstration. Just incredible. In about five minutes, the artisan created a glass pitcher and animal statuette!

See you soon! I am certain you will get phone calls as our buses approach LZHS!

Special Dinner

We performed performed at a small Italian town called Peccioli. The population was only about 5000. The town "moms," you could say, made us a home cooked meal. It was a multi-course meal: bread with cheese and assorted cold cuts, pasta with meat sauce, slices of pork and baked beans, and a tiramisu-like cake. We were so thankful that Mr. J had us sing Va Pensiero to them. They really appreciated it. Italians are awesome!

The final approach

It's mile 26 of the marathon and the last 0.2 is up hill!!!

What a day! We got to sleep in a little bit before boarding the bus to continue our trip to Northern Italy. We drove through the snow capped mountains. Quite beautiful...for those that stayed awake!! We stopped at a truck stop for lunch. It is very much like an oasis on the tollway but the food was really, really excellent! Every dinner comes with a pasta course but I have to say the gnocchi at the truck stop was the best I had on the whole trip!!

On to Padova (or Padua as we say in America). It was a chilly day but lots of sun and no rain!! We took a tour of the city. It has one of the oldest universities in Europe. We stopped at the cathedral named for St. Anthony. Very beautiful and acoustically perfect! Our tour guide asked if we could sing one song and they agreed. Being a respectful choir director, I started the second song right away as to avoid the plug being pulled : ) Then our tour guide gave me "the look" that said "time to move on." It was awesome and we had amassed quite a crowd. But, we needed to get going. The Priest and other church staff were saying ancore, ancore (which is where our "encore" comes from) which means more, more. Such a special treat to get these surprise performance opportunities.

Our concert tonight was also in Padua. We were again part of a large festival. We sang in a huge cathedral and I'd guess about 500 were in attendance. It was great. When it was over, the host said, "this is when you sing your two encores." Hmmmmmm, I thought...wish I would have prepared an encore! Let alone two!! BV sang Singin' In the Rain (which the host said we'd likely get to do tomorrow...) and out of nowhere we sang The Lord Bless You and Keep You. We haven't sang that since last May!!!!! But, I am certain some tears were shed as for some it is the beginning of the end.

We checked into a new hotel. We will check out of this hotel before some of you even get to bed!!! Tomorrow--Venice and then on to Dublin to make our journey home.

Thanks to all in case I don't get to write again! Please thank Mrs. Davis who travelled with us and NEVER had access to a piano!!!! Parents and students--please say/send a note of thanks to your student's chaperone. Chaperones are up first and in bed last. Your child will come home and tell you they are exhausted...so are the chaperones who worked hard to keep all safe and comfortable!

Students--thanks those that made this trip possible for you! Mom, dad, grandparents...anyone that bought a coupon book or a mattress or brought their coupons to CPK!

See you soon!!

Last Performance

WOW! A double encore, two standing ovations, and a trophy pretty much says it all. We obviously saved the best for last! It began with Concert Choir's normal program, and then Bare Voices sang If Ye Love Me, Let's Do It, and Nice Work If You Can Get It. It was so fun to sing songs from our 1920's radio show and they were definitely a hit!
We continued our regular program as usual but after our first standing ovation and a speech by a man 1moved to tears by our performance, Bare Voices was asked to sing one more song - Singing In The Rain (which was very fitting after yesterday).
The crowd loved it and couldn't imagine going without one more song. We all thought on our toes and decided to sing The Lord Bless You And Keep You. Now both the crowd and the choir became emotional due to the fact that it is the senior's goodbye song and our last performance in Italy.
The people in the country could not be more gracious or welcoming. We are so thankful for their hospitality and appreciation for our singing. We couldn't be more proud of how far we have come on this trip and how we have grown as a choir. These are life long memories made and we feel so blessed and fortunate to have these experiences.
We would also like to thank Mr J. In case you haven't noticed, he's amazing! Not only did he put up with 100 high school students turning in forms late, getting last minute passports, and asking a million and one questions, but he kept a cool head through... most of it :) But in all seriousness, these performances would be impossible without him. His talent as a choir director and his drive for perfection have allowed us to excel and develop musically through the years. We are so thankful for you, Mr J! We simply couldn't do it without you!
Now off to Venice for one last day and then we'll say "Ciao" to Italy! See you soon!

- Shannon and Bailey

More food!

It's been awhile, we haven't had wifi for so long! Not complaining or anything, it was kind of nice not having to worry about Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, etc. Well on to the food!

Over the past days we all have eaten a huge variety of different foods. Some of the most delicious and unique vendor foods were homemade licorice, grilled chestnuts, and Vivoli's gelato (best in Italy)! For main courses the best foods have been pasta with bolognese sauce, prosciutto calzonis, gnocchi, spaghetti, and of course, the pizza.