6-22-09, Indianapolis

Our overnight in Columbus was very restful. The anticipation mixture of anticipation and sadness of the end of tour was starting to set in. The reality that tonight will be our last performance for the season and, for some, the last performance of their career with Kantorei has started to settle in stirring both happy and sad emotions. Today we continue our ride to Indianapolis, visit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and perform a joint concert with the Indianapolis Children’s Choir (ICC) at Devine Savior Lutheran Church. We will also close our tour with the traditional senior good-by moment after the concert. For the seniors, all of the hard work, rehearsals, performances, and tours will culminate in this emotional moment.

We departed Columbus toward Indianapolis at 9:00am with a four hour ride ahead of us. To the casual observer, this stop on the tour doesn’t seem to fit with the Lincoln theme of the tour, but Spencer County in southern Indiana is the boyhood home of Lincoln where he spent his 14 formative years growing up. The time passed quickly watching “National Treasure” staring Nicolas Cage. Even Joel was engaged in the film. The Circle Center in downtown Indianapolis was our site for lunch. The third floor food court had a large selection with something for everyone. John and Roslyn Smith, parents of Ben Smith, and Jodi Beck, mother of Nate Beck, Claire Winter, mother of Thomas Winter met us at the food court. It was nice to see some familiar faces.

After lunch we traveled across town to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a tour of the track and museum. The track tour took us on the famed two-and-a-half oval track on a bus with a sound track that explained the history and particulars of the 101 year old raceway. The speedway opened in 1909 as a test facility for the burgeoning motor car industry in Indianapolis. Two years later the first race was run and the legend of Indy was born. The museum was interesting with many past Indianapolis 500 winning cars and other items that formed the history of the speedway. The rookie car of Danica Patrick was on display. No Danica, though.

Our final performance of the tour was next. We arrived at the church at 6:30pm and started the performance preparation process for the last time. We unloaded equipment, unloaded and prepared wardrobe, set up the slide show, warmed up, rehearsed, got dressed, lined up, and sat in our seats ready to go. The Indianapolis Children’s Choir took the stage with over 80 treble voices with a mix of boys and girls (mostly girls). The ICC is the largest children’s choir on earth with over 1500 singers in the system.

Founded in 1986 by artistic director, Henry Leck, the ICC provides an opportunity for young people ages toddler through high school to learn, grow, and excel through quality instruction and experiences that emphasize the development of musical skills and understanding. The ICC has, for most of its history, been in residence on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis where Mr. Leck is Director of Choral Activities. The large number of participants in the program represent the diversity of Central Indiana with nearly 1500 singers from 17 counties, including all of the Indianapolis area suburbs and nearby rural communities. These children represent over 352 schools, including 48 parochial schools, 14 private schools, 5 charter schools, and more than 73 home schools.

After about 30 minutes of music by the ICC, Kantorie took the stage and performed for about 50 minutes with selections from the sacred and Lincoln Legacy sets. After the performance we mixed with ICC at a cookie and punch reception where the ICC girls and the Kantorei boys got to know each other a little better. Kantorei sang Coney Island Girl during the reception and the ICC girls giggled all the way through. It was cute.

Our final activity for the evening was the traditional senior good-by. Our five seniors and Sam Hansel who moved to Ft. Wayne, IN in April this year gave testimonials and encouragement to the rest of the boys during this annual ritual that leaves everyone in tears and gushing emotion. For these boys, their time with Kantorei has come to an end and it is time to use the skills they developed as musicians, leaders, and men in their next stage of live. Kantorei has played a major roll in preparing them for adulthood and these young men know it.

When we all loaded the bus the emotions exploded in song and dance when the bus driver cranked up the radio with ZZ Top’s La Grange. There was clapping, singing, and dancing in the aisle of the bus. It was rocking. I have never seen anything like it. The sadness transformed to joy and we all laughed and cheered as the bus pulled away from the church and headed to the hotel.

At the hotel we swam, ate leftovers, and hung out until 11:45pm bed checks. Folks, the tour is over except for the wake up. We had a wonderful time and your boys are exceptional. I am extremely proud to have been associated with your sons. Everywhere we went we touched someone and made a difference.

We will depart from Indianapolis at 10:00am, stop in Champaign, IL for lunch and arrive at Cor Mariea at about 3:00pm to reunite with our families.

Thank you for reading. It has been a pleasure keeping you up to date. Until next time, this is Chris Walls, signing off.

6-21-09, In Transit to Indianapolis

6-21-09, In Transit from Philadelphia to Indianapolis

Sunday was truly a day of rest for Kantorei. We traveled 8 hours from Philadelphia to Columbus, OH on our way to Indianapolis. The seniors celebrated their Kantorei careers with Joel at the traditional senior dinner while the rest of the choir relaxed at the hotel. We needed this day to recharge in preparation for our final stretch.

We picked up the boys from their home stay families at Wayne Presbyterian Church, site of our concert last night. Each had their stories of interesting things they saw or experienced. For example, one group drove to Ocean City, NJ and dipped their feet in the Atlantic Ocean. They also saw Lucy, the hotel built in the shape of an elephant as a marketing stunt in the 1920’s that is now a national land mark. London has Big Ben, Paris has the Eifel Tower, and Ocean City has Lucy, the elephant hotel.

The ride was restful and uneventful. We stopped for lunch at a new wayside on I-76 in Pennsylvania then continued to Columbus.

We arrived at the Hampton Inn at 5:00, checked in, and got ready for dinner. The Seniors along with Joel and Mary Zammit at Schmidt’s Sausage Haus, while the rest of the choir ate at Jimmy Buffet’s Cheeseburgers in Paradise. The boys ordered burgers built the way they wanted it ranging from a plain cheeseburger to a burger loaded with jalapeños and salsa (that was mine) to vegetable burger to crab burger and everything in-between.

Senior dinner was a very happy occasion with lots of laughter, reminiscing, and bonding. The boys have come a long way in their careers in Kantorei developing as musicians, citizens, and men. Most are planning to continue their musical careers in college, strongly influenced by their time spent with Joel and Kantorei.

We returned to the hotel and served ice cream to the boys and enjoyed a couple hours in the pool. This was a perfect release of energy after being couped up on the bus all day. Bed checks were at 10:30 and we had a longer night of sleep to look forward to since we are not rolling out until 9:00 tomorrow morning. We all need a good night sleep.

6-20-09 Philadelphia

6-20-09

Today Kantorei closed the Nation’s Capital chapter of the tour and opened the one day chapter of the colonial portion of our tour. With our experience in the Civil War history of Gettysburg and Antietam and understanding a little more about our nation today with our visit to Washington, we turned back the clock to our founding fathers as we headed to Philadelphia to join the Philadelphia Boy Choir and Chorale for a joint concert. We also did some sight seeing, of course.

We rolled out of our hotel in Washington at 6:00 am, our earliest departure yet. We had a 10:00 call time in Philadelphia with the Philadelphia Boy Choir and Chorale for a joint workshop. It has a great chance to exchange experiences and techniques with another top tier choir. The Philadelphia choir is made up of about 100 voices of both men and boys. The boys range from age 7 to 12 at which time they are retired because their voices change. The Chorale is made up of adult men who are the tenor, baritone, and base voices. They are former choir members, local music professionals, recording artists, teachers, and fans of music who are rigorously auditioned. The mission of the Chorale is to be the technical, moral, and mentorship support system for the boys. The Choir and Chorale tour internationally every year and the Chorale serves as the chaperones. This year they are going to Argentina and Uruguay.

After the joint workshop we enjoyed lunch together made up of fresh sandwiches, fruit, chips, milk, and water. The boys sat intermixed with each other sharing stories and having a great time.

After lunch we loaded back onto the bus and made our way to the U.S. Constitution Center in Philadelphia, a museum and interactive educational experience about the founding of our Nation and the writing of our Constitution. We gathered in the lobby of the Constitution Center and sang America the Beautiful and the Star Spangled Banner. While very fitting, it gets better.

We spent about 90 minutes learning about our Constitution and the rights guaranteed to all. We left the Constitution Center and walked across the street toward Independence Hall and the display of the Liberty Bell. As we walked thru the displays and around the corner, there it was. The actual Liberty Bell that rang the sounds of freedom and independence some 230 years ago. The boys assembled behind the Liberty Bell and sang the same patriotic songs they sang at the museum. They added a dimension to the experience for the visitors that was much appreciated.

It was time to board the bus and move out to Wayne, PA on the other side of Philadelphia for dinner and our concert at Wayne Presbyterian Church. We ate at Chili’s where our meals were pre-ordered and ready for us when we arrived. The food was good and the conversation was lively. Mrs. Knight took this time to say good-bye to the seniors as she is leaving the tour after the concert tonight.

Wayne Presbyterian is a Civil War era church built in the 1860’s. The high arching ceilings created perfect acoustics for both choirs to maximize their sound. Kantorei performed first with selections from their spiritual set. They were followed by the Philadelphia Boy Choir and Chorale who performed a mixed set of classical opera and two crowd favorites, Disney’s Circle of Life and Beauty and the Beast. Kantorei took the stage after intermission and performed the Lincoln’s Legacy set. Both choirs did a fabulous job.

The Kantorei boys left the church with their home stay families after a very long day. They are looking forward to the long bus ride Sunday to catch up on some sleep. So am I. Until tomorrow…

6-19-09, Washington, D.C.

6-19-09, Washington, D.C.

Day six of the Northeast Tour was spent experiencing the sights of Washington, D.C. The day started with a visit to Arlington National Cemetery, lunch at Tony Chen’s Chinese restaurant, and the rest of the afternoon exploring the Mall area of our Nation’s Capital.

After a home made continental breakfast under the party tent of the hotel, the Kantorei boys boarded the bus and headed for a day exploring the sights of Washington, D.C. Our first stop was Arlington National Cemetery. We arrived at the visitor’s center, picked up our maps of the cemetery, and started walking. We stopped fist at the Women in Military Service of America Memorial where I looked up the entry of Kathy Walls, Daniel’s mom. We took a picture of the entry and moved on to the JFK eternal flame. From there we walked over to the Tomb of the Unknown. We arrived in time to watch the changing of the guard. This precision drill by the Soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) occurs every 30 minutes. Our final stop was the marker for LTC Ralph Robinson, the great grandfather of Evan Preece. We found it at the top of the hill in section 8. The boys gathered around Evan and sang America the Beautiful. It meant a lot to Evan.

We ate lunch at Tony Chen’s Chinese Restaurant in Washington’s China Town were we had the entire third floor to our selves. We had a family style lunch of Orange Chicken, Beef and Broccoli, Egg Plant, Sweet and Sour Pork, white and fried rice. Delicious.

After lunch we visited the African American Civil War Memorial where over 200,000 names of Black Soldiers who died in the Civil War are carved into the walls of the monument. Amazing.

We headed back to the mall where we continued our tour of monuments. We started north in front of the White House where we sang the Star Spangled Banner. From there we all split into smaller groups and headed off to explore the Mall and the surrounding area. We all gathered at the Washington Monument where we had tickets to ride the elevator to the top at 6:30 pm. The view of the Capital from 500 feet is incredible. The story behind the building of the monument is amazing.

After a very long day in Washington we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our 6:00 am departure Saturday morning. We are heading off to Philadelphia to meet up with the Philadelphia Boy Choir and Chorale. Stay tuned…

6-18-09 Washington, D.C.

Today we opened the Washington, D.C. chapter of our Northeast Tour. The highlights included meeting with Congressman Donald Manzullo at the Capital Building, a tour of the inside of the capital, observation of the House of Representatives in session, lunch at Union Station, a visit to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, dinner and games at the ESPN Zone, a visit to the Lincoln, Vietnam, and Korean War memorials, and finally a swim at the hotel before bed checks. Today was about using the past to understand the present.

We got underway at 7:00 am with breakfast at the Silver Diner located about 3 blocks from the hotel. We pre-ordered our meals so we were fed as soon as we sat down. The pancakes, french toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and home fries were very tasty. The motif was 1950’s with lots of chrome.

We got to experience Washington, D.C. rush hour traffic at its finest (or worst) as it took us 90 minutes to travel 15 miles from the diner to the Capital Building. We left plenty of time for this very situation and we arrived in time to meet up with Congressman Don Manzullo on the House of Representatives steps of the Capital. Mr. Manzullo was very gracious and spent about 15 minutes with the choir posing for pictures and listening very intently to us sing. It was a very nice visit and we are grateful he spent time with us. I have written before about unlikely moments coming together? Well, a church group from South Carolina listened to us sing Siyahamba, the African folk song. It turns out this group listened to this song on their bus this morning. Weird.

Next we took a 60 minute guided tour of the Capital Building that took us under the grand rotunda, down a hallway to the old House chamber (Speaker Nancy Pelosi walked by us in a hurry) and down to the floor directly beneath the rotunda where all the sandstone support pillars are holding up the building.

Our next stop took us into the gallery of the House chamber where we witnessed two votes on amendments to HR 2793, the Road Reconstruction Act of 2009. The New Hampshire Amendment passed 439 to 0 and the California Amendment was on the way to defeat. It looked just like C-SPAN.

We walked to Union Station, about three blocks and had lunch and did some souvenir shopping. While we were eating, it started to rain sheets. We decided the rain was our sign to go indoors so we bussed to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. We spent about two hours looking at all aspects of aviation from the Wright Brothers to the Mars Rover. Of course there was a souvenir shop to have fun in.

We had a buffet dinner at the ESPN Zone and the boys spent an hour in the game area. We blew off some steam. Even Mr. Ross showed us his skills with the roaring rapids and an inflatable raft video game.

We worked our way down to the Lincoln Memorial where the Lincoln Legacy came alive. The inscriptions of the Gettysburg Address and his second Inaugural Address witch makes up two-thirds of the words of our song “The Words of Lincoln.” We sang at the base of the memorial to many passersbys who showed their appreciation by thanking us and letting us know how much they appreciated it. We visited the Vietnam and Korean War Memorial next, very powerful.

The day ended with a swim in the pool and bed checks. Another jam packed day with a short night ahead. Good night.

6-17-09

Today we continued our Civil War chapter of our tour with the day spent at Gettysburg National Military Park. We took a two hour tour of the battlefield on our bus with a professional tour guide, ate lunch in the town of Gettysburg, toured the brand new visitor’s center and museum, performed an informal concert in the lobby of the museum, enjoyed a presentation by a Lincoln reenactor and ate dinner and sang at Pickett’s Buffet. We took in a lot of history today and it tied in nicely with our Lincoln Legacy theme.

The day started with the pick up of the boys from their home stay families at the church at 8:00 am. The day started much earlier for many of the boys who had to get up very early to get to the church on time. After another round of high praise from the host families (as expected) we headed out of Hagerstown to Gettysburg.

The trip to Gettysburg took about an hour. We watched a DVD about Antietam to get us in the Civil War frame of mind and prepare us for our day in Gettysburg.

The battlefield tour guide met us about 45 minutes after we arrived and took us on a two hour tour of the Gettysburg battlefield. The tour took us from one end of the battlefield to the other with very insightful descriptions of monuments, terrain, and the tempo of the battle. With the rain falling lightly, we viewed the battlefield of Gettysburg from the vantage point of General Robert E. Lee as he sat on his horse on Seminary Ridge and across the valley we viewed the battlefield form General Meade’s perch on Cemetery Ridge. The two Generals stood less than one mile apart as their armies of tens of thousands of men battled between them on the third day of the battle of Gettysburg. During the three days of the battle, there were 50,000 American casualties.

One note of interest, an officer from the 8th Illinois Cavalry Regiment is credited for firing the first shot that started the battle at Gettysburg.

After the tour we bussed into town for lunch at our choice of fast food joints. Yum.

We spent the rest of the afternoon touring the museum, watching films, and spending money at the gift shop. If your boy does not bring you a souvenir from the trip, it is not because they were short on opportunity. One amazing exhibit was the Cyclorama of the battlefield. The Gettysburg National Military Park Cyclorama Center was the home of the "Battle of Gettysburg" Cyclorama, a 360 degree circular oil-on-canvas painting that depicts "Pickett's Charge," the climactic Confederate attack on the Union center on July 3, 1863. Completed and exhibited in 1884, it is one of the last surviving cycloramas in the United States. The Gettysburg Cyclorama is 359 feet long, 27 feet high and weighs an estimated 3 tons.

The boys put on an informal concert in the lobby of the museum to an enthusiastic crowd. In the audience was a Union Soldier in period dress and I noticed he was singing along with the Civil War songs we were singing. I spoke to him after the show and he said he was a life long choir singer. You never know who you will run into.

From the Gettysburg National Military Park, our Civil War journey continued with a private live speech by Abraham Lincoln (played by a period reenactment actor) at the Pickett’s Charge Buffett and Civil War Theater in the town of Gettysburg. The talk lasted about 30 minutes. It turns out the actor is from Illinois and was a choral director. Again, you never know who you might run into. We sang some songs for Mr. Lincoln. It was very cool to watch the 14th President as we sang the words he spoke in the Gettysburg Address and his 2nd Inaugural Address in the song “Lincoln’s Words.” Talk about bringing history to life. Wow!

We ate dinner at the buffet down stairs and sang a few songs while sitting at our tables in-between bites of cake. We stopped when we started getting requests. We did sing Happy Birthday to someone named Tammy. We made her night.

It was then off to the Crown Plaza in McLean, VA where the boys are splashing away in the pool and enjoying some down time.

Tomorrow we are off to the Capital Building and our start to the DC chapter of our tour. See you then.

6-16-09

Day Three, 6-16-09

Today was a simple day in terms of movement but the impact the activities had on the boys was profound. We traveled from Cleveland to Hagerstown, MD in the morning, visited the Antietam Civil War battle field in the afternoon and performed at the First Christian Church in Hagerstown in the evening. Each activity seemed to be spiritually linked resulting in an audience on their feet and history brought to life in the lyrics and sounds of Lincoln’s Legacy.

The drive from Cleveland to Hagerstown was smooth and uneventful. The trip was broken up by a couple of rest stops and a lunch stop. The boys kept us on schedule by being punctual at each stop.

Our first stop in Pennsylvania was the Civil War battlefield of Antietam. This battlefield has the dubious distinction of being the location of the bloodiest one day battle in American history. The battle at Antietam, September 15, 1862, produced over 23,000 American casualties. This number has not been matched since.

We arrived in time for a 30 min talk by a National Park Ranger in the observation room overlooking the battlefield. The boys followed along with interest. From there, we walked to a small white church across the street from the visitor’s center called the Dunker Church. Built in the 1800’s by a German pacifist congregation, it was designed for maximum acoustic effect for unaccompanied singers. The inner room was a simple square room with wood floors and plaster walls but the sound was amazing. The boys assembled inside and sang 4 or 5 songs from their Lincoln’s Legacy repertoire. The words of Lincoln echoed throughout the small church bringing history to life as the boys sang. We had an audience of abut 3 or 4 couples and families including one couple passing by that stopped in to see what was going on. We would see them again later. The Dunker Church yard turned out to be the site of the cease fire agreement that ended fighting at Antietam.

After a group photo in front of the church we loaded the bus and headed into Hagerstown for dinner at a strip mall and then to the First Christian Church for our concert.

After a short rehearsal and blocking session, the boys quickly changed into concert attire and took the stage. The pews filled with about 150 people eagerly anticipating what was to come. Maryland was a border state during the Civil War. Half of the state was aligned with the North and half with the south. These people live and breathe Civil War history so we struck a particular chord with our audience.

Remember the couple that stopped in the Dunker Church at Antietam? Well, they followed us to Hagerstown and were in the audience for the concert. They said they were so impressed with what they heard earlier in the day, they decided to treat themselves to the concert. We have groupies.

We received a rousing standing ovation and hand shakes after the performance. We certainly left a lasting impression on the audience and we have an open invitation to return.

The boys met their home stay families at a cookie and punch reception and scattered to all parts of Hagerstown for a good nights rest. At least that is what we hope. We shall see…