Blue sky! The very need to start with that says it all. It would have been a good day anyway, after a stay with such fun, generous, gracious hosts—but the bright sky was most welcome, as we could finally see how beautiful the area is around Rifle.
We boarded on time again (this might even turn into a trend on this tour) and were soon in the beautiful canyon on the way to Glenwood Springs. The last time I traveled that road it was being constructed; 18 years later it looks just about the same. Could not tell if this is new or continuing construction. It was a beautiful drive with the bright green leaves of early spring.
Soon we were back into winter with our passage through Vail and the Eisenhower Tunnel; snow had fallen during the night and was still falling on us. I took photos until the bus windows were too dirty for Photoshop to clean.
We arrived in Arvada in time for lunch and a chance to stretch out our bus legs with Frisbee. A few choir members are considering turning pro with their Ultimate Frisbee skills. Arvada is a northern suburb of Denver—our tour takes us all over Colorado in an order dictated by when each community wanted to host us. So we’ll see several parts of the state multiple times. Today’s workshop and tonight’s concert are in Arvada West High School--a large, beautiful school--with their Vocal Showcase Choir.
This was a very rewarding afternoon. The two choirs rehearsed the numbers they sang jointly tonight, each conductor working on a piece of music. The Singers were very impressed with the quality of this high school choir when they sang together, and that first impression was strengthened as they interacted with questions for one another about training, rehearsing, and interpreting music. The Vocal Showcase Choir sang Whitacre’s “Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine,” a piece that is dear to several of these Singers who performed it in the British Isles two years ago. They sang that difficult piece very well.
After a pizza dinner, the choirs dressed and warmed up—though not much warm-up was needed after a two-hour workshop! The Arvada choir began the concert, singing even better than in the afternoon. Mr. Maunu has a thriving program here. Singers then took the stage, performing a varied concert that pleased this crowd very much. We had Singers alumni there, along with family of current and former Singers. It’s always wonderful to see friends on tour.
We’re getting into our stride now, and it doesn’t take us long to clear the stage, get housing assignments, and head on out. We still have our fingers crossed for warmer weather, but we’re enjoying the tour very much.