On Saturday, we made the journey to Riva del Garda. Starting at 8:30am, we started the 3.5-hour drive. Most people slept through the first half, but after our stop at a gas station, it was time to commence the Crane Awards. Every year, the presidency organizes the production of paper cranes (in honor of Dr. Crane) to award each member of the choir. Awards can be based on musical achievements, personality traits, or funny moments that occur throughout the year. Each section leader comes up with the awards for their section, and presidency members make the awards for each other and the section leaders. We also thank all the people that helped us out on the trip, like Stacey Christiansen, our beloved tour manager. It’s such a fun way to celebrate each other and remember all the fun times we’ve had as a group!
Unfortunately, we ran into some unexpected traffic on the way, so we were late to our masterclass with choral conducting students. When we arrived, we hurried into the building so we could get started. 4 students rehearsed with the choir using the pieces "Amorosi pensieri", "In the Flesh Thou Didst Fall Asleep", "Tonight Eternity Alone", and "Were You There." After each student, Dr. Crane invited choir members to give positive observations. We enjoyed getting fresh insight into these pieces we’ve been working on all year and got excited for the students to conduct us in the concert that would follow.
At around 5pm, we went back to the hotel for some free time and dinner before getting ready for the concert. Dinner was at a hotel restaurant across the street from the hotel. Singers were given the option of pizza, pasta or chicken. Once everyone was ready for the concert, the bus left a little after 7pm for the concert venue: a gorgeous Catholic church a few minutes away from the hotel. We did a quick rehearsal and sat down to watch the opening act: another children’s choir! Even though the Singers were tired after a long travel day, this was a very special audience, and it was a joy to perform for them. There was a particularly enthusiastic elderly man in the audience who gave us the thumbs up after every number and was the first to stand up when we were done. We ended up meeting him after and took some cute pictures with him. His name is Gigi (short for Giovanni), and he is a member of the church!
After socializing with the audience members, it was time to bus back to the hotel and go to sleep.