Recovering
Wow, what a week it's been. First off, there is news about Brynne and some of it's even good. But I want to take things in order, so I'm going to begin with my Jamestown trip.
We boarded the bus on Wed May 9 at about 10 pm. And there began one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. I talked with my seatmate and very good friend until 4 in the morning before I crashed. Only managed an hour and a half's sleep. Adrenaline is a very good thing.
For breakfast we stopped at an IHOP just south of DC. My VP and I went in to see if they could handle our group, which was our chorale and another who shared the bus with us. When the hostess looked at us and asked "2?" we replied, "Uh, no. 47." They never even blinked. In fact they told us they had just finished serving a busload of 40!
Thursday was a bit of a blur. We got to the hotel, dropped off our stuff and then were right back on the bus to see Jamestown Settlement. Very interesting place. I won't go into details, since you can find all that other places. Then on to dinner and back to the hotel for the night. I have learned who the wild women in the group are... they were the ones with the liquor and laughter until 1 am. Unfortunately, I was dead tired and missed it. I only knew about it when our director (who I was sharing a room with) came in, wavering slightly.
Friday we had our own concert performance. We were one of the very first groups to perform, so our audience was small, but we pulled off a fantastic show. I was thrilled by how well we did. After that we stuck around for a couple more groups after us then grabbed lunch in the park before hopping back on the bus to head for Yorktown.
Again, I won't go into details, I'm sure there's a ton of stuff on the web about the site. We had a fairly thorough tour and then it was back to the hotel for a teeny bit of downtime and a chance to grab our music for the evening rehearsal.
Dinner was a buffet line at the basketball arena where we were scheduled to rehearse. It was passable food. The into our assigned sections, roughly 800 people on one side and 800 on the other. Two directors down on the floor and the piano, both mic'ed. It was an amazing experience. Bob Shoup, the main choral conductor, was incredible. Everyone I was with said it was like getting a private voice lesson with a vocal master. It was an almost unreal experience to sing in a group of over 1600. That we sounded really good, even on our first try through the pieces, was even more amazing.
Rehearsal lasted 3 hours, it took probably another half hour of waiting before our bus could leave because we were parked so far back in line. Back at the hotel, I was not missing out on the party this time, so I joined the Unholy Trio in their room along with a few others and we laughed and drank until 2 am. Then off to bed for an early call the next morning.
Saturday involved one more rehearsal with just the chorus, where we went over the pieces we had not done the night before. Again, a thoroughly amazing experience. After that it was on to Colonial Williamsburg for the afternoon. I and a friend took off and explored on our own, our tour guide took a group around and talked about the history of the place. This was a truly neat place and I would love to go back there some day.
Back on the bus and on to dinner, the best meal of the weekend. Then back to the arena one more time. Tonight's rehearsal was with the orchestra, a 400 piece group made up of people from the Virgina Symphony Orchestra and musicians from all over the country. What an unbelievable experience, to hear the entire group performing together. This would be our only time to truly hear what we sounded like, since the stage set up for Sunday would have the groups well separated.
Back to the hotel afterward for a fairly early night. Couple of drinks and then off to bed so we could all get up at about 4:30 am. Bus was leaving at 6:15, we were scheduled to be entering the grandstand area at 7:45, after passing through security checkpoints. Of course, nothing goes as planned. Sunday morning we were asked to hurry, security checks were taking longer than they thought and they wanted us to leave early. We sort of made it. When we got to the park we were very nearly the last ones in line. Keep in mind that there are over 2000 musicians and their guests trying to pass through only 6 security lanes. Takes some time. We all agreed, after this, airport security would be a breeze.
We were about as restricted on what we could bring into the park as you are on a plane these days. Metal detectors for everyone and you were wanded down if you set it off. And I would say that over half the people I watched come through were setting off the sensors.
Immediately after entering we were told that the timing for the morning was shot, and we were to go to one of the stages and wait until we were called. We passed by some kids stretched out on chair and trying to sleep. We found out they'd been in the park since 6:15 and it was now about 7:30 with no sign of when we'd actually get to the bleachers.
About an hour later we were called to enter the grandstand area. I have neglected to mention that it was raining. Not heavily, but enough to make you nice and damp. As we passed through the gates we were handed an emergency rain poncho (think SaranWrap) all the water bottles we could carry and whatever snacks we could grab. Our group was halfway up the center section of the stage left bleachers. There was a jumbotron behind us, the orchestra was in a tent (an unbelievably huge tent) to our right, then another section of bleachers with the other half of the chorus. There are some pictures of this scattered about on the web. Just search for Jamestown celebration and you're sure to come up with something.
So, in the wet, we went through tech dress, making sure that the video feed of the orchestra conductor to the two chorus directors was working. Sound levels had to be checked. Oh, and the orchestra had to shorten up "Hail to the Chief". Apparently they only had a very short space alotted for it. So we listened to them playing it triple time. It was pretty damn funny.
Tech dress over, we were told we had to stay put. There was not enough time for 1600 people to go wandering off and still be back in the bleachers before the noon performance. It was about 10 am, or shortly after. I was totally freezing, shivering so bad that two of the basses behind me took great pity on me. One lent me his jacket and the other put his hands on my back to radiate some warmth to me.
The sun started to come out around noon, the performance actually began at 11:30. We heard several dignitaries speak, including Sandra Day O'Connor and Bush. There was also a message from the ISS broadcast over the jumbotrons, which we craned around to watch. We sang only three pieces of our seven at noon, then we were free for the afternoon. By now it was sunny and fairly warm. Three of us had lunch together then wandered around the park to see what there was and listen to a few groups performing.
Back to the bleachers at about 5 or shortly after. The sun had moved so it was behind us now and it was feeling chilly in the bleachers with the wind. We sat and waited, the evening performance wasn't until 7. There must have been over 30,000 in the crowd watching and it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime moment to sing at this event. Our portion over, we sat down for a dramatization of the history of Jamestown. As it got darker, it got colder. My two bass benefactors took care of me again, making sure that I was warm enough.
Time for the fireworks sequence. There was some debate as to whether or not the fireworks would start before the 1812 Overture but as the orchestra began to play you could hear the unmistakable sound of fireworks being launched. We all jumped up and turned around to look for them. Sure enough they were there. Behind the damn jumbotron. Couldn't see shit. It took me all of 15 seconds to say, "Screw this, I wanna see the fireworks!" and I and a friend took off out of the bleachers and ran around behind them so we could see. We weren't the only ones.
Concert over, dismissed in groups as the buses arrived, we finally made it back to the hotel. We'd called ahead for pizza, and our weary group stood around munching down and scanning the local news to see if we made it or not. We all crashed without further partying and got up for the trip home the next day.
Bus ride home was largely uneventful, a few traffic loonies out there, but no incidents that we could see. We made it home about 11:30 that night and I was home before 12:30.
And that was the weekend. Majorly condensed. It truly was one of the most awesome experiences of my life. And I would travel again with these people in a heartbeat. We had the best time.
There is news about Brynne... she's home from the hospital now. But I am out of time for the moment, I have an appointment and then work. I'll post my update about her later tonight when I get home.
We boarded the bus on Wed May 9 at about 10 pm. And there began one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. I talked with my seatmate and very good friend until 4 in the morning before I crashed. Only managed an hour and a half's sleep. Adrenaline is a very good thing.
For breakfast we stopped at an IHOP just south of DC. My VP and I went in to see if they could handle our group, which was our chorale and another who shared the bus with us. When the hostess looked at us and asked "2?" we replied, "Uh, no. 47." They never even blinked. In fact they told us they had just finished serving a busload of 40!
Thursday was a bit of a blur. We got to the hotel, dropped off our stuff and then were right back on the bus to see Jamestown Settlement. Very interesting place. I won't go into details, since you can find all that other places. Then on to dinner and back to the hotel for the night. I have learned who the wild women in the group are... they were the ones with the liquor and laughter until 1 am. Unfortunately, I was dead tired and missed it. I only knew about it when our director (who I was sharing a room with) came in, wavering slightly.
Friday we had our own concert performance. We were one of the very first groups to perform, so our audience was small, but we pulled off a fantastic show. I was thrilled by how well we did. After that we stuck around for a couple more groups after us then grabbed lunch in the park before hopping back on the bus to head for Yorktown.
Again, I won't go into details, I'm sure there's a ton of stuff on the web about the site. We had a fairly thorough tour and then it was back to the hotel for a teeny bit of downtime and a chance to grab our music for the evening rehearsal.
Dinner was a buffet line at the basketball arena where we were scheduled to rehearse. It was passable food. The into our assigned sections, roughly 800 people on one side and 800 on the other. Two directors down on the floor and the piano, both mic'ed. It was an amazing experience. Bob Shoup, the main choral conductor, was incredible. Everyone I was with said it was like getting a private voice lesson with a vocal master. It was an almost unreal experience to sing in a group of over 1600. That we sounded really good, even on our first try through the pieces, was even more amazing.
Rehearsal lasted 3 hours, it took probably another half hour of waiting before our bus could leave because we were parked so far back in line. Back at the hotel, I was not missing out on the party this time, so I joined the Unholy Trio in their room along with a few others and we laughed and drank until 2 am. Then off to bed for an early call the next morning.
Saturday involved one more rehearsal with just the chorus, where we went over the pieces we had not done the night before. Again, a thoroughly amazing experience. After that it was on to Colonial Williamsburg for the afternoon. I and a friend took off and explored on our own, our tour guide took a group around and talked about the history of the place. This was a truly neat place and I would love to go back there some day.
Back on the bus and on to dinner, the best meal of the weekend. Then back to the arena one more time. Tonight's rehearsal was with the orchestra, a 400 piece group made up of people from the Virgina Symphony Orchestra and musicians from all over the country. What an unbelievable experience, to hear the entire group performing together. This would be our only time to truly hear what we sounded like, since the stage set up for Sunday would have the groups well separated.
Back to the hotel afterward for a fairly early night. Couple of drinks and then off to bed so we could all get up at about 4:30 am. Bus was leaving at 6:15, we were scheduled to be entering the grandstand area at 7:45, after passing through security checkpoints. Of course, nothing goes as planned. Sunday morning we were asked to hurry, security checks were taking longer than they thought and they wanted us to leave early. We sort of made it. When we got to the park we were very nearly the last ones in line. Keep in mind that there are over 2000 musicians and their guests trying to pass through only 6 security lanes. Takes some time. We all agreed, after this, airport security would be a breeze.
We were about as restricted on what we could bring into the park as you are on a plane these days. Metal detectors for everyone and you were wanded down if you set it off. And I would say that over half the people I watched come through were setting off the sensors.
Immediately after entering we were told that the timing for the morning was shot, and we were to go to one of the stages and wait until we were called. We passed by some kids stretched out on chair and trying to sleep. We found out they'd been in the park since 6:15 and it was now about 7:30 with no sign of when we'd actually get to the bleachers.
About an hour later we were called to enter the grandstand area. I have neglected to mention that it was raining. Not heavily, but enough to make you nice and damp. As we passed through the gates we were handed an emergency rain poncho (think SaranWrap) all the water bottles we could carry and whatever snacks we could grab. Our group was halfway up the center section of the stage left bleachers. There was a jumbotron behind us, the orchestra was in a tent (an unbelievably huge tent) to our right, then another section of bleachers with the other half of the chorus. There are some pictures of this scattered about on the web. Just search for Jamestown celebration and you're sure to come up with something.
So, in the wet, we went through tech dress, making sure that the video feed of the orchestra conductor to the two chorus directors was working. Sound levels had to be checked. Oh, and the orchestra had to shorten up "Hail to the Chief". Apparently they only had a very short space alotted for it. So we listened to them playing it triple time. It was pretty damn funny.
Tech dress over, we were told we had to stay put. There was not enough time for 1600 people to go wandering off and still be back in the bleachers before the noon performance. It was about 10 am, or shortly after. I was totally freezing, shivering so bad that two of the basses behind me took great pity on me. One lent me his jacket and the other put his hands on my back to radiate some warmth to me.
The sun started to come out around noon, the performance actually began at 11:30. We heard several dignitaries speak, including Sandra Day O'Connor and Bush. There was also a message from the ISS broadcast over the jumbotrons, which we craned around to watch. We sang only three pieces of our seven at noon, then we were free for the afternoon. By now it was sunny and fairly warm. Three of us had lunch together then wandered around the park to see what there was and listen to a few groups performing.
Back to the bleachers at about 5 or shortly after. The sun had moved so it was behind us now and it was feeling chilly in the bleachers with the wind. We sat and waited, the evening performance wasn't until 7. There must have been over 30,000 in the crowd watching and it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime moment to sing at this event. Our portion over, we sat down for a dramatization of the history of Jamestown. As it got darker, it got colder. My two bass benefactors took care of me again, making sure that I was warm enough.
Time for the fireworks sequence. There was some debate as to whether or not the fireworks would start before the 1812 Overture but as the orchestra began to play you could hear the unmistakable sound of fireworks being launched. We all jumped up and turned around to look for them. Sure enough they were there. Behind the damn jumbotron. Couldn't see shit. It took me all of 15 seconds to say, "Screw this, I wanna see the fireworks!" and I and a friend took off out of the bleachers and ran around behind them so we could see. We weren't the only ones.
Concert over, dismissed in groups as the buses arrived, we finally made it back to the hotel. We'd called ahead for pizza, and our weary group stood around munching down and scanning the local news to see if we made it or not. We all crashed without further partying and got up for the trip home the next day.
Bus ride home was largely uneventful, a few traffic loonies out there, but no incidents that we could see. We made it home about 11:30 that night and I was home before 12:30.
And that was the weekend. Majorly condensed. It truly was one of the most awesome experiences of my life. And I would travel again with these people in a heartbeat. We had the best time.
There is news about Brynne... she's home from the hospital now. But I am out of time for the moment, I have an appointment and then work. I'll post my update about her later tonight when I get home.