January 10....the last day! STUDENT JOURNAL

Amy Jo Atherton, junior alto

Beep Beep Beep Beep… my 8:00 alarm was going off, meaning one thing; it was my last day in London! Knowing that this UNBELIEVABLE trip was coming to an end made my heart sink, wishing it would last at least a week longer. Yet I still had one more day in this incredible city and I was sure going to make the most of it! We had free time until 4:00, and while many of my friends slept in, I quickly made my way downstairs to join Dr. Saylor, Dr. ABC, Dave Collier, Daniel, and Laura Brill to see the British Library. Since Dr. Saylor did his dissertation research there, we had our own personal tour guide throughout the building. Dr. Saylor took us into the “Room of Treasures,” which was full of original manuscripts of books, musical scores, religious artifacts, and much more! Words could not even describe the rush of adrenaline that was going through me as I saw Handel’s original Messiah manuscript, Da Vinci’s blueprints, and historical Jewish Hagadahs and Torahs. It was also a great feeling when I was able to educate Dr. Saylor on the Hebraic writings which were on display!

After an amazing morning at the British Library, Daniel and I took the tube to the Camden Markets. The market took up at least 3 blocks and was full of food, clothes, shoes, and leather goods. Even more than the shopping, I loved speaking with the locals at the market about politics, America, and religion.

With only three hours left in our free time, Daniel and I headed to Piccadilly Circus for a quick lunch at a sidewalk café and speed sightseeing. I felt like I was in New York with the large fluorescent advertising screens and the streets packed with people! Since it was just the two of us, Daniel and I were able to see so many things in a short amount of time. We even shopped at Harrods and H & M, to name a couple.

After heading back to the hotel, I quickly changed for the final performance of our England tour at the Grosvenor Chapel. We were really excited about this last concert, because we had the opportunity to share it with the American School in London, which is a high school for students from many nations. We even collaborated together on a piece called, “For the Beauty of the Earth.” Meeting high school students who share your same love for music and hearing about their lives in London was such a treat and made for a very memorable last concert. Our last concert was so enjoyable; because we sang the best we had sung the whole trip! Every piece locked in, and I was moved to tears several times throughout the performance and especially during “Coventry Carol”, the song that is performed every year at the madrigal dinner and the only piece that every Chamber Choir member in the history of Drake University has sung! Singing that song reinforced my love for music and how it can take over your emotions.

After the concert, we had the opportunity to meet and greet our audience, which included Marketa Dvorakova, Antonin Dvorak’s great grand-daughter, whom some of us had an opportunity to meet during our Drake Choir 2004 European Tour. (She attended Drake for a year and sang in the University Community Chorus.) We then proceeded to a choir tour tradition; our farewell dinner. I love the traditional farewell dinner because we all stay in our formal wear and go to a nice restaurant. It is also a time where we can all reminisce about our trip and say thanks to everyone who helped us along our way. After our wonderful three course meal, we had our choir tour awards; watched Ron Rolland and our new friend, Jean Neibergall, sing for us “Leaving on a Jet Plane” with new words about our tour, and saw recording superstar Gwen Stefani, lead singer in the rock band No Doubt. Gwen and her husband just so happened to be having dinner at the same restaurant as we were in. Seeing her was so exciting since we were all huge fans! The excitement did die down though, since we realized they probably wanted a quiet evening alone, rather than with a 23 member Chamber Choir. As our choir closed the restaurant after midnight, we all realized the tour was coming to an end, and luckily I was not the only person crying! Besides the amazing venues we were able to sing in, this trip allowed our ensemble to grow close musically and personally. I never will forget the “ah” moments we experienced in every concert and the unbelievable friendships I made on this trip. I cannot even believe how lucky I was to have had this opportunity and to have shared it with people I care so much about!