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MAY 18, 2004 - VIENNA

By Colin McDonald, first-year student, bass

This morning the group started out early. I woke up at 7.15 and volunteered to hop in the shower first. I instead walked slowly and after leaving the water running for a few minutes, realized that the spray hose was pointed directly at the bathroom floor. I think my roommate, Jake Bender, was disappointed to find his collection of Journey albums water damaged.

The Drake Choir first headed off for a tour of the Vienna Staatsoper (opera house). We were lead by our tour guide, Ulrike Danningner, who bears a striking resemblance to Mary Poppins. She's a delightful woman and offered many words of wisdom, including "Between two roses there is always a donkey," referring to a situation in which Jake and I took a picture with her.

The Opera House was very beautiful and we were asked to perform "Os justi" in the actual theatre. As we sang over the jackhammering which served as background noise from off-stage, one onlooker noted, "This is better than the opera." After leaving the Opera House, we took a tour of the Central Cemetary, in which many world-renowned composers are buried. Of particular interest to us were the graves of Beethoven, Schubert, Schoenberg, and my favorite, Brahms. Mozart's memorial is here also. (No one knows where he is buried in Vienna.)

Then there was a period of free time prior to the evening performance. Some students used the time to visit St. Stephen's Cathedral, the oldest and one of the most beautiful churches in Vienna. Others shopped or strolled in the central squares.

The evening performance was held at Votivkirche, a church built by the Emperor 150 years ago. The audience wasn't large but was enthusiastic. Some came for the performance because they had heard a bit of our rehearsal. The space had a gorgeous, echoing acoustic. Pieces like the Kyrie and Gloria from the Vaughan Williams "Mass in G Minor" sounded amazing.

The remainder of the evening was free. A group of us got a bite at a pizza parlor, where I was harassed into purchasing roses for a table of women and George Marie. The vendor and I bartered until he talked both the price and number of the roses up. I asked him what this game was called, at which point he smiled and walked away briskly.

So that's all she wrote, folks. We're having a blast!