The Real Gloucester

April 27, 2012
Gloucester

We were sad to say goodbye to Rosalie, but exchanged contact information and hope to maintain a distant friendship. 

During the long-ish coach drive to Gloucester, Michelle and I watched The Iron Lady with Meryl Streep on the iPad. We rented it to supplement our cultural experience here and learn a little more about England's more recent history. The film is very well acted. Meryl Streep is incredible. There were things I didn't care for though. Rather than rant on about it here, I'll leave an open invitation for discussion to anyone interested in sharing opinions about the film and about one of the most controversial leaders England has ever had. 

When we arrived in Gloucester, we had some time to walk around and enjoy the city. We spent most of the time before dinner at our performance venue, touring and learning about its history. The crypt was particularly interesting and again, everything is so incredibly old. 

We ate dinner at a restaurant called the New Inn that was built in the old Tudor style. It was very old and was leaning so far over that I wondered how it didn't just fall down. We ate an English roast of Yorkshire pudding, roast meat, potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower. I thought it was slightly bland except for the English mustard that could burn the hairs in your nostrils. 

The concert in Gloucester went really well. I especially enjoyed singing our renaissance pieces in that space that was designed for such music and vice-versa. 

Our host family was another American family. They were also friends with Whitney Larson, one of our altos, from her home town in Texas. It was quite the experience. When I asked the dad what he did for a living, he quickly response that he was the chief executive of a billion-dollar international company. I wondered about how well we would get along. Any uncertainty was quickly put away when he showed me his guitar and bass collection. We jammed for a bit, ate a little and went to be in a beautiful, large room with a private bathroom. It was a wonderful and needed night of sleep. 

Gloucester

April 26, 2012 Norwich We drove from Cambridge to Norwich and went first to a workshop. I always enjoy the workshops because it's a chance to share a lot about our music making with people who speak our same language. Unfortunately, our workshop in Norwich was with a very young group and we quickly found a bond through the music of Glee than through our regular repertoire. It was a bit rowdy for my taste, but hopefully some of those kids could feel something inspiring.  Following the workshop we went to Norwich Castle. After eating a nice sack lunch on the castle grounds, we had a nice tour of the castle by a local member of the church who just finished his dissertation on the history of the castle. It was a neat tour with lots of great history. So sad that for 500 years of its history it served as a prison before being given to the city as a historical landmark, now converted to a museum.  The feeling through all of Norwich was very old. The shops just down from the castle have been bustling since before the 9th century. To enjoy the city better, Michelle and I split off with Devin & Rachael. We went to first to the Norwich Cathedral which was absolutely stunning. While we were there, word got out that members of a choir were in the cathedral. We assembled and found that nearly half the choir was present with proportional representation from each section. So, we gathered an sang 2 songs. It was really incredible to sing in that space.  We wanted to have time to peruse the shops, so Michelle and I went with the Andertons to the shops where Michelle found a "big girl purse" as she puts it. That's how she decided to spend some of her graduation money.  We had to hurry back to our rehearsal sight which was St. Andrews Hall in Norwich. The rehearsal went well, but it was the first time I felt like members of the choir were beginning to feel the stress of tour. After our rehearsal we split into sections for a bit of kumbayah. I thought it was good timing and hopefully will prevent stress and frustration to grow. (Group dynamics on tour are very interesting.) After dinner, we sang another great concert. We're really, really spoiled this tour with the venues we have lined up. St. Andrews Hall was a great place to sing and the audience was really warm. We also had many dignitaries in attendance. What struck me the most was a tidbit of information that our concert sponsor included in a pamphlet for us about the area. Apparently the last time the Mormon church was addressed formally in St Andrews Hall was during the early days of the church in England when several pastors called a meeting there to discuss the erroneous Mormon doctrine. It was incredible to contrast that with the warm welcome we received from the Lord Mayor and all other dignitaries in attendance.  The most important part of our time in Norwich is named Rosalie Samaroo. Rosalie is a Scottish widow that hosted Michelle and me. I think Michelle and I must have a think for cute old ladies because we became attached very quickly just like we did to Janice 2 years ago. Rosalie was so warm and funny. She invited us down for a chocolate and biscuits (hot chocolate and cookies) after we changed into more comfortable clothes, which really is the number one priority. We laughed a lot and she talked a lot about her daughters and her late husband who was from India, which explains her interesting last name. She was so sweet to us. We had some laundry to do that night. After putting it in I notice that she didn't have a tumbler (dryer). I asked her about it and she told me not to worry, that she had a way of drying our clothes in time for our early morning departure. I'm pretty sure her "way" was to stay up late into the night ironing our clothes dry. She was so sweet and kind. We were overwhelmed.

Cambridge

April 25, 2012
Cambridge

If you follow more than one blog that counts the tales of this tour, your certain to hear all about the rain and they would all be right. Rain was in fact the feature of the day, but the word of the day must be beauty. More about that later. 

Michelle and I stayed with a really nice couple named the Lawson's. They were very hospitable and we were a bit relieved last night when they sent us to bed early. I woke up early to work out with the exercise band. It felt great even if it was rather ineffective because the space was so limited. Homes in England and everything in them is very small, at least in comparison to the urban sprawl we are accustomed to.

We took the coach to Cambridge. It was a wonderful return to such a beautiful place. The thing about Cambridge is the constant, lingering question that anyone you happen to pass in the street is possibly among the greatest minds in the world. 

One of our first activities was meeting with Stephen Cleobury, who directs the chapel choir of Kings College at Cambridge. It was an exciting opportunity because he is among the most important conductors in Britain. The plan was for us to sing from our repertoire for him and he would give us feedback on how to improve. I really hate to sound cocky, but literally every point he made felt like a pat on my back as I have long advocated the ideas he gave us. He gave mostly suggestions about intonation that we're very useful and very much in my line of thinking. It was a good experience, one that I thought was very interesting and helpful for our choir. I also felt very proud to represent BYU and the church in such a way. He seemed very impressed by the fact that we performed memorized as that is not something he is accustomed to. (Obviously that comes with the territory though since his choir performs multiple services and concerts a week - memorization is an impossibility.)

After our workshop and a sack lunch, we broke into smaller groups to tour the colleges of Cambridge and the surrounding area. Michelle and I ended up in a group led by a former BYU student studying at Cambridge. It was such a a beautiful place and I felt so torn by my curiosity in the things that the tour guide was telling and my curiosity in the beautiful sites that I wanted to look at through my viewfinder. One of the real highlights was the Wren Library. Unfortunately there was a strict no photography rule. It was so inspiring to walk into that hall of learning. Wren's design was influenced by his interest in chess. The black and white tiled floor served as a battlefield of thought between the statues of ancient philosophers and thinkers on the left side and the modern masters on the left. Very impressive.

Toward the end of our walk around the town the rains began to come down with greater fervor. I had to cease shooting and holster my camera to protect it from the torrent. We finally took refuge on the coach and went to rehearse in the United Emanuel Church in preparation for our concert. It was a small but beautiful l church, well suited, I think, to the size of our choir. Following our rehearsal we got to eat in the dining hall of Pembroke College in Cambridge. I found myself more than a little ravenous.

My only regret up to this point in the tour is that I haven't gotten to spend as much time with my dear Michelle as I would like. Responsibilities as hour president have,at times held me back from the merriment I would much prefer. I hope though, that as tour moves along I will be able to enjoy her company more.

I found myself a little nervous to perform for our audience that night as they come from a truly erudite community, one that has become more and more unbelieving in a supreme being. I really wanted our music to make a spiritual impression as well as a musical one. I thought that we sang very well and was really touched by a comment that came from one of our sponsors at Cambridge. We received many compliments from the people at the concert, especially from the members of the church. Our sponsor said, "You have to realize that when the church members tell you what a wonderful concert you sang, it has significant meaning. The members here have lived their whole lives in the shadows of the college choirs of Cambridge. So it means so much to them when they can claim your group as their own." It was really satisfying. It seems that more than any other Singers tour, I'm seeing the good that we're spreading. 

Our host family in Cambridge was an American family living outside Cambridge. We stayed up late into the night enjoying some of the amenities that are not as common it English homes. We also had Karli West and Heather Barton along with us on our home stay. I think we were all up late on the Internet, reconnecting to our world across the pond. 

April 24, 2012 It's a bit of a sad day when you only first realize it's your birthday until someone else wishes you to have a happy one. I honestly forgot until Michelle wished me a happy birthday on the way down the lift to the lobby of the hotel for breakfast. I should interject now, simply because all of this is being written in a sort of stream of consciousness that showering that morning was an absolute joy as was putting on fresh clothes. After breakfast, we loaded up the bus to head to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard. We were split into our Londoners groups again, but again Matt had an errand to perform, so Michelle and I were split up again. We stayed for most of the ceremony and were quite surprised when the military band, red coats, bear hats and all started playing several songs from the American songbook like, My Way and New York, New York. We didn't realize just how warm and welcoming the British really are. We left a little early from the changing of the guard to avoid the crowds. We made our way to Victoria Station which is nearby and then found a nice pub to enjoy lunch. I ordered fish and chips which were delicious.  After meeting back up at the coach, we drove off to Milton Keyes, a suburban-type city that was built in the 1960's. Michelle and I, and nearly everyone on the bus napped during the drive. It was a little strange to see because almost everything you see in England is so very old and all of the was quite new. We rehearsed in the Church of the Cornerstone, ate dinner and gave our concert. Before the concert, I was invited along with Dr. Staheli to meet the Lord Mayor of Milton Keyes. (You can always spot the Lord Mayor of any British city because they are always finely dressed and wear a big gold chain and pendant around their shoulders. He seemed a very jovial man to me and I was pleased to meet him.  The concert we gave came off very well. The audience seemed so receptive. There really was a great spirit there. I thought we sang extraordinarily well. So much polish returned so many pieces that we haven't spent a lot of time with lately.  I want to take a moment to talk about some of the stresses I'm dealing with, but that I think I'm dealing with rather well. There are several things that are normally handled by the tour manager. Since our tour manager this year is the head of Performing Arts Manager and has been at that job for the past 31 years, you'd really expect him to know his stuff. Strangely, many things seem to be forgotten and many of the responsibilities of the tour manager are sort of falling into my lap. I'm ok with it. It is a little stressful at times, but really only because we haven't settled into a grove yet in which everyone knows exactly what to do. So I imagine those stresses will continue to ease, at least I hope so. I'm lucky to have Michelle to keep me in a good place. Oh those sorry saps who have to tour without their spouse and those sorrier saps who don't even know what it's like to have a spouse in the first place.

A return to the fog is a return to the blog. London Foggin' Bloggin Part II April 23, 2012 We arrived in England at about noon today. I must say that I was absolutely exhausted. Even though I took Sister Hall's advice about staying awake during the first flight and taking a sleeping pill for the second, I got absolutely no sleep. In fact, I even took a little more than the suggested dosage to ensure a good sleep. Finding comfort on that plane was absolutely impossible. I barely got a wink. So I knew I was really for a treat.  After arriving, we spent some time making our arrangements with our coach to head off to our hotel. It became clear from the start that the was a bit of a learning curve before this choir becomes a well-oiled machine. Getting everyone accounted for and getting luggage on the coach was a bit chaotic.  Sister Hall's biggest priority was to keep everyone awake the whole day so that we can overcome jet lag as quickly as possible. So ten minutes after checking in, we were off to make the necessary purchases in a foreign country (getting money exchanged, international cell phones, etc.). We only had a short while before meeting up again so that we could go into the main part of London. We broke into several groups of about 6, each headed by an expert Londoner. These of course were the people who had studied abroad here two years ago. Since Matt had another commitment, Michelle and I had to split up and each head our own separate group, even thought I had specifically put us together. Seriously, we would make the best tour guides ever. Oh well. I took my group on a big long walk to make sure they wouldn't fall asleep. We walked to Trafalgar Square, saw Big Ben, toured the National Gallery, went to Covent Garden and to Picadilly Circus. I let my group split up for about ten minutes at each location so that they could experience London independently and so that I could have little bits of time to take photographs with my new camera. What surprised me the most was how much energy I felt just being in Londontown. It was incredible being back. At nearly every turn I saw something that reminded me of my time here two years ago. Some memories were quite poignant. I passed a pub on the corner and as soon as I saw it, I recognized it as a pub where Michelle and I had snuck in the back door to use the toilet without having to buy anything at the pub. That's just one example. After a few hours of walking around, we met up at the bus and headed back to Bayswater, which is the area around our hotel. On the way, Michelle noticed one of our favorite London restaurants and realized how close it was to our hotel. So we got to go back to Masala Zone for the wonderful favors of India. We splurged a little bit since we had eaten lunch the day before at the airport with the Biggs' instead of using our per diem. So it was in the budget. After a wonderful meal, we went back to the hotel and absolutely crashed. It was the best night of sleep even though we were in the tiniest hotel ever. Seriously, everything was so tiny. Seriously. I woke up only once at about 4:00 am. I was really worried because I knew I needed to get a real night of sleep. I quickly told myself to relax, not freak out and just sleep. It worked and I didn't wake up again until my second alarm went off.

Change of Plans

May 25, 2010

We had a very surprising day today. We were scheduled to go to Canterbury this morning at 10:00. Who knew then how the day would end? But before I get ahead of myself, let me tell you about all the pushups I did this morning before showering. According to Michelle, I have the flattest chest of any man she knows. (Isn't it usually the men making those kinds of complaints?) So, I've decided to try to rectify the situation with pushups. It hasn't replaced my morning runs; it's just an add-on that occasionally replaces them. After working my pectoral muscles (and showering) I met up with Michelle to eat the breakfast she had prepared for the day before. Aside from the soggy toast it was pretty yummy. We rushed out the door to meet the group across the city where our coach was scheduled to pick us up. The bus, as it happened, was overheating and the eventual decision was to cancel the trip because no replacement could be found. I was a little bummed because Canterbury would be sooo cool. I had read all about it online the night before and was rip roaring ready to go. I got over it pretty fast though. Instead, they paid for us to go on the London Eye which is a glorified humungous Ferris wheel that gives an incredible view of the whole city. It costs 17 pounds to do, so obviously Michelle and I would never have paid to do it, but since it was offered, we joined along. I really enjoyed it. The wheel moves very slowly and it takes about a half an hour to complete a rotation and consequently, your journey on the Eye. We got some fun pictures. After our trip on the Eye, we found ourselves with Robert Crappo. He’s a really nice guy in our group that neither of us knew very well before. He joined up with us for the day of fun. We made the decision to see a show but we didn’t get very far on our way when we noticed a great little jazz combo. They were packing it up as we came up, but we asked them to play another one with the promise that we’d pay them well. So, they started playing a tune and I threw my shoulder bag off, grabbed Michelle’s hand and started dancing with her. It was so fun despite the fact that I was a little bit rusty. It’s been a little while since we last swing danced. Despite that, we drew in quite the crowd right there on the water front of the Thames. When we finished, I threw them a few pounds and thanked them but they promptly thanked us. Although we didn’t see it because we were busy dancing, lots of people were tossing money at them because we were dancing. They thanked us for bringing the crowd. Afterward, Michelle and I decided that teaming up with a jazz combo might be the best way to fulfill our study-abroad dream of pan handling and street performing. We decided that the best show to see that night was Oliver, so we headed to the West End to get our tickets. Since our trip to Canterbury was cancelled, they gave us 40 pounds to see a show that night. Well, we got student-concession tickets to Oliver for 25 pounds! We had some time to kill, so we started exploring around Covent Garden. There were a lot of neat shops around. I finally found a shop that sells straight-edge razor blades. The steel seems to be good quality, but the handle seemed like really weak plastic. I wasn’t convinced to get it then. I might go back though if I can’t find something better. I’m interested in changing the way I shave of course because of a recent education on the topic in an article on artofmanliness.com. We grew bored of Covent Garden and needed to find something to make Michelle and I feel better. The day after I ran out of Listerine Pocket Mist, both Michelle and I got sick. I’ve had a sore throat and she’s been congested. After we found something for her at the drug store, we went down to Fleet Street. When I was planning to leave for London my plan was to get a haircut short enough to last the whole time here in order to save money. Well, I realized that if I really wanted to make the claim that I’d LIVED in London, I’d need to get a haircut there. What better place to get a haircut than Fleet Street. It took a little bit of searching, but we finally found a barber on Fleet Street. I was soooo excited. We took pictures and everything. We wanted to find a place that sold meat pies too, but we needed to get back to the West End for our show. Luckily we did have time to eat dinner before the show because we made good time getting back to the West End. We found an awesome Indian restaurant called “Masala Zone” near the theatre. The food was so incredibly good. By far the best Indian food experience I’ve ever had. The theatre for Oliver was on Drury Lane (I’ve decided to return there to take a picture with a muffin). I was really impressed with the ability of the kids that were cast in the show. They were great little performers. Especially impressive was the boy who played the Artful Dodger. Oliver was pretty good and Fagin was great. There were some things about the show I didn’t like, but overall I really enjoyed it. Michelle absolutely loved the girl who played Nancy. She discovered the song “As Long As He Needs Me” a little while before coming to London and she was excited to hear it performed live. It was such a fun day even if it was not anything like we planned.

Double Dutch Date

May 24, 2010

My mornings all begin about the same. I usually wake up long before my roommates. I’m a bit of an early riser. I like my mornings. I like to be productive in the morning. So, I always get up even if I was up late the night before. Sleep is always the easiest thing to sacrifice in a busy schedule. This morning was fairly relaxed though because we didn’t have anywhere to be until 10:45. We were scheduled to observe another rehearsal of the BBC Singers. Instead of meeting at the church where we watched their last rehearsal, it was held in the studio for the BBC. It was an interesting building. It was built in the 1960’s as a roller skating hall. Apparently it didn’t do very well and the BBC purchased the building and have had their music studios there ever since. There were pictures on the wall of all kinds of famous musicians who had performed or recorded there. Everyone from Pierre Boulez to Sting was on the wall. It was neat to be there, hanging out where so many famous musicians have come through. The rehearsal was good to listen to. It was a different set of voices than we had heard before. They were working on a work by William Schuman for 16 voices. It was an incredibly difficult work. I couldn’t imagine trying to piece it together, especially with one person per part as they were attempting. Each part was so incredibly difficult; it really requires superb musicianship from each member of the ensemble. Despite the difficulty of the work, I found myself more annoyed at the sound they produced. The aesthetic the group reaches for is that of a group of soloists. It was so apparently so. There was little in terms of blend present in the sound. When the group was below a forte level, each individual voice quality could be identified and scrutinized for its inability to blend with the other voices. However, when the group was at forte or above, the sound was so large that it produced, for me, a high pitched hissing sound that was very unpleasant. It was simply too much. This high pitched hiss is present when speakers are played too loud and at rock concerts. In my opinion, it totally crossed the threshold of beauty which was so unfortunate because each member is so individually talented. It was exciting and frustrating all at once. Michelle and I left during the lunch break since we weren’t required to sit through the second half. Outside, the weather was so glorious. We had to take advantage of it. We’ve heard that it’s legal to swim in the fountains at Trafalgar Square and also in the Serpentine which is the pond in the center of Hyde Park. So, we went to Hyde Park to check things out. We found the swimming hole and hurried back to the flats for our swimsuits. It was nearly 80 degrees that afternoon. Who could blame us for ditching the cultural beauties of London for a little vitamin D? When we got back we had a difficult time finding a patch of grass. There were so many sun bathers. We nearly found a place, but then discovered a woman who was sunbathing topless. So, we obviously found another location. Sitting out on the grass taking in the sunshine was so great! I love spending time with Michelle. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing. Swimming in the Serpentine was a little bit gross. The water was quite green from algae. We didn’t stay in too long, but long enough to time each other racing from one end of the pond to the other (I think Michelle was too scared to go toe to toe with me in an actual race). We dried of in the sunshine and finally left in time to eat dinner together and leave for a rehearsal that evening of the London Philharmonic Choir. Their rehearsal was really interesting to watch. They were by far the worst sight-readers we’ve seen in any choir rehearsal (excepting the college choirs at Oxford who are composed of untrained volunteers). The conductor was good at guiding them through the music though. He was quite adept at running the rehearsal. Their sound wasn’t particularly impressive either. All of these struggles made us chuckle just a little bit when several members of the choir came up to us during the break talking about how awesome it is for them to be part of a world-famous choir. World-famous for sure, but maybe not world-class. They were really nice though. They even gave us copies of the music so that we could sing along during the second half of their rehearsal. It was pretty fun. After their rehearsal, we had time to grab a bite to eat. I went with Michelle, Logan, Robert McLellan, and Robert Crappo. We went to the Dutch Pancake House which is becoming a favorite for many of the study-abroaders. Michelle and I each got a pancake that we shared. She got a savory pancake called the Amsterdammer, which was actually the one that I wanted (isn’t she so cute?), and I got a sweet pancake filled with bananas, nutella, nuts and ice cream topped with chocolate sauce. Since we both paid for one pancake each, we coined the evening a Double-Dutch Date which is quite punny if you think about it. The only bad part of a Double Dutch Date with 3 other guys is that you might have to compete for the attention of the girl, even if she’s your girlfriend. Logan was giving Michelle a hard time and started flirting with her by quasi-beating her up. When Michelle cried out wondering why I didn’t help her I teased her a little bit saying that I wouldn’t help save her if she was going to be flirting with other guys. She’d have to get herself out of the situation she’d gotten herself into. It was pretty funny. Michelle is a flirt. That’s one of the reasons I like her so much.