The choir's rich

yet clear sonority

and firm yet delicate

expressiveness

made the strongest

possible impression.

William Yeoman - The West Australian

News

USA December 2015 Tour: Blog Day 2

Date: Saturday 12 December 2015 2.15pm

Reviews

Our first full day in the States amazingly didn’t involve a single plane journey, giving the choristers a much-needed lie-in with their homestays.  A few people spent their morning at a local history museum, while others were content to marvel at the incredible collection of Christmas decorations owned by the folk of Greensboro, including a Hawaiian Santa and a terrifying dog-headed guardian angel.  The title of Quote of the Day was undoubtedly taken by a homestay who asked Sophie, “Is Putin still, like, your President?”
 
We arrived at the First Presbyterian Church outfitted in our new and somewhat divisive tour stash: outrageously yellow sweaters. The three hour long rehearsal wore us all out, especially Michael who had the challenge of reining in a very powerful organ. Graham, always concerned for our well-being, made sure to emphasise the importance of “chilling” as much as possible.
 
Prior to the concert, several members of the back row found time for a spot of cricket in the changing room featuring a suitcase as stumps and a shoe as the bat.  Incredibly, nothing was broken during the game, and an impressive forty-two runs scored by Laurence put Toby to shame, who had to be bowled out twice before finally relinquishing the bat with a score of zero.  Whether the Cricket Club of the Chapel Choir of Clare College Cambridge will become an established society is yet to be decided (maybe that way we’ll be able to secure some UCS funding…).
 
We were delighted to receive a standing ovation at the end of our debut concert, although less pleased to hear from Graham that we would be arriving in Lubbock, TX in just 11 hours.  It seems like our sleep deprivation Troubles won’t be over for sometime yet… L
 
Matthew Nixon (Dec Bass 1) & Catherine Clark (Dec Sop 3)