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There we were, a choir of 30,
walking through the immensity of St. Peter’s Basilica in the
Vatican, seeking the location where the mass for which we
would provide music would be celebrated. Our assumption was
that it would be in a quiet side chapel, but we were met and
hastened past the great Bernini altar piece to the grand
apse chapel, where the service was opened with special
prayers led by the bishop. Above us, the afternoon sun shone
through a translucent dove in the central window above the
altar. How could one not be awed by the experience of
singing Schubert, Rutter and Palestrina in this majestic
sanctuary with its ties to the earliest days of
Christianity?
Singing in St. Peter’s was one of the many highlights of a
recent Schreiner University Choir tour in Italy, one which
provided opportunities to make music and to absorb the art
and history of another culture. For 10 days, choir director
Michael Kahl, accompanist Terri Henneke-Theis, the choir and
a group of students and community members lived and traveled
together. Of course, Schreiner students participate in a
variety of travel abroad experiences, from shorter spring
break, or summer terms to full semesters, but this was a
different sort of trip. For the first time ever, a student
performing group was formally representing the university.
This was our first opportunity to say overseas, “Let us
introduce you to Schreiner University.”
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Events like these don’t take
place without careful planning, hard work and generous
friends. Well over a year ago, Kahl had drawn on his
previous experience in choir travel to put together a solid
package, including excellent performing venues. Then the
finances had to be provided: students washed cars, sold
discount cards and put on musical theatre to raise funds.
They and their families saved. The Schreiner development
office spoke with individuals and foundations which provided
much-appreciated assistance.
A different challenge, of course, was to develop the
product. Regular choir members, joined by four community
participants, had practiced a varied repertoire, from
traditional church music to the American genres—Appalachian,
gospel, spirituals—that European audiences clamor for. Kahl
has a special gift for extracting the best from his singers
while promoting their enjoyment of disciplined choral
performance. Since most of the works were performed from
memory, the choir could, under Kahl’s leadership, focus its
attention on creating music.
Where did the choir sing? First, we participated in two
choral festivals in the region of Verona. At both events, we
were joined by a men’s choir from the city of Soave. Their
thirty two voices combined operatic power and careful blend.
As we listened to them open with music from the Orthodox
liturgy that first night, we were bowled over by the power
and harmony resonating in an acoustically lively setting.
Their mesmerizing sound prompted us all to swallow hard and
determine to do our very best!
After these concerts, we shared late evening dinners with
the other participants. These events became fine
opportunities for communication, even though in most cases
we had to rely on means other than fluent Italian on our
part or fluent English on theirs. However, you can say a
great deal by trading off songs or by joining together in
spirited choruses. The second night, we were joined by a
German girls choir, and the song interchange was even
livelier. The common observation among our students was,
“These Italians are really warm and welcoming!”
We also provided worship music at the Abbey of St. Antimo,
set in the Tuscan countryside, surrounded by vineyards,
olive groves, wheat and poppies. The twelfth century abbey,
located on a pilgrimage trail, is the home of serious
liturgical study in Italy. It was full on a sunny Sunday
morning, and we joined in Gregorian chant for service music
as well as with our other pieces. Here, and on other
occasions, Schreiner’s artist-in-residence, Basel Sarweh’s
depth of liturgical experience proved invaluable.
There was plenty of time to absorb the wonders of Italy, of
course. We took in the winding canals and lanes of Venice,
the ancient arena of Verona, the quiet streets of Lucca,
Florence’s art and the astonishing tale told by the ruins of
Rome. Our guide was no bland leader. Rather, Giuseppe (“Call
me Joe or Pepe, but not Giuseppe!”) was a bear-like ex-rugby
player with a growling voice and a great deal of knowledge
of his nation’s history. We all learned that burly
ex-athletes can be sensitive too—when Pepe made it very
clear that he didn’t enjoy hearing anyone mock his deep
growl. Meanwhile, group members maintained their own
personal journals to retain special memories from the tour.
The trip offered so many highlights that it would be foolish
to attempt to list them, but I suspect that all of us would
include our last evening as one of the best. After a full
day of soaking up Rome, we retreated to our hotel to shower
and put on our tuxedos and gowns for a final concert at Sts.
Alessio and Bonifacio. This turned out to be a modest-sized
church in a prosperous residential area atop the Aventine
Hill. After a spirited practice session, we walked out to
the piazza behind the church to eat. Here, amid umbrella
pines and a grape arbor, we looked down at the city below in
the late afternoon sun—St. Peter’s on the left across the
Tiber, the Pantheon and the distant Spanish Steps in the
middle and the grand “wedding cake” of the Victor Emmanuel
Palace to the far right.
What lovelier setting could you find to enjoy pasta and to
prepare yourself for a final concert? The photographs
clicked furiously as each of us sought to preserve some
images of the special moment. Without exception, I believe,
we felt a determination to give our best at the concert that
followed, and if the audience response is any measure, the
results were appreciated. Emily Dickinson speaks of
“internal difference, where the meanings are” in one of her
poems. The music we gave to those gathered at Sts. Alessio
and Bonifacio left many of us with just such a glowing
internal difference.
What a surprise when among those who stayed to compliment
the choir were a couple from Denmark named Schreiner! They
had made a special effort to attend when they saw our name
and showed us materials on the university that they had
printed off the Internet. Whether they have any close
sanguinity to old Captain Schreiner’s family or not, they
were pleased and happy to join a namesake group that
evening.
The values of an experience such as this choir trip are
many. Begin with the enlargement of one’s consciousness that
arises from exposure to the riches of another culture. Add
the lessons that come from self-discipline and stretching
one’s talents beyond the usual parameters. And don’t neglect
the transcendent experience felt by individuals who commit
themselves fully to a common purpose none could accomplish
alone. Given Schreiner’s youth as a baccalaureate
institution, we can also add the reward of having done
something new for one’s alma mater. Together this group,
freshmen to recent graduates, represented their university
halfway around the world as it had not before been
represented. And they did so with skill and class. They took
the flag of their university and planted it where it had not
been before. That accomplishment now provides incentive to
other individuals and organizations to make their own
statements, and it offers a true measure of learning. |
