A lovely day to go to the castle!

This blogger apologizes for a delayed posting.  Yesterday was a very full day and I think we all felt the weight of our tiredness at the end.  However, I don’t think anyone would have traded it for the world.  (As I write this, I’m half-watching to Russian (which I studied) TV with Latvian subtitles so please forgive me for any typos!)  We woke up in Tartu and had another wonderful breakfast of pastries, eggs, meats, and yogurt.  Some of us actually were brave enough to try the herring!  We boarded our buses again and headed to Riga, Latvia.  It was an absolutely beautiful ride through the country-side with little houses and untouched snow.  As Tess said, “A beautiful day to go to the castle”!  Outside of Riga, we toured Turiada Castle and climbed to the top tower where we couldn’t resist singing of course.  So. . another shout-out to Eric Barnum.  We sang Responsorial #4: “Break forth into Singing!”  More to come about our performance with the Men’s Choir of Riga Technical University. . .

Morning Service at St. John’s and Evening Concert at Tartu

This morning we sang in the morning worship service at St. John’s Church in Tallinn.  To our surprise when the pastor introduced us, the congregation immediately stood up and applauded.  A highlight was singing Eric Barnum’s responsories as part of communion.  The choirs sat opposite one another in the divided chancel area and enveloped the congregation as they took the elements. It was very special to see the appreciative look on their faces and to be invited to be a part of something sacred in their life.  We quickly caught lunch at the local mall (they have many American stores) and boarded two buses to Tartu (still in Estonia).

The evening concert in Tartu was opened by the Hale Bopp (yes, the comet) Singers who shared with us some songs in Estonian.  They surprised us by closing their portion with the Beatles’ “When I’m 64″, “O bla di”, and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”.  We took advantage of the hall’s acclaimed acoustics by performing Eternal Sun from the upper balcony that surrounded the room.  Both choirs gave very nuanced performances to an appreciative audience.

The evening was capped off by a rousing social event with the Hale Bopp Singers in which they frequently broke into song and we tried to keep up.  They even passed out song books so we could share in the experience.  Singing is definitely a part of the culture of Estonia!

Joint Concert with Vox Populi at Niguliste Church

Today was our first official day in Estonia.  The morning greeted us with a fabulous European breakfast complete with porridge and pickled herring.  We had the great opportunity to share a concert with Vox Populi in which we sang a song together in Estonian.   They were very warm and very gracious with our Estonian pronunciation.  The concert took place at Niguliste Church that had at least a five second reverb!  During our grand pauses, it sounded as if there was another choir in the room.  It was wonderful to sing in a place in which you felt that the building and time made music with you!  We spent the rest of the day walking through old Tallinn (zero degrees C); a cute town filled with linens, yarnworks, and wooden handicrafts.  Tomorrow on to Tartu!

We made it!

After about 24 hours of traveling, we all made it (including our luggage) to Tallinn, Estonia.  Because there were so many of us we were split between two flights:  Seattle-Frankfurt-Tallinn and Seattle-Amsterdam-Helsinki (ferry to) Tallinn.  The Frankfurt group was able to spend a couple of hours in the town of Goethe.  The Helsinki group had the pleasure of waiting at the dock for three hours (sorry guys!)  However, we had a great dinner all together at our hotel to kickoff our tour.  We are looking forward to a good night’s sleep (we are nine hours ahead of Seattle) and our first performance tomorrow!

Fast Facts About Estonia

• Birthplace of: Carmen Kass, supermodel; Kalevipoeg, mythological hero
• Money: Estonian Kroon; €1 = 15.64Kr; US$1 = 13.07Kr; UK£1 = 15.64Kr
• Area: 45,227 sq km
• Population: 1.3 million
• Famous for: song festivals, lush woodlands and resplendent coastlines
• Country code: 372
• Capital: Tallinn

Tere Eesti! (Hello Estonia!)

The University of Washington Chamber Singers and Chorale will leave for their Spring tour to Estonia, Latvia, and Finland on March 18, 2010.

Check back often to hear about our travels!