We spent Thursday close to home in Chester, where we had a super rehearsal preparing for tonight's Service of Choral Evensong and Sunday's Choral Matins Service. Following the rehearsal we all headed out to various activities at the Grosvenor Museum as well as a trip to Liverpool to view the various Beatles attractions there. The Grosvenor Museum contains some very interesting and interactive exhibits on the Roman period in Chester our Choristers really enjoyed it. The Museum also has a restored nineteenth century house on its grounds with a great deal of very interesting material about the period. Following the morning at the Grosvenor we went to the city market and a local Crepe restaurant for lunch and then returned to the Cathedral for a thrilling tour of the towers and upper reaches of the building. We enjoyed learning about the hidden pathways in the building that led the monks from their dormitories to the Cathedral Quire, as well as having a chance to see the stunning view of Chester from the top of the Cathedral tower. An impromptu performance of Psalm 23 from the Lady Chapel Gallery was well received by tourists below. 'At 4 pm we returned to the Song School to prepare for Choral Evensong. Following refreshments in the Refectory we proceeded to the Cathedral Quire. Our repertoire for the service included David Terry's Preces and Responses, Christopher Totney's towering 'Durham Service' and Malcolm Archer's setting of the 23rd Psalm. Father Rick Wood was the Precentor for the service and Organ Scholar Renee Nikkel performed Henry Coleman's 'Prelude' as the Opening Voluntary. The service was stunningly performed and our Choristers managed to outsing the full Swell - boxes open! - of an English Cathedral Organ.
Dinner was at The Hanky Panky Pancake House where we had a chance to hear one of our Senior members, Michael Vanvrouwerff perform on the Ukulele as part of the restaurant's Ukulele Karaoke Night!
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8/8/2018 1 Comment A Day in WalesApologies for the late posting today - we had trouble with the website so this will be unusually brief. Today was our day off from singing at the Cathedral so we took a trip into North Wales (Chester is just a few miles from the Welsh border). Our first stop was at Conwy Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Begun in 1283, the imposing Castle and Town Walls were effectively complete by 1287. The Town Walls are one of the best sets of medieval defenses in Europe. Our wonderful tour guide Tom Jones shared the history of Edward I's attempt to subdue rogue princes in Wales who were trying to establish an independent Welsh kingdom. The tremendous Castle he built at Conwy cost 15000 British pounds, about the equivalent of 45 million in today's money. One interesting thing we learned during our tour of the Castle was that despite its enormous size, it was so well-designed that it could be defended by a force of no more than 40 soldiers. After exploring some very high towers in the Castle and on the walls of Conwy itself, we walked through the beautiful and tiny seaside town, enjoying fish and chips, meringues and award-winning Welsh ice cream. We also had the chance to see what is purportedly the smallest house in Britain. Following lunch in Conwy, we drove to Llandudno, an almost perfectly preserved Victorian seaside resort. Most of the Choristers had their first opportunity to observe a genuine Punch and Judy show, an old British tradition which is very difficult to find today and which left many of them baffled. We also explored the famous entertainment pier, the paths of Great Orne, and the Alice in Wonderland garden. Alice Liddell, the inspiration for the Alice in the book, frequently vacationed with her family in Llandudno.
The highlight of the day was everyone's first chance to swim in the Irish, a feat which may sound rather boring until one bears in mind that the temperature was only 16 degrees. This combined with a steadily Northwesterly breeze and a water temperature of roughly the same 16 degrees led to a chilling but exhilarating hour and fifteen minutes. On the long beach of Llandudno, we were the only people swimming, which clearly indicated that the Canadians were in town. Tomorrow we are back to work at the Cathedral! 8/7/2018 1 Comment Really in the swing now!What an amazing day we had in Chester, and one in which we feel we have really found our stride. After an early breakfast we walked to the Cathedral, where we once again had a practice on music for this evening's service. While the choir was practising, our Choir School Organ Scholar Renee had a chance at the organ for the first time and was thrilled by her first opportunity to play in a big room with a big acoustic. Renee will be playing the Prelude at Evensong on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Upon descending from the Organ Loft, Renee discovered a plaque by the entrance indicating that Charles Hylton-Stewart was at one time the organist of Chester Cathedral, which we found extremely fitting given the inclusion of so much of his music in yesterday's service. After morning rehearsal, we again had the opportunity to reflect on the readings for the day with Jude St. John, who reminded us of the important role music plays in helping people to "take delight in the Lord". After this reflection time, we once again joined two friendly Chester tour guides for an exploration of the history, architecture and culture of the ancient city of Chester. We learned about the many groups and events that have shaped the city, including the Romans, the Saxons, the Normans and the English Civil War. Next we went our various ways for lunch. One exciting local attraction we discovered on our tour was an excellent cheese shop, featuring a plethora of local cheeses. A decision was made by the seven founding members of the "Chester Cheese Adventurers Club" to buy four good-sized pieces of representative cheeses, accompanied by delicious bread from a nearby bakery and a wonderful array of fruit. The inaugural meeting of the CCAC was a great success. Later in the afternoon we gathered at the Cathedral, to rehearse and sing music by Peter Aston, Sarah MacDonald, and Catherine Dienes-Williams. Father Rick Wood served as cantor for the service and we were all very proud of the wonderful job he did. Following the service, the choir received some very complimentary feedback from Roger Fisher, former organist of Chester Cathedral, and we were honoured by his kind words.
Tomorrow we are off for Wales for a day of sightseeing! 8/6/2018 0 Comments Off to a great start!The day got off to an early start with breakfast at 7:30, which remarkably almost all choristers achieved. Following a full English breakfast (including black pudding which one of our choristers actually ate and enjoyed!!!) we walked to the Cathedral for a 9:00 meeting with the head verger, who gave us access to the Cathedral's beautiful Song School. The acoustics of the Song School were designed to match the acoustics of the Cathedral, and so our practice gave us a taste of what was to come this afternoon. After rehearsal and a chance to reflect on today's psalm led by Jude St. John, we went back downstairs for a Cathedral tour with two wonderful tour guides. We learned about the history of the Cathedral which was begun in 1092 as a Benedictine Abbey and among many other interesting things learned that the current Song School is built in the same location as the former monk's dormitory (which had crumbled due to neglect the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry the Eighth and Oliver Cromwell). After the tour and a delicious lunch in the original monk's dining hall, we broke up into smaller groups for some exploration. We reconvened at the Cathedral after gathering our uniforms and our robes for practice in the choir stalls which date from 1380. The choir stalls one of the two most beautiful sets of carved choir schools in the UK. We were led through a procession rehearsal by a verger and given the rubrics for the Feast of the Transfiguration. To say that singing in that beautiful space was inspirational would be an understatement. The choir performed music from the English Cathedral tradition (responses by Harry Bramma, Hylton-Stewart in C, plainsong psalm 33 and Pindar-Stearns' beautiful arrangement of Fairest Lord Jesus) and grappled very successfully with the grand space and large distance from the organ.
A delicious celebratory pub dinner was followed by a walk around the Roman wall for those who were interested. Chester was principal garrison town of the Roman Empire in Britain because of what was at the time excellent access to the Irish Sea via the River Dee (the river is now significantly smaller and shallower). We also saw the remains of the Roman amphitheatre and Roman Gardens as well as the enormous Chester racetrack. Many parts of the walls have been redesigned over the years but the ethos of the Romans pervades to this day as do many original features. Exhausted now, we head off to bed, ready to do it all again tomorrow! 8/5/2018 0 Comments Arrival in ChesterAfter an overnight flight we have arrived safely in Chester and are now at the hotel. The flight went very well and everyone travelled like a seasoned veteran. We had a chance to explore the city a bit after arrival with our fabulous Guide Tom Jones. Breaking into small groups, some of us explored the shopping, others the plethora of Roman ruins and some found a shady spot for a cool drink. The Choir School Organ Scholar and the Director of Music found their way to Chester Cathedral where copious amounts of incense were found lingering in the air, in spite of the fact that there hadn't been a service for nearly an hour. Needless to say that from the amount of incense, I think we are going to feel very much at home here over the coming week. Today was the day of the great Derby at Chester Downs and a few of the parents went to see the final race in this beautiful and very storied historic event.. Now after a delicious Pub dinner we are all safely back in our hotel rooms and looking forward to some sleep after nearly 30 hours awake!
I think we are all stunned at just how beautiful this city is! There is so much to see and I know that we made the right choice in coming here. Tomorrow we begin our work at Chester with a rehearsal at 915 and choral evensong in the afternoon! Its gonna be a great day! The Choristers have arrived safely at Pearson Airport and have cleared security. We are now eating a little dinner and will then be waiting to board our flight. Our best expectation is that we will be to the hotel in Chester sometime around noon, so our next update will take place once we are installed there! 8/4/2018 1 Comment And we are off!It is hard to believe it but The Choristers of The Metropolitan United Church Choir School are finally on their way to England! We left the parking lot of Metropolitan United Church today at 1PM with 38 travellers headed for Pearson Airport in Toronto! The pictures below are of Chester Cathedral, which will be our musical home for the next week, and at which we will be singing eight choral services. Our flight leaves at 730 PM tonight and we should arrive in the U.K. around 630 am. With any luck we will clear customs and board our coach at around 9 AM GMT. An exciting adventure has begun and we are all so excited. Thank you to everyone who has supported us as we have worked toward this incredible goal!
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Met Choir School England Tour 2018 |