Nordic Choir ended the January term with an eleven-day tour, making our way through Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. The choir tours a different region of the United States each January, performing a concert nearly every night along the way. We also make stops at local high schools, doing exchanges with their choirs and sharing our experiences as collegiate singers. These visits are a great opportunity to reach prospective students who may not otherwise have Luther College on their radar, particularly since the longer tour allows us to travel farther from campus than Cathedral Choir and Collegiate Chorale might. A highlight of these exchanges is seeing high school choir students, who each have a wide variety of experience and passion for music, light up upon hearing a powerful chord from an ensemble full of committed singers.
Another effect of touring is achieving a lot of growth as a choir in a short period of time. Nordic Choir Director Dr. Andrew Last likes to say that one performance is worth several rehearsals, and with so many concerts in just under two weeks, we have a lot of opportunity to improve our work. For those of us who intend to pursue musical performance after Luther, tour is a great way to experience what the life of a professional musician might look like.
Since the travelling aspect of the tour occurs on buses, we have bus captains who help keep the long hours on the road interesting and organized. Popular entertainment segments include trivia about choir members, murder mystery, and hot seat, which allows us to get to know our fellow travellers. While we spend a lot of time together in regular rehearsals, the focus on the music doesn’t allow us to bond as well as the constant proximity created by touring. Spending eleven days all together forces us to chat, play games and make new friends among the choir, which I think we are all grateful for. Tour brings us closer together, helping form lifelong friendships as well as making our performances more meaningful.
We typically arrive at each concert venue around 3pm, giving us a solid window for a soundcheck and run-through of logistics before dinner at 5. The churches we perform at are kind enough to prepare and serve us dinner prior to each performance, often a selection of pasta or tacos with salads and cookies on the side. Singers with dietary restrictions get their plates first, while the others play trivia, competing to be the next table dismissed. We then have some time to get into our robes before meeting to hear one or two seniors give devotional speeches prior to the concert. These talks give each senior an opportunity to reflect on their time in Nordic and at Luther, sharing their journeys and thanking those who supported them along the way. This is often an emotional time during which other singers and Dr. Last will share what they appreciate about the seniors, motivating everyone to perform to their best ability in tribute.
After most concerts, we meet up with the locals who will host us for the night. At these homestays, we get to chat with people about their thoughts on the concert, learn about where they live, and get to know someone we otherwise would never have met. Meeting host family pets or receiving a goodie bag of snacks for the remainder of tour always makes the tiring days a little brighter. Connecting with those who we share music with is a delight; while the uncertainty of staying with strangers can be intimidating, most homestays are overwhelmingly positive experiences.
With the extreme cold that Decorah has been experiencing this winter, a quick trip to Florida was a very welcome break for Nordic singers. While the locals often commented on how chilly it was, us Midwesterners enjoyed the sunny weather by playing hacky sack, exploring tour stops, and hitting the beach on our Margaritaville Hotel night. Although it was below 60 degrees when we got to the ocean, several of us braved the freezing water while others danced to a new warm-up song we had just learned from the talented choir at Stetson University, where we had participated in an exchange the day before. The next morning, our tour manager, Susan Potvin, surprised us with a visit to Blue Springs State Park where hundreds of manatees had been gathering to escape the cold.
Sharing music with people around the country is undoubtedly the most rewarding aspect of touring. During our run-out weekend, which took us to Duluth, performing right after a candle-lighting for the victims of ICE shootings created an emotionally powerful concert experience that will certainly stick with us all for a long time. A five-minute silence following our encore – an evocative piece titled “Let Me Listen” – took the place of the immediate applause we were accustomed to, creating a period of reflection that left most of the choir in tears. It’s moments like these that remind us why we put so much time and effort into music: it is there for us during times of struggle, not to fix things, but to remind us why we keep trying.
