Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Day One is Done

Our first concert of the week was a wonderful success! We could not have done it without the wonderful Mark Baglione, choral director at Galena High School and NCC alum. Although our concert took place at St. Michael's, we were welcomed with open arms by the pastor of Galena United Methodist Church, Reverend Patricia Allen-Stewart, and her lovely congregation members. They graciously prepared for us a traditional Galena meal of meat pasties, accompanied by salad and brownies. Yum! Thank you to everyone who had a helping hand in preparing dinner for us--it is very much appreciated.

After our dinner and change of attire at Galena UMC, we walked four doors down to St. Michael's Catholic Church to sing our first concert of the tour. The audience was extremely welcoming and receptive to our music-making, and we had a wonderful time singing our piece for them! After the concert, we connected with our "homestays"; in other words, the congregation members we would be staying with tonight. Personally, my homestay "mom" gave us a complete tour of Galena with history of the town and of the many well-known people who have stayed and lived here. We learned all about General (and President) Grant and his many influences over Galena, as well as had the fun experience of riding up and down the hilly landscape while sight-seeing. The choir is so grateful for all of the wonderful people who have opened their homes to us for the night. Thank you for giving us a place to rest on our "road home".

Tomorrow we depart Galena and head over to Iowa, first to Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids and Cornell College in Mt. Vernon. Then it's back to Illinois where we'll give a concert at the First United Methodist Church of Savanna. Stay tuned for more updates and pictures from today's events!

"There is no such beauty as where you belong. Rise up, follow me, I will lead you home."

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