Ryan Endris leads the Colgate University Chamber Singers in Vienna. Photo by Dylan Crouse ’15
In May, the University Chorus and Chamber Singers had the opportunity to perform the program for their spring concert in the places where the musical pieces would have originally been heard. During the nine-day tour, we held four concerts: in Prague, Bratislava, Vienna, and Budapest.
The program included Mass in D Major by the Bohemian composer Antonin Dvorak; Two Motets (Op.74) by Brahms, who spent most of his career in Austria; a piece by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt; and three works by American composers as cultural exchange.
“Each concert was a fantastic learning opportunity because we had to make adjustments for each different performance space,” said R. Ryan Endris, director of the University Chorus.
The first concert was held in St. Savior’s Church, the oldest Protestant church in Prague. Although it had been three weeks since the group last rehearsed, everyone was excited and well prepared. “It was great coming back together and singing as a group,” said Amanda James ’17. Approximately 200 people attended, giving the tour a great start.
There was an unexpected hiccup at the Jesuit Church of the Holy Redeemer in Bratislava when our pre-concert recital was interrupted by an unexpected Mass and we had to quietly step out. “I was incredibly impressed by the professionalism of the students,” said Endris, “and their ability to [still] give an outstanding performance.”
The surprise and confusion in Bratislava was soon washed over by the recital in the Stephansdom, one of the most important religious buildings in Vienna. “It was so cool to be able to sing in such a musically historic space,” said David Wall ’18. Also, the cathedral’s massive scale made the acoustics vastly different from any other place we’d sung in. “It was interesting to experience the acoustics,” said David Huang ’16. “And gratifying, indeed.”
The final concert was held in St. Michael’s Church in Budapest. For Lydia Mesler ’15, this was her favorite concert out of the four, “because the crowd was so great.” The audience gave the chorus slow, steady applause, which, according to our trip organizer in Budapest, represented the highest praise given to a performance.
“We all realized that it was the last time that this group of people would ever sing together,” said Christy Mills ’17. “From that came the drive to do our best.”
A dinner cruise on the Danube after our Budapest concert marked the end of the tour. We gave cheers for friendship and music.
Check out more details on our tour blog, and watch performance videos on our YouTube channel.