Chronicles of a Choralier Trip

Chronicles of a Choralier Trip – Williamsburg, VA, Spring 2011

The Clover Choraliers, a state championship high school choral group from Clover High School, traditionally end their school year with a trip in the spring.  This trip generally follows their spring concert by a week or two, a performance that requires many extra hours of preparation.  The spring trip is a time to celebrate, learn from musical experiences away from home, expose the group to other areas, and bid a bittersweet farewell to the seniors as they prepare to graduate.  The group looks forward to this trip all year, and works hard to raise funds to pay their way.   Some may wonder what a Choralier trip is all about.  I write this report from the perspective of a chaperone who has traveled with the group for three years, on my final trip as the parent of a senior.  I, too, am preparing to bid a bittersweet farewell.

Day 1

We arrived at the school on Thursday at 7am for check-in.  Sleepy teenagers drifted in, opened their suitcases so that chaperones could verify that they had all pieces of their uniform for the performance scheduled on Friday night.  “We can fix it now,” announced the uniform coordinator Beth Harrell, “but I can’t do much for you when you’re in Virginia!”  A few students had forgotten black socks, and Mrs. Harrell supplied them with some of her “emergency extras.”

The students loaded the three chartered buses, roll was taken on each bus, and the journey began.  As the buses pulled out of the school, the students chanted “Welcome to the bus”, origin unknown, a chant passed down year to year to year.  Most students settled in to an early morning nap; others chatted or played games.

After four hours of travel with one quick rest stop, we arrived in South Hill, Virginia for lunch.  Director Jay Forrest had chosen South Hill’s classic diner, the Horseshoe Restaurant, for our lunch stop.   

This diner originally opened in the 1930’s on Historic Route 1, serving tourists en route from the Atlantic Seaboard states for many years.  The staff wore t-shirts touting the diner’s biggest claim to fame, the “Big Arrest of 1938” when fugitive “Machine Gun Ray” Kelley was captured sitting at the counter on New Year’s Eve.  The diner didn’t have enough room to seat our group, so Jay had arranged ahead of time for the diner to bring the food to a recently restored theater in downtown South Hill, the Colonial Center for Performing Arts.  This theater served as a venue for Vaudeville acts, Wild West Shows, and hosted famed stars such as Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.  After lunch, the students were given a brief tour and history of the beautifully renovated theater.   

As is their tradition, they “thanked” the staff and servers by singing a couple of songs.  The group split between the stage and the balcony of the theater, and sang a cappella pieces.  During the first song, the mayor was summoned from across the street and joined the staff from the Horseshoe restaurant to hear the kids sing the second song.

We boarded the buses again and continued our journey to Williamsburg, where we checked in to the Great Wolf lodge.  The kids had a couple hours of free time to play in the resort’s waterpark, play video games in their rooms, and relax.  

At 6:30 pm, we loaded buses and headed to William and Mary, where Mr. Forrest had arranged a workshop with the choral director at the college.  Walking through the beautiful campus, the kids began to envision their own plans after high school.  For some of the underclassmen, it was their first time on a college campus.  For some of the seniors, it was a prelude of their own experiences to come.  

The students arrived at the Music Hall, and found positions on the risers and prepared to sing.  It didn’t take them long to transcend from “vacation mode” to “work mode” as Mr. Forrest took his place in the director’s spot.  Professor James Anderson was introduced and settled back to hear the group’s first number.  After Mr. Forrest led the group through the piece, Professor Anderson took the director’s spot and began to work with the choir on aspects such as volume, breathing, and uniformity of pitch.  We watched as directors learned from one another, and as the students responded in new ways to a different type of direction. 

Mr. Forrest led the group through several more numbers, turning over the floor after each to allow Professor Anderson to refine, teach, and introduce new elements or styles.  The choir responded beautifully, performing beyond the professor’s expectations.  It was simply magical to watch.

At the end of the two hour work session, Professor Anderson thanked the kids for giving him the gift of working with musicians who truly cared and were passionate about their craft.  “You have made this music your own,” he told the kids, “and it is a rare gift that you have to offer your community.”  The kids then thanked the professor with cheers and applause, showing their gratitude for his time and attention.  As the students filed back to the buses, Professor Anderson asked the chaperones if we realized what a special and rare group we had in our midst.  (We did.)

The bus then took us to Captain George’s seafood, where we enjoyed a large seafood buffet.  The chaperones were served first, as is the culture of the group.  Jay teaches the students to respect and appreciate the adults, and one way they show their appreciation is by happily allowing the chaperones and staff to dine first.  After a huge meal of seafood, prime rib and chicken, we returned to the hotel and tucked everyone into bed.

Day 2

Breakfast call was at 8am; a buffet of bacon, eggs, muffins, and fruit.  We loaded the buses for a trip to Old Williamsburg, where the kids were turned loose to explore and have lunch on their own.  Lunch money was handed out as they got off the buses.  Some chose to dine lavishly; others purchased small snacks and used their lunch money for souvenirs.  While in Williamsburg, several choral groups and bands were performing in the streets, which was fun to watch.  Four hours in Williamsburg, then we got back on the buses to return to the hotel for a couple hours of free time before the concert on Friday night.  Pizzas were brought in late afternoon to nourish the kids before they performed.

The concert was at the Bruton Parish Church, built in 1715 and place of worship by many of our country’s founding fathers.  Throughout the year, concerts by choral groups and other musicians are performed weekly.  Completely lit by candlelight, the concert was well attended by tourists, local residents and parishioners of the church.  It was quite a challenge to arrange a group of over one hundred singers in the small altar area, but somehow it was done and the kids sang beautifully.  They performed their sacred repertoire, including Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus”.  One patron remarked that of the many concerts she had heard performed at the Parish, she had never heard a high school group perform so beautifully. 

After the concert, the Choraliers fanned out into the audience, sincerely thanking each person for attending.  As the audience thinned, tears began to flow as members of the class of 2011 acknowledged their last performance as a group.  

Upon return to the hotel, we had a private party at the Great Wolf Lodge waterpark.  For three hours the kids (and some chaperones) zoomed down water slides, surfed and swam in the wave pool.  Curfew was 1am, and there were no protests when it was time to go to bed!

Day 3

We spent a leisurely morning at the hotel, with a couple of hours between breakfast and our day’s outing.  We ate a breakfast buffet, and the kids enjoyed a morning snooze or guitar and singing sessions in the hallways of the hotel.

At 11am we boarded the buses for the Murder Mystery Theater.  Usually open only for dinner, the performing group had set up a “dinner theater” production for our group as a lunchtime performance.   A meal of soup, salad, entrée and dessert was served, with acts of the murder mystery show performed during each course.  As performers themselves, the students particularly enjoyed watching and interacting with the actors in the show. 

During the last break between sets, Jay led the choir in singing “Prayer”, an intimate and moving performance which moved most of the Murder Mystery cast to tears.  They had to take a few moments backstage to compose themselves before resuming character to wrap up their show.  Before we left, the cast thanked the kids and commented that they were by far the best behaved high school group they’d ever seen.

We loaded the buses and headed to Busch Gardens, where kids set out in groups to ride the coasters.  We all met for dinner at a German restaurant in the park, just in time for the Octoberfest show.  A polka band and dancers performed and led the audience in some dances and songs.  It was yet another chance for the students to see and interact with a different type of musicians and dancers.  During the numbers where the audience participated, it was easy to pick out our Choraliers on the dance floor.  They were incorporating their dance moves learned over the years in their own production!

After dinner, our trip to Busch Gardens was cut short by a series of thunderstorms that moved into the area.  Rides were shut down due to lightning and rain.  Text messages were blasted out to chaperones and students, and everyone took shelter and headed to the buses as soon as able.  

Day 4

All good things must come to an end, and everyone packed up the buses after breakfast on Sunday morning.  One of the buses was having problems with the air conditioning, and so it was a hot ride back for some of the students and chaperones.  Everyone was tired from the trip, so there was lots of sleeping on the bus on the ride home.  We stopped at Golden Corral in Greensboro for one last indulgent feast, and arrived in Clover right on time, at 5:30pm.  

It was a fantastic trip, with a great group of kids!  It has been a great privilege being a part of the Choralier group for the past three years, as a board member and chaperone.  I’ll treasure these times forever!