MOORHEAD—The Concordia Choir spent Spring Interim traveling, performing and making memories across the states of South Dakota, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Minnesota.
Starting on Feb. 22 with their “mini-tour,” the Choir visited Sioux Falls, S.D. and Maple Grove, Minn., performing two concerts over the weekend.
“It was a good introduction to the tour into what the work would potentially look like, but socially and driving wise, was very different,” said Beck Benson, sophomore Concordia Choir member.
The next week, the choir prepared for the challenging weeks ahead.
Saturday, Mar. 1, Concordia Choir members met at Concordia’s campus at 8 a.m. to head down to Rochester, Minn. The choir went to perform the first of 15 concerts within the Southeast tour. Following the performance in Rochester, the choir headed to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport to fly into Charlotte, N.C., for their next performance.
“For me, the hardest part of tour was waking up in the early hours of the morning to get to the airport and fly,” said Sadie Lerum, first-year Concordia Choir member, “then perform roughly 12 hours later.”
The choir spent much of their time traveling across the country on a bus, having meals in churches, sleeping in hotels and much performing. However, on Mar. 10, the choir had a day to themselves in Florida.
Choir members were able to explore the city, have new experiences and visit places like the Silver Springs State Park.
“It was gorgeous, and a good rest from the crazy routine we had been in,” said Lerum.
Though they were able to have a day off from the performance, it was well deserved, after reaching the halfway mark of the challenging tour. The group was also able to stop at a beach in Naples for a few minutes.
“The energy of the group just came alive,” said Lerum. “It was so much fun to just sit in the sun and be at the ocean.”
Much of the Concordia’s Choir rest time was spent on the way to venues and while traveling, as well as time at each venue to decompress. Many members used this time to read, relax and sleep.
“I loved finding a quiet spot to read at the venues, that was very calming,” said Beck Benson, first-year Concordia Choir member.
With the challenging schedule of tour and the close quarters shared, many students could possibly get sick, Benson was one of them.
About three quarters of the way through tour, Benson felt their ribs start to hurt and developed a cough. From there, they ended up developing a lower respiratory infection.
“I was so exhausted,” said Benson, “I ended up sitting out in the bottom of the church, sleeping as much as I could.”
Though sickness can dampen memories of tour, members still managed to see the bright side of the choir tour. Through the beautiful venues to the songs sung.
The Concordia Choir will be heading to Norway and Sweden from May 5-16 as part of their international touring program. This will be their final performance of the academic year.
