Saturday, April 16, 2016

Detroit/Toronto Tour - Day 4 (Saturday, April 16, 2016)

This morning began with a big breakfast together at our hotel together. After eating our fill, we boarded the bus and set our sights for Niagara Falls. Two hours later, we pulled up alongside the beautiful waterfalls.

After getting off the bus, the students gave some street performance in downtown Niagara Falls and then again at the observation area for the falls. They drew big crowds and gave wonderful performances. After the street performing, the students were given a few hours to explore the area in small groups and to grab lunch on their own.

We gathered back at the bus to drive into downtown Toronto. Our bus driver, Humberto, pulled the bus through a VERY tight squeeze to get into the church parking lot at Jarvis Street Baptist Church. (Seriously, he only had about 2 inches of clearance on either side!) After arriving at Jarvis, the students purchased dinner across the street at Harvey's, a Canadian burger joint. Once we had all gotten our fill, the students made final preparations for their evening concert.

Our final concert at Jarvis was a truly special night of music making. We had a small, but engaged and appreciative crowd. The students made some truly beautiful music. In the words of Mr. King: "We really had a special spiritual time of music making tonight." After the concert, the students were thanked by their grateful audience.

Before getting back on the bus, the we gathered together for a celebratory dance party and our tradition "sing off," wherein the girls and guys battle each other with lyrics from each others' songs. It was a fierce battle, but in the end, the girls were declared the victors of the 2016 choir tour sing-off.

After a long, exhausting day, we once again boarded the bus. We arrived at the Fairfield Inn near the Toronto airport, and the students are settling in for their final night on the road. Tomorrow morning, we attend the service at the Cathedral of Saint James in Toronto, and then we cross the border back in the States to eat a lunch of buffalo wings at Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY. After lunch, we go to the airport to fly home!

Madrigals performing in downtown Niagara Falls

Walking through downtown Niagara Falls

Nota Dolce performing in front of Niagara Falls

The choirs singing "Shenandoah" in front of the falls

Mr. King at Horseshoe Falls

Men of Note performing at Jarvis Street Baptist Church

Senior Amanda Fusting soloing with Nota Dolce

A post-concert dance party!

Friday, April 15, 2016

Detroit/Toronto Tour - Day 3 (Friday, April 15, 2016)

This morning, the students were dropped off at Ward Church by their wonderful host families, and we set our sights on the city of Detroit. We arrived at Gleaner's Food Pantry, which was an impressively large (and well-run) organization in the heart of the city. There were many other volunteers there with us, and our group was assigned to turnip duty! (Yep, you read that correct: turnip duty.) We were cleaning and sorting thousands of turnips to be delivered to various families in need. According to Karen, our host at Gleaners, we bagged more than 5000 pounds of turnips, meaning that our service will impact 4728 individual people who rely on the assistance of the Food Pantry to have access to food. After our morning of service, we enjoyed some delicious pizza from Pizzapopolis, including some deep-dish pizza.

Next, we made our way to Heidelberg Street to check out this Heidelberg Project. This place was amazing, and it will be pretty difficult to describe. (Definitely ask your kids about it when they get home!) We started off with a guided tour from the education director, Margaret. She explained that all of the art came from the mind of Tyree Guyton, who had grown up on the street. He used found objects that had been discarded around the city and gave them new life by turning them into art. Eventually, we got to have a conversation with Tyree himself. The students engaged in an awesome conversation where Tyree explained his artistic process with us. He said, "We live, we die, and we live again.... God's image is in all of us. He created everything, and because we are made in his image, we can use our imaginations to create beautiful art." Tyree also talked about the importance of listening for God's calling on your life. It was truly inspiring.

The students thanked Tyree for sharing is art with us by sharing their music with him (and with many of the residents from the area). It was a joyful time of music-making and celebration as all of our groups performed in the middle of a crazy art exhibit in the middle of an urban Detroit neighborhood.

After our time at the Heidelberg Project, we hopped on the bus and crossed the border into Canada (without any issues!). We arrived in London, Ontario at our hotel, and the students dressed up for a nice banquet meal together. After dinner, Mr. Kempton shared his story about hearing God's call to come to AACS, and he encouraged the students that they should be ready and listening for the voice of God. After dinner, the students headed to the water slide and pool at the hotel.

In a few minutes, the girls and guys will split up to have separate devotional times before we wake up tomorrow and make our way to Niagara Falls! Tomorrow evening, we perform at Jarvis Street Baptist Church in downtown Toronto.

The students listening to Margaret during the guided tour at the Heidelberg Project

Tyree (on the right in the red hoodie) dialoguing with our students about God, art, and calling

The students singing for Tyree and the neighborhood residents

The AACS choirs with Tyree Guyton

Students getting ready to enjoy a delicious banquet dinner

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Detroit/Toronto Tour - Day 2 (Thursday, April 14, 2016)

Today was a busy day!

After breakfast at our hotel in Monroe, MI, we set out for The Rivers at Grosse Pointe. This beautiful retirement community was a perfect place to begin our day. We performed a concert for residents in the middle of a beautiful atrium area. Many residents came out from their rooms to watch from the balconies that lined the atrium. After that performance, the students spent some time mingling with the Grosse Pointe residents. We were treated to a delicious buffet lunch before moving on to our next stop.

Wayne State University is located in the heart of downtown Detroit. We made our way into "Old Main," a large, beautiful building that houses the school of music. We had the opportunity to observe a portion of a Choral Union rehearsal, and they the students worked hard in a clinic with Noah Horn, director of the choral program at Wayne State. Mr. Horn was a fantastic clinician. Thanks to the fantastic preparation of our kids, Mr. Horn was able to work on many details to really help the kids polish their work. He was complimentary of their singing and let them know how truly privileged they were to sing in a choral program like the one at AACS where they get to work on truly great choral repertoire as high school students.

Next, we traveled to Ward Church in the suburb of Northville, MI. We had a catered Qdoba dinner before making final preparations for our evening concert in the sanctuary of this ENORMOUS church. John Beresford, director of traditional worship for Ward Church and an old friend of Mr. King, was an awesome host. We had a good turn-out for the performance. As usual, the students sang beautifully. After the concert, the kids connected with their host families and the chaperones headed to a nearby hotel.

Tomorrow, we will begin our day serving at the Gleaner's Food Bank and continue on to the Heidelberg Project, an outdoor street art project in Detroit. After a Q&A with the artist at the Heidelberg Project, we'll head into Canada and spend some time in fellowship over a banquet dinner (and on a water slide) at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn in London, Ontario.

Warming up before the performance at The Rivers at Grosse Pointe

Students greeting the residents at The Rivers at Grosse Pointe following the morning performance

We make serious music!

Warming up before the clinic at Wayne State University

The students with their clinician, Noah Horn

Senior Erica Ridge sings a solo with Nota Dolce during the concert at Ward Church

The combined choirs singing in the beautiful sanctuary at Ward Church

Sophomore Mark Wiley, junior Carlos Richardson, and sophomore Nigel Park with the leftover Qdoba food on their way to their host family's house

Detroit/Toronto Tour - Day 1 (Wednesday, April 13, 2016)

After a day of school, the auditioned choirs quickly changed into comfy bus clothes and gathered in the choir room before setting off on our journey. Before boarding the bus, students and chaperones made a large circle around the room, and joined hands as we bathed our trip in prayer. Seniors Daryus Vaughan and Hannah Thiessen prayed for the group, and then Mr. King led us in a singing of the Doxology.

We boarded the bus and met our bus driver, Humberto. (He's the best!) Mrs. Woody quickly started up a conversation with him in Spanish. And throughout the trip, some of our more fluent students followed suit. It was a great way for our AACS community to begin building a relationship with our bus driver.

We sailed down the highway and stopped for dinner at a service plaza along the New Jersey Turnpike. Most of the group members formed a long line a Subway, while other less patient eaters tried some of the other food options like Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, hot dogs, and pizza. (Also, senior Brooke Wadsworth reliably hit up the Starbucks, and many others did the same.)

Once we were back on the bus, Mr. King led us in a game of "Choir Tour Speed Dating," in which students had to quickly memorize one another's answers to some random questions like "If I were an ice cream flavor, I would be..." or "When I grow up, I want to be...." Some of the many fun facts we learned: Kaitlyn McCollum wants to be Captain America when she grows up, Hannah Gott and Mia Hardesty have been working very hard to establish a secret handshake, and Annaliese Wilford's favorite color is seafoam green!

After the game, the bus voted to watch The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, which turned out to be a good way to kill three hours. We made one final bathroom stop in Ohio before turning our direction north and crossing the border into Michigan. The bus pulled up to the hotel just past 1:00 am, and we quickly sent kids off to their rooms, did final "room checks," and got some much-needed sleep.

After breakfast today, we plan to perform at The Rivers at Grosse Pointe, a retirement community on the eastern side of Detroit. Then, we have a clinic with Noah Horn at Wayne State University in downtown Detroit, and we finish our day with an evening concert at Ward Presbyterian Church in the western suburb of Northville. The students will be staying with hosts from Ward Church tonight.

(I apologize for the lack of pictures in this post. We spent most of the day on the bus, so there weren't a lot of "photo ops". I will definitely include more pictures in future posts!)

The groups circled up for a prayer before our departure!