Harvard, Boston, Maggiano's......and lots of rain!

Rested and ready to get back on the road, we departed from the Aloft hotel at 10:16am – but not before some singing from Bell’arte! As a special thanks to the staff of the Aloft, Bell’arte sang “Say A Little Prayer For You” in the hotel lobby.  The hotel also provided bagged breakfast for the students. After a short drive over to Cambridge, Massachusetts, we began our brief tour of Harvard yard (yes parents, you can now say "My son/daughter went to Harvard!!").

After about an hour and a half in Cambridge - and getting caught in an impromptu rainstorm - we boarded our buses and headed to Boston University. We had the distinct privilege of working with Ann Howard Jones and some doctoral conducting students at Boston University.  We started with some great exercises to help with listening to pitch and better learned how to improve our intonation as an ensemble. Challenging, but fun!  We were truly blessed to sing some of our repertoire for Ann and to hear her critique. She helped to add some special elements to our pieces! All three choirs got a chance to share a piece with the conductors.

                               

             

                  

Following our workshops, we toured Boston together, dodging in and out of the rain. God has truly blessed us with safety and fellowship and we pray that he will continue to do so!

This evening, we dined at the Maggiano's! Dinner included fresh baked rolls, calamari, eggplant parmesan, fettuccine alfredo, chicken Marsala, tiramisu, and of course, singing! As the AACS choirs are known to do, we thanked the restaurant staff with music. Bell'arte sang How Do I Love Thee, the Madrigals sang Build Me Up Buttercup, and Men's Ensemble sang My Girl. The staff loved the students and we were blessed to be able to share our gifts with them. Alumni Madi Coss, Michelle Dishop, and Chester Domoracki go to school in Boston and were able to join us for dinner!

        

After a delicious meal at Maggiano's, we set our course for Portland, Maine! We arrived just after midnight leaving enough time for students to get settled, have a quick devotion, and then off to bed! Please pray that they will get sufficient rest and be prepared to glorify God tomorrow.


Some student tweets:


Mike Lentz (senior)
bagged breakfast and beautiful Boston await us!


Jodi Hoffman (sophomore) 
Getting harvard starbucks!


Catherine Mayes (senior)
Hello Boston, so nice of you to meet us :)


Jodi Hoffman (sophomore)
Goodnight portland!


Again we praise God for how he has protected us so far this tour and we pray for his continued protection and guidance as we fellowship and perform for his glory tomorrow in Portland. Please be praying for safety tomorrow and that our performance will honor God.


Today's Verse:

"And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock." - Matthew 7:25

We pray for protection, peace, safety, and rest. Good night Portland - may God show us his will tomorrow!


All for Him!

A Strong Start!

The 2012 AACS Upper School Choir Tour has officially begun!

Just after 3:40pm our two Hunt Valley buses started their engines and our journey began! Just before boarding, student were handed Chic-fil-A sandwiches (graciously provided by the Edmonds), goodie bags donated by parents, and high hopes for tour. Little did we know the journey that inevitably lay ahead of us.

If you note on the itinerary, our estimated time of arrival was 11:00pm, but God had other plans! We pulled into the very modern Aloft Hotel at 1:16am. Needless to say, we were tired, soar, and ready for sleep!

As you can imagine with separate buses, the girls and guys each passed the time differently. The girls, for example, spent most of the trip playing games and getting to know each other better, while the guys went straight to the movies – starting the trip off with the classic The Three Amigos! But with an unexpected extra two hours, each group was able to use the extra time to fellowship and start the tour off with some strong memories! Praise God for sustaining us and helping us to reach our destination safe and sound.

We have set up a twitter and those updates are located on the side bar of this blog. The students have also been tweeting (they had to do something on the long bus ride!) Some of our favorites are recorded below:

Paul Ford (junior)

About to leave for Boston!!!!!!! :D 

Jodi Hoffman (sophomore)

Choral tour here we come!!!! BELLAS BOSTON OR BUST!

Josiah Peterson (freshman)

When the highlight of your day is a rest stop... 

Reed Sigmon (junior)

Praying for everybody on the AACS choir tour 2012. God's gonna continue to do amazing things through you all. All for him!

More to follow throughout the week!

May this be our prayer tonight and tomorrow morning!

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11: 28

As we prepare for tomorrow, please be praying that God will give us sufficient rest and that the students will be ready and eager to learn from the professors at Boston University. Also be praying that God will bless our time of fellowship tomorrow as we go sightseeing in Boston. May He provide protection and guidance so that in all things we will glorify his name!

All for him!

Here we go! Pre-Tour Launch of the blog!

God never ceases to amaze us, does he?


Fresh off of our extended Easter weekend, we're back on our feet and ready for action! After months of preparation and coordinating, the day is nearly upon us: The 2012 Choir Tour of New England begins tomorrow!


Don't forget that luggage drop off is at 7:30am in the choir room on Wednesday April 11th.  The students will leave right after school, so please report to the choir room ASAP at 3pm, grab your carry on and bagged dinner, and off to Boston we go.  Below is the following information:  the itinerary for our trip, some pictures from the Send Off Concert and Prayer Requests for the trip. We welcome you to follow us on this great musical journey that God is taking us on!

The Annapolis Area Christian School

Spring Tour 2012

ITINERARY 

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

(AACS – 109 Burns Crossing Road, Severn, MD 21144)

3:00 P.M.        -           Students gather and load luggage and equipment onto bus

3:30 P.M.        -           Departure for Lexington, Massachusetts –

(Chic-fil-a Bag Dinners on the bus, tentative 2 stops around 6 and 8 at rest stops, each stop no longer than 20 min)

11:00 P.M.      -           Arrival at Aloft Hotel, Lexington, MA

(727 Marrett Rd. Lexington, MA 02421)

11:45 P.M.      -           Evening Prayer/Devotions

12:15 A.M.     -           Lights out! 

Thursday, April 12, 2012

8:15 A.M.       -           Wake-up!

(Come to breakfast in your tour t-shirt & khakis, pack an outfit for Maggiano’s special dinner to take on the bus.  Suggest outfit for Maggiano’s:  Ladies – simple dress or nice pants/sweater-blouse, Men – Khaki’s and polo or outfit similar to Singing Valentines)

9:15 A.M.       -           Breakfast in the Hotel lobby

                                    Students load luggage onto busses

10:15 A.M.     -           Departure for sight-seeing in Boston

11:00 A.M.     -           Sight-seeing:  Boston Freedom Trail, Faneuil Hall, Shopping, etc.

                                    Lunch in Boston ($10 provided toward lunch)

2:00 P.M.        -           WORKSHOP at Boston University with Dr. Anne Howard Jones

4:00 P.M.        -           Additional Sight-seeing in Boston                        

7:00 P.M.        -           Group Dinner at Maggiano’s Italian Restaurant

                                    (4 Columbus Avenue, Boston, MA 02116)

8:45 P.M.        -           Departure for Portland, Maine

10:45 P.M.      -           Arrival at The Portland Waterfront Hampton Inn, Portland, ME

                                    (209 Fore Street, Portland, ME 04101)

11:30 P.M.      -           Evening Prayer/Devotions

12:15 A.M.     -           Lights out!  

Friday, April 13, 2012

8:15 A.M.       -           Wake-up!

(Come to breakfast dressed in casual clothes for the sight-seeing activities below.  We will return to the hotel in the afternoon to change into our concert attire.)

9:15 A.M.       -           Breakfast in the Hotel lobby

10:00 A.M.     -           Departure for sight-seeing

10:15 A.M.     -           Sight-seeing: Old Port Portland, The Portland Headlight

                                    Lenny the 1,700 chocolate moose, Eartha (world’s largest globe),

                                    ($10 provided toward lunch)

3:00PM                       Return to hotel to change into Concert Attire

                                    (bring a coat or sweatshirt for over your concert attire)

3:45PM                       Gather in the hotel lobby and depart for Ferry

4:15 P.M.        -           Gather at Casco Bay Ferry Terminal

4:30 P.M.        -           Ferry to Peaks Island, Maine

5:15 P.M.        -           Arrival at Brackett Memorial United Methodist Church,

                                    Peaks Island, ME – Pizza Dinner at the Church

                                    (3 Church Avenue, Peaks Island, ME 04108)

6:00 P.M.        -           Rehearsal

7:00 P.M.        -           Final concert preparations

7:30 P.M.        -           CONCERT

9:40 P.M.        -           Return ferry back to Portland, Maine

10:10 P.M       -           Guys & Girls Night Activities

11:15 P.M.      -           Evening Praise & Worship

12:15 P.M.      -           Lights-out!

Saturday, April 14, 2012 – Day Trip Along Coastal Maine

8:15 A.M.       -           Wake-up!

(Come to breakfast dressed in casual clothes for sight-seeing activities below.  Pack your concert attire in your garment bag to take on the bus when we depart at 10:00am)

9:15 A.M.       -           Breakfast in the Hotel lobby

10:00 A.M.     -           Departure for sight-seeing and trip along Maine Coastal Route 1

Sight-seeing:  Shopping at the Freeport outlets.  Stops in the picturesque towns of Damariscotta and Rockland. The Wyeth Museum.

4:30 P.M.        -           Arrival at Littlefield Memorial Baptist Church, Rockland, ME

                                    (1 Waldo Avenue, Rockland, ME 04841)

                                    Unloading of equipment and warm-up

5:00 P.M.        -           Dinner at Church

5:45 P.M.        -           Rehearsal

6:30 P.M.        -           Final concert preparations

7:00 P.M.        -           CONCERT

8:30 P.M.        -           Departure for Portland Maine

10:30 P.M.      -           Return to Hotel

                                    Tour skits and devotions

12:00 P.M.      -           Lights-out! 

Sunday, April 15, 2012

7:00 A.M.       -           Wake-up!

(Come to breakfast dressed in your concert attire.  Pack a casual outfit for the bus ride home into your carry on bag.)

7:45 A.M.       -           Breakfast – Students load luggage onto bus

8:45 A.M.       -           Departure for Cape Elizabeth, ME

9:00 A.M.       -           Arrival at Cape Elizabeth United Methodist Church

                                    (280 Ocean House Road, Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107)

                                    Warm-up and logistical rehearsal

10:00 A.M.     -           SERVICE

11:15 A.M.     -           Luncheon at the Church

                                    (Change into casual clothes for bus at the end of the luncheon)

12:30 P.M.      -           Departure for AACS, Severn, MD

                                    Dinner en route

11:00 P.M.      -           Students are picked up at Annapolis Area Christian School

                                    (109 Burns Crossing Road, Severn, MD 21144)

12:00 A.M.                 We will have the students call their parents when we are 60-90

                                    minutes away from returning to AACS.  

Tour 2012 Prayer Requests:

Prayer Request #1

Spiritual Protection

Prayer Request #2

Musical Performances

-       for excellence, for our audiences to be blessed by the musical gifts that God has given us

Prayer Request #3

Safety

-         traveling mercies, personal safety of the students, and all the logistics that need to come in to place to have a successful tour

Prayer Request #4

Experience for the Students

-       that it will be a rich time spiritually for our students

Prayer Request #5

Conduct

-       that all we do, our actions and thoughts, will glorify the Lord and bless and love others

Prayer Request #6

Relationships

-         that we will love and support each other, as fellow choir members, at all times.  That we can let little offenses go

Prayer Request #7

Health

 -     health of our students, chaperones and directors, to get rest and proper hydration

A Few Pictures from the Tour Send off Concert:

May God's name be glorified through us this week as we sing his praise!

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Deuteronomy 31:8