Things I've Seen

Singers in Seattle: Photos

Most of the group at the top of the Space Needle

As I explained in an earlier post, Westminster's high school choir, the Kirk Singers, takes their music from the church year on tour. Usually they travel by bus to places like New York City. But at least once in four years they go further and travel by air. This year the group flew out to Seattle to sing in various churches, nursing homes and retirement centers.

After they got back,  the girls got her photos developed. Meg also got hers on CD, so I picked a few of my favorites and posted them on here on Flickr.  I'm surprised they didn't take more pictures, but they were pretty busy.

If you haven't already read my account of what they did in Seattle, click the links below for the posts I did each day they were gone. I followed the printed itinerary I received and the girls tell me it wasn't completely accurate, but what can I say ... close enough.

Singers in Seattle
Farewell concert
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Homecoming

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Homecoming

Just off the plane

Their plane arrived at G R Ford a little before 8 p.m., right on time. After a few minutes the choir and their chaperones straggled down the concourse to meet the small crowd of waiting parents, brothers, sitsters. Most were a little bedraggled, tired looking, but glad to be home. Well, glad to be off the plane, anyhow. I heard from both girls later that they didn't really want to come home. (I can understand that -- when I used to travel, Clay would tease me that everywhere I went was where I wanted to live.)

It didn't take long to collect everyone's luggage. The kids lingered a little, saying their goodbyes, making the round of the group for hugs. Then family by family, they all departed for home.

All the kids said they had a great time. Yet Meg and Sus were pretty subdued on the way home. Oh, they talked all the way, but there wasn't so much of the chattering we usually hear after they spend a few days away with this group. When I commented on that, Meg said, "There's not really a lot to say. It was more of ... an experience." Susan agreed and said there was a lot to think about -- the places they sang, the reactions of the people they sang for, some of the circumstances under which they sang. (One of the churches was very obviously struggling the departure of their pastor on the day the kids visited.)

And how was their singing?

"We were really good," Sus said, and Meg agreed. "We sang better than we ever sang before."

Singers in Seattle: Day 6

Monday: Guess I wasn't on the ball yesterday, was I?  No entry for Day 6, and their grandmother McB noticed!  She even sent me an email asking about it. Now I just have to teach her and the rest of the family about how to add comments to the blog ...

Seriously, here's all I have from the itinerary for yesterday:

Took a "big trip to the mountains" or maybe did some other sightseeing

They spent their last night in the dorms at Seattle Pacific University.

Chaperones planned the "traditional" final night pizza party.

Afterwards, the group shared in one last time of reflection and discussion. I was thinking today that this is one part of Tour that I neglected to mention, yet it's an important part for everyone. Every  night before bed the entire group gathers together for devotions and to reflect on the day. Ellen (the director ) selected two kids each night for these: one person led the group in discussion and reflection. The other then presented devotions. Having this time together is important, I think, for everyone to think about and reflect on what it means to do what they 're doing. To know and try to understand how their acts affect others and to think about how others' actions and reactions affect them. It's part of living and growing in the world.

Anyhow. They're coming home tonight. And this time -- unlike last Wednesday morning at 4:30 a.m. --  you bet I'll have my camera at the airport.

Singers in Seattle: Day 5

In concert at WPC

Sunday:  Today they're singing their last two concerts of the tour.

Right after breakfast they changed into concert clothes for a 9:30 rehearsal to sing at the 10:30 service at Vashon United Methodist Church, where former WPC member Vonnie Feyen now attends.Following the service they had a quick lunch, then it was on to a retirement home, the Vashon Community Care Center, for their final performance.

It must have been sometime before this that Sus made a surprise phone call to her dad for Father's Day. She only talked for a few minutes. (The kids weren't to have brought their phones, but she borrowed from someone who did.) She said they were having a great time and that she'd been to the Space Needle in Seattle and was scared to death riding the high-speed elevator to the top. They also went to a Mariner's game and watched them beat the Giants.

That afternnoon the group took the ferry back to Seattle, where their chaperones put together a supper for them. At 8:40 they traveled back to St Mark's Cathedral to attend Compline, courtesy of Gerry VanWesep. The popular meditative service of music and scripture is attended by about 500 people every week. A small men's choir leads.

Meg called along toward evening, also on a borrowed phone (although I know she took hers with her). Turns out that sleeping in teepees at the hostel was pretty cool -- they had a firepit in theirs with a fire going in it. She also said that for her homestay she slept on a "fancy boat," moored in the harbor. The rocking of the boat put her to sleep right away, she said.

By 10:00 they were all headed back to the dorms at Seattle Pacific University, where they stayed when they first arrived in Seattle. Tomorrow: sightseeing.

Singers in Seattle: Day 4

Sus with sopranos. I know it's blurry, but you can still see the joy ...

Saturday: No concerts today. After a day of sightseeing, the choir will take a ferry from Seattle to Vashon Island, the largest island in Puget Sound. Tonight they'll stay at the American Youth Ranch Hostel, where I hear they'll stay in teepees. Hmmm. Sounds fun. Looks fun, too, with plenty to do to keep the kids occupied this evening.

AYH is associated with Hostelling International, and according to AYH site (in case you've never stayed in a hostel, which I haven't):

Look for the house and the tree symbol at all (HI) Hostelling International Hostels. It is your assurance of clean, safe, friendly, affordable accommodations. Hostels are not like hotels. Hostels have separate dormitory-style sleeping quarters and bathroom facilities for males and females and some hostels offer private and family rooms. Full-service hostels have a fully equipped self-serve kitchen, dining area and common room. Hostels are for all ages and are no longer referred to as youth hostels. The HI organization offers 5000 hostels world-wide and we look forward to booking a bed for you.

Singers in Seattle: Day 3

Meg and the altos

Friday: Collected the singers from their homestays and all had breakfast together before heading off on a short sightseeing adventure (again destination unknown).

At noon they headed back to Queen Anne Presbyterian to lunch with the church's Seniors before performing a short concert for that group at 1 p.m.

Then it was back on the road for an afternoon of more sightseeing.

In the evening they met up for a cookout at the home of a church member from Bethany Community Church. The choir isn't singing at this church, but members are providing homestays for all the singers tonight. I believe this arrangment is courtesy of Roger Jensen, our pastor's brother. How fun for our group to meet part of Riley's family!

Singers in Seattle: Day 2

Allie, Erin, Natalie and Meg sign to a musical rendition of The Lord's Prayer

Thursday: Breakfast at 8 a.m., then a 10:00 rehearsal in preparation for an 11 a.m. concert at Exeter House, a Presbyterian retirement community in Seattle.

Noon: box lunches purchased from Exeter House to eat in nearby Freeway Park.

1:30: Trip to St Mark's Episcopal Cathedral  (sanctuary photo), where they'll sing without an audience -- just to hear the sound!  They have exactly one-half hour to get in, sing, and leave so the next event, rehearsal, or what have you can take place. Two years ago when I chaperoned the Kirk Singers on their trip east, we did the same thing in the chapel at Princeton Seminary. We stood in a circle and sang our benediction, the same one the kids are singing this year, The Lord Bless You and Keep You (Lutkin). I'll always remember being in awe hearing the kids and leaders sing together, our sound echoing around the high-ceiling'd chapel. It gave me goosebumps. Hope this experience does the same for these kids.

They spent the afternoon sightseeing, but I don't know what, since the specifics aren't listed on the itinerary. After supper it was into concert clothes again, then to a 6:30 warm-up for a 7:30 concert at our pastor's former church, Queen Anne Presbyterian.

Eight of the singers are being hosted overnight by members of Queen Anne Pres. (It's a small congregation). The rest will go back to the SPU dorms for another night.

             

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Another note about yesterday: Both girls made sure to tell JDog goodbye yesterday morning before they left, but she wouldn't come up from the basement to see them off. In fact, she did not come upstairs at all until just about noon, when she straggled up oh-so-slowly (she's so lame in the hindquarters lately) to go out for her morning business. After she came back in, she went right back downstairs to her futon -- didn't want her doggie bones, didn't beg for a walk -- and stayed there the entire day, all kinda sad and mopey. I was worried she was getting sick. In the evening she straggled back up again for her dinner and she seemed to be feeling a little better, but still not great.

This morning she was upstairs right away by 6:30, asking to go out, begging for milkbones, waiting for me to chase her and "fight" her for them, whining for her morning walk -- she was her usual self. I think yesterday she just got into a funk and was missin' her girls.

Singers in Seattle: Day 1

Wednesday morning 4:30 a.m:  We arrived at the airport. Sus had stayed up all night, but Meg couldn't quite make it -- she slept for two hours before Sus woke her at 3. They spent the night making cookies and "puppy chow" to share on the plane.

We left them in the director's good hands at about 5:30. Their United flight took off for Chicago at 5:53. Seattle here they come.

They arrived in Seattle at 10:19 PST. The 24 of them loaded into four minivans and headed out to Seattle Pacific University, where they'll be for a couple of days. Lunch, courtesy of their chaperones (they're really trying to be frugal, bless them), then at 2 p.m. they changed into concert clothes and did warmups for a 3 p.m. concert at University House Retirement Facility.

Then it was back to SPU to unpack, settle in and relax a little. Just before 5 they headed over to former WPC members Gerry and Nancy VanWesep for burgers. I'm told we owe thanks to Nancy and Gerry for contacts and hosting for this tremendous undertaking of a tour.

By 6 they'd gathered back in the dorms for devotions and reflecting on the day. Then it was time for SLEEP.

Farewell concert

They're leaving for Seattle on Wednesday morning.

Each year in June, WPC's Kirk Singers take their music on the road for a week. They sing in host churches, retirement centers, nursing homes. They stay in college dorms, youth hostels and with host church families.Of course they get in lots of sightseeing, too.

Usually they travel by bus, but every couple of years they take a "big" trip and fly somewhere. This year it's Seattle.

On Sunday evening the group performed their tour repertoire before a good sized crowd at the church. They'd also sung selections during both services that morning, when they were officially commissioned for their mission -- taking their faith to the larger community through the gift of music.

This is an enormously talented group of kids who love what they do. This trip will be an enriching experience for all and their sharing in song a blessing, both for their audiences and for the singers themselves. Godspeed, Kirk Singers.

Go hear 'em tonight

My friend Greg is big into the local music scene. He's the drummer in three bands: The Icicles, Los Cobras and Truckstop Cobras.

Truckstop Cobras is his newest, and earlier this month The Press did a writeup on the band that has coined the term "truckabilly" to describe their sound:

A dancey mix of rockabilly spunk, sunny surf, blues, honky-tonk and old-school country twang, the recently formed band is a fun addition to a slowly burgeoning nostalgia-rock element in West Michigan.

Truckstop Cobras will look familiar to fans of local surf rock band, Los Cobras, as the Truckstop Cobras essentially sport the same lineup -- guitarist Michael Miller, bassist Ron Boot and drummer and backing vocalist Greg Krupp -- as Los Cobras, with the addition of (Brian) Higgins, a singer-songwriter.

Though the band shares most of the same members and a few common musical elements, the Truckstop Cobras is a project that can stand on its own, steady legs. While Los Cobras offer up dreamy, instrumental tracks, the Truckstop Cobras have a grittier sound, coupled with down-on-your-luck lyrics sung in Higgins' husky, honky-tonk drawl.

"It's Americana rock," Krupp said.

As you can see by the poster, Truckstop Cobras will be playing tonight at the Annual Fools' New Year's Eve party at the Clique. Greg says they'll be on stage at about 10:30. I can't make it, but you should.

Hear the Truckstop Cobras.