By Rina Macaranas ‘28
Goooooooood Morning Choristers! I'm writing to you from Salzburg at the ripe hour of 6:30 AM! We’re leaving today at 10, and I feel as if I didn’t get to go see enough of the city. Emma and Maya texted me last night and asked to go to the Sound Of Music Gazebo! It is so early…. But I’m excited– and there is a bus that takes us there!
Our time with the gazebo included such effervescent activities like:
skipping around it
contemplating picking the lock (i would never break any laws ever)
singing 16 going on 17 dramatically
taking exuberant amounts of photos
Also, thank you for noticing my dress. Where did I get it, you may ask? Second Hand in Salzburg. That’s right, my thrifting game does not end, even in Austria. :)
But alas, all good things must come to an end, and so we left Salzburg by train. Luckily the train ride was fairly short— and I napped/looked out the window for all of it. And then… we arrived at Vienna! I specifically requested to blog in Vienna, not due to any emotional attachment to the city, but because Vienna (the Billy Joel Song) is the song that got me into singing. I’ve been a pianist most of my life, and the piano for the song is enchanting. I sang it as the finale to my Senior Piano Recital— it was a hit.
Well, today was a very busy day— we went straight to the venue to do a sound check. The gasp I let out when I entered the cathedral was audible (with an audible reverberation too!) Once we dropped off our belongings at the hotel and ate a small snack, we changed and headed to sing!
I think this is the best we have ever sounded. It sounds corny, but I entered a complete flow state. We’ve been performing a lot over the last week, and our legs and feet were so sore, but all of that hurt seemed to fade away as we began singing. The audience was excited to hear us, and our voices were amplified by the tall vast ceilings of the cathedral. All in all, it was transcendent— I wish I could’ve been there to simply listen.
We didn't have much time to explore Vienna today, but I walked around with a few friends and got gelato before resting! (+rock climbing? Inexplicably there was a rock climbing wall outside of our hotel…)
Don’t think I forgot about Billy Joel, though! I had a friend take a video of me singing Vienna (in vienna!) I couldn’t find a piano, unfortunately, so its way less impressive… but I had a great time today. So sad tour is coming to a close!