Day Three on the road with the Choristers

Today the Choristers packed up early and headed to Zion National Park where they participated in a guided hike with a ranger from the Parks Service as guide. One of the great treasures of Utah, Zion National Park is not without its musical connections. The French composer Olivier Messiaen visited both Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park and was so moved by the natural grandeur that he composed an orchestral work evocative of the Utah Canyons entitled From the Canyons to the Stars. Both children and adults enjoyed our brief visit.

After time in the Canyon we headed to St. George where everyone is enjoying the warmer temperatures and clear skies (maybe the location for a Winter Cathedral?) Going to the St. George Tabernacle to do a sound and logistics check for our concert, we then walked to a small cafe where we enjoyed a great meal, and closed the meal with the specialty cupcakes that were the feature of this particular business. For some reason, the children were baffled that Mr. Glenn even knew what a cupcake was - hence a photograph and crowd scene at the cupcake's consumption. Come on guys, I didn't crawl out of a cave...really...

We had a wonderful audience for our evening performance at the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle has an unusual connection with the Cathedral: The Cathedral's builder bishop, Lawrence Scanlan, celebrated Mass for Southern Utah Catholics in the later part of the nineteenth century, and the LDS people of St. George were so hospitable that they formed a choir, learned their Latin, and sang the parts of Mass for the Bishop!

There are several parents of faculty members who reside here in St. George and they greeted us after the concert. Mrs. Oliver's mother and sister, and Mrs. Poole's father-in-law were in attendance and welcomed us warmly.

After the concert, the children hiked to an Ice Cream Shop for an evening treat. Tomorrow, we sing for the 11:00 AM Mass at the St. George Parish Church where we will greet Fr. Gustavo Vidal the pastor, who earlier served as parochial vicar at the Cathedral.

More to come!