Day Two on the road in Southern Utah

Day Two on our brief performance tour of Southern Utah went very well. With a warm welcome by the people of Cedar City, we began the day with a concert performance for 1,000 Iron County School District children. The Choir did very well in presenting the music and unique choral practice of the Cathedral to these many young children who were subsequently full of questions.

After lunch, the Education Directors of the Utah Shakespeare Festival conducted a workshop for the choristers, in which they performed a quick rendering of "The Taming of the Shrew" and then proceeded to explore the incredible wonder of the British playwright. The most enjoyable aspect for the children this afternoon was an introduction to the curses and insults of Shakespeare: over the course of his plays he produced an unbelievable repertoire of insults. Choir School Principal Tina McGill is not all that enthused about this educational development. Overheard was "...you paunchy dred-bolted canker-blossom" and "you beslubbering boil-brained foot-licker!" Ah, the wonders of vocabulary enhancement!

The Choristers then had a rest and prepared for their formal concert as part of the arts series in Cedar City, where a good audience welcomed the choir as they performed many of the works regularly heard at the Cathedral. We were able to greet Fr. Michael Winterer, the pastor of Christ the King Catholic Church who attended the concert and was very kind speaking to the students following the performance.

Tomorrow morning we leave for a hike at Zion National Park, and then prepare for a concert tomorrow evening in the St. George Tabernacle. More to come!