Good evening from Nashville. It has been another very busy day here in this beautiful city in Tennessee.
An early start to the day (for a Saturday) as we loaded the busses after breakfast to head back to Trevecca Nazarene University. The choir sang for Dr. Tim Sharp and Dr. Tim Powell in a master class. Both Dr. Sharp and Dr. Powell are Athen Festival Co-Artistic Directors as well as professors at Trevecca and both have a long and impressive biography in the music industry from performing, recording, and teaching.
Our tour liaison, Grace, who is a student at Trevecca took us on a campus tour between the master class and lunch. We stopped in the newest residence hall and were entertained in the basement rec room with pool, ping pong, games, and just relaxing before heading back to Jackson Hall for lunch.
The afternoon, the choir split off into three groups. Some went to Gruhn Guitars, a large vintage guitar store here in downtown Nashville displaying over 1,100 guitars. The group who went was greeted by the owner and invited to the second floor to his personal office where they sat and talked with him at length. One of our chaperones also had the opportunity to play a guitar priced at $130,000, no, he is not bringing it home.
Another group spent time at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, or the "Smithsonian of country music". This museum shows the best of country music from Patsy Cline to Carrie Underwood and more.
The other group toured Ryman Auditorium, the most iconic stage in America. This auditorium was originally built in 1892 as a church. It is said to be the birthplace of Bluegrass and later became the home to the "Grand Ole Opry".
After an afternoon of sightseeing and dinner on our own it was time to head to the Parthenon for the concert. The Parthenon in Nashville is the world's only life size replica of the Parthenon in Athens and is home to a 42 foot statue of Athena. The final concert was held at the foot of Athena in a space where sound echos for 7 seconds. Needless to say, it was a very lively room for music but what an impressive concert it was. All of the choirs performed beautifully.
Following the concert, the kids changed into formal attire for the Masquerade Ball. They sang and danced the rest of the night before heading back to the hotel for our last night in Nashville.
Tomorrow, we have the awards ceremony at Trevecca before heading back to Springfield. I will try to update again tomorrow on the road home. It has been a wonderful trip with an amazing group of kids.
Exhausted from Nashville,
Kristin
An early start to the day (for a Saturday) as we loaded the busses after breakfast to head back to Trevecca Nazarene University. The choir sang for Dr. Tim Sharp and Dr. Tim Powell in a master class. Both Dr. Sharp and Dr. Powell are Athen Festival Co-Artistic Directors as well as professors at Trevecca and both have a long and impressive biography in the music industry from performing, recording, and teaching.
Our tour liaison, Grace, who is a student at Trevecca took us on a campus tour between the master class and lunch. We stopped in the newest residence hall and were entertained in the basement rec room with pool, ping pong, games, and just relaxing before heading back to Jackson Hall for lunch.
The afternoon, the choir split off into three groups. Some went to Gruhn Guitars, a large vintage guitar store here in downtown Nashville displaying over 1,100 guitars. The group who went was greeted by the owner and invited to the second floor to his personal office where they sat and talked with him at length. One of our chaperones also had the opportunity to play a guitar priced at $130,000, no, he is not bringing it home.
Another group spent time at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, or the "Smithsonian of country music". This museum shows the best of country music from Patsy Cline to Carrie Underwood and more.
The other group toured Ryman Auditorium, the most iconic stage in America. This auditorium was originally built in 1892 as a church. It is said to be the birthplace of Bluegrass and later became the home to the "Grand Ole Opry".
After an afternoon of sightseeing and dinner on our own it was time to head to the Parthenon for the concert. The Parthenon in Nashville is the world's only life size replica of the Parthenon in Athens and is home to a 42 foot statue of Athena. The final concert was held at the foot of Athena in a space where sound echos for 7 seconds. Needless to say, it was a very lively room for music but what an impressive concert it was. All of the choirs performed beautifully.
Following the concert, the kids changed into formal attire for the Masquerade Ball. They sang and danced the rest of the night before heading back to the hotel for our last night in Nashville.
Tomorrow, we have the awards ceremony at Trevecca before heading back to Springfield. I will try to update again tomorrow on the road home. It has been a wonderful trip with an amazing group of kids.
Exhausted from Nashville,
Kristin