Chamber Singers' Journal

After quick lunch, the Singers rushed to the Forbidden City Concert Hall for the 4 hour-rehearsal and concert. The rehearsal gave us the first opportunity to sing with the Chinese choir and orchestra. While the performers were very talented, the power of the incredible musical works that were shared moved all involved. After a snack, we changed and returned to the hall for the concert. The booming choir of 350 singers from North America, 50-ish singers in a Chinese ensemble, and the powerful TianJin Orchestra made a powerful combination that was awarded rich applause.

The next day (Friday, July 4), we woke up at 4:00am to catch a morning flight to Shanghai. The flight went without a hitch and the Singers boarded a bus for the hotel (a Holiday Inn Express). We were overjoyed to see that it was a very-modern, American looking hotel with modern amenities (including glass showers and comfortable-beds!). The early call caused most of us to take a nice long afternoon nap; for many in the group, this was our first time to do so since touching down in China. On the way to dinner, we sang patriotic, American songs on the bus to celebrate Independence Day. (Though some Singers tried to find some fireworks, we were informed that all fireworks have been banned in China because of the Olympics) :That night, many singers went out on the town to get a better taste of authentic Shanghai.

On Saturday, we enjoyed a later wake-up time of 7:30am. After a leisurely breakfast, we went on a sightseeing bus ride of Shanghai to the Bund overlook, also known as little New York. There was a stunning view of a bay and skyscrapers resembling those found in NYC. Though the view was breathtaking, one singer heard that it was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit there; the incredible humidity made it almost unbearable in the sun.

Then, we went to a popular, modern shopping district for the afternoon. We rounded out the evening by going to see the marvelous Shanghai Acrobats. The incredible feats of strength, flexibility, and skill left many mouths hanging open (no joke!). One Singer commented that it was life-changing!.

Our last full day in China dawned with a trip to the Yu Garden and nearby market. The dynastic garden was full of peaceful green ponds, intricate woodwork, curious caves, and stone-inset walkways. It was a prime picture-taking location. That afternoon, we went to another rehearsal and then enjoyed our final concert in China at the Oriental Arts Center. The concert hall was a beautiful, modern facility that easily rivaled the one in Beijing. Though the music performed was slightly different, as we didnt have the Chinese choir to join us, the biggest change was that the orchestra performed the entirety of Beethovens 9th Symphony (we only did the fourth movement in Beijing). For those of us who had never heard the impressive piece of music live, it was a wonderful experience. The Maestro, Eric Dale Knapp, finished the evening by thanking us all for building bridges between us and the Chinese people in our common languages of music and friendship, saying that, you will never know the impact you have had tonight, thank you all.

In a few hours, we will be waking up to head to the airport for our flight to San Francisco. Hopefully, the layover there will actually be five hours (instead of 19!), then well board our final plane to SLC.

It has truly been a life-changing trip. Weve gotten a glimpse into a foreign culture and, as Maestro Knapp noted, found our common humanity. We are all so grateful to the donors who have made this trip possible  thank you. Now, were excited to go from the wet heat of China to the dry heat of SLC. See you all in a couple days!
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The next day featured the highlight of the trip for many, so far  the Great Wall of China! Jo-Jo, our trusty tour guide, led us to the base of one of the steepest sections of the Wall and told us about its historical role protecting the city of Beijing. Balking at the steepness of the trek and unable to see the top through the thick mist, we began to walk (and climb!) the steep section of wall. As the group grew weary, some choir members called it a day and began to walk back down.

After all was said and done, about half of the Chamber Singers made it to the summit  which took over an hour to climb and gained over 1000 vertical feet! The singers that made it to the top sang The Battle of Jericho and Mata Del Anima Sola for a group of excited Chinese natives, who made sure to take many pictures with the harmonious chamber singers. This led us a half our to walk, or slide, back down to the meeting point.

We then went to our first rehearsal of the massed choir and met our conductor, Eric Dale Knapp. The choir members spanned North America, coming from the lakes of Michigan to the frozen tundra of Canada. Three tiring hours later, the group split up and made their ways to another Chinese dinner.

Tuesday morning dawned early as we gave our best in another three-hour rehearsal with the massed choir. We had our first opportunity to sing in the Forbidden City Concert Hall, the venue where we will perform on Thursday night. Following rehearsal, we hurriedly boarded our bus for a long ride to Nankai University.

Nankai University is one of Westminster Colleges sister schools through the Center for China-America Business Studies. We had the amazing opportunity to speak to the Nankai students in the common language of music as we exchanged concert performances. Sophomore Wyatt King, who sings bass for the Chamber Singers, said the Nankai choir absolutely blew (him) away with their skill, artistry, and unity of sound. The Chamber Singers proceeded to give one of the most moving concerts of the year. Former Chamber Singer member Tommy Lamb commented that the 2007-2008 Chamber Singers had the most cohesive group tone he had ever heard; he even shed a tear over several songs, including the quartet performance of Kurt Bestors Prayer of the Children. The large Chinese crowd could not have been more pleased with both choirs performances, enthusiastically expressing their satisfaction with raucous applause, Following the concert, the Chamber Singers enjoyed meeting the Nankai students and singers. It was truly a memorable night.

Wednesday was filled with more rehearsals and sightseeing. After an exhausting but very productive morning at the Forbidden City Concert Hall, the Chamber Singers visited Tianmen Square. The enormous public square was filled with sightseers and security guards. The Singers once again showed their style with a group photo at the historic site, and then re-boarded the bus for the renowned Peking Opera in Beijing. The opera was quite the culture-shock for many singers as it included marshal arts, acrobatics, and a distinct musical style.

We are now relaxing at the hotel, ready to catch up on the sleep we will need for our first massed choir performance tomorrow in the Perform in Harmony  With Olympic Spirit music festival.
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After a long trans-pacific flight, we finally arrived at the majestic Beijing International Airport, one of the largest buildings in the entire worldthe parking lot alone spans enough acreage to fit the entire Westminster College campus many times. The roof of the airport terminal is made of specially formulated material that blocks sound making it quieter than the Salt Lake Airport although there are at least six times the amount of people scurrying everywhere. The floors are made of polished granite tile that reflects the lights placed in precise rows on the ceiling as far as the eye can see.

I mention the floors because we are well acquainted. I know that they are cool, which is a relief in the warm humidity of Beijing, but I also know that they are a very hard and unforgiving bed. Long story short, we arrived at Beijing Airport with high hopes of taking off for Xian after a short layover. Eight hours later even the most optimistic had given up hope and some even experienced a little fear as the irate Chinese passengers got into a shouting match with the ticket agents over our mutually-missed flight. Apparently, the airline was refusing to put anyone up in the hotel for a night even though it was past midnight and there were more then sixty stranded passengers. We were told that we could sleep in the airport& on the floor.

This news was greeted with sighs and more shouts from the Chinese passengers, but we all thought it could be worse& at least the area around our gate had plenty of padded benches to stretch out on. It wouldnt be the best night of sleep anyone had experienced, but considering that we had all been up for over 24 hours no one was overly vexed. It wasnt until the gate agents rounded us up and led us en masse out of the terminal that we realized we had very little hope for a decent nights sleep. Our fears were realized when we saw the chair-less, bench-less international check-in where we were invited to spend the night. By this time, it was well after one in the morning and we had already spent over twelve hours in Beijing Central International Airport. When you add this to the twelve-hour flight to Beijing, two-hour flight to and hour-long layover in San Francisco, and travel time to Utah International, you get a conception of how exhausted we were.

While the chamber singers were trying to get some sleep on the granite floor, Steve, Chris, and our travel guide Joe-Joe were negotiating with the travel agency and airport officials to get us on a morning flight to Xian. In our first turn of fortune since arriving in Beijing, they secured our luggage and an 8:20AM flight  only 4 more hours on the floor! We spent about 18 hours in BCIA.

Our flight to Xian on Saturday morning went without a hitch, a first! At the Xian airport, we met our local guide, Rose. She informed us that, even though wed missed a half-day (and a lot of sleep!), we were going to get in all of the sights we were going to see. On the way to the hotel, we stopped at the Old City Wall. As the city in China that served as capital for most of the Chinese dynasties, Xian had an impressive city wall spanning 8 miles around the inner city. Finally, we arrived at the Garden Hotel, where we made a rush on the showers in our rooms. After the shower, we met back in the lobby and had our first Chinese lunch, a buffet in the state-run Xian Hotel. Then, we boarded our trusty bus for the Terra-Cotta Soldiers Museum. The 2,200-year-old soldiers amazed all.

We finished off the day by having a dumpling dinner at a famous dumpling restaurant in Xian. After about 20 courses of the worlds-best dumplings, we were all ready to crawl into a bed& for the first time in 3 days!

Though impressed by the courteousness of the Chinese people, many of us were amazed by the inefficiencies and lack of traditionally-western professionalism displayed at the airport. The Chinese seemed to be caught in between the modernity of the western world that they aspire to, and the communist influence that shapes their mentality. We witnessed this first-hand in the crew for the flight we were hoping to take to Xian. Rather than waiting to hear if the weather was going to clear, they simply left the airplane on the tarmac and went home. In most western societies, the crew would hopefully understand that they had an obligation to their passengers and the airport to stick around.

Currently, we are sitting in an airplane at a gate in Xian, waiting to depart for Beijing. We have recently been informed that we will be sitting here for an indeterminate amount of time, and that we should try and get some sleep. They have said that we will leave, After the other planes take off; I am astounded that they cannot even give us an estimated time of departure. Note that this is after we have had to switch gates and were delayed 40 minutes while sitting at the terminal. Our experiences have left many of us asking how Air China (the airline which has near-monopoly on Chinese airfare) will service the millions of people who will poor into China for the upcoming Olympics.

UPDATE: After landing in Beijing, we had to taxi around the tarmac for about 45 minutes. The flight that was supposed to come into Beijing at noon finally arrived at 3:45. Now we get to tour Beijing!

PIctures will be uploaded later tonight!
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