D-Day Minus 1

The day began with a rendezvous at the top of Signal Hill for a group photo. The sky was overcast, but the wind wasn't too bad and there was no rain. Taking a casual photo of 42 people in this setting is not easy, but Chris did a splendid job.








In gratitude for all she did to get us here, Diane was presented with a genuine Grenfell coat by the group, which she donned immediately to add to the layers she already had on.






Then it was down to serious business. Rajaton had invited the Massed Adult and Children's choirs to sing the refrains to "Chiquitita" and "Mama Mia" at the Grand Finale on Wednesday so some rehearsal was necessary. As usual they made working with then a delightful experience--and treated us to another of their songs at the end. They reprised the first song they performed in Newfoundland, exactly 10 years ago, a lovely piece sung in Finnish.






Then we boarded buses to "Mile One Stadium", the local hockey arena that serves as the venue for large concerts. It holds around 8,000 people. The combined choirs number 1,200 so seating them was a major logistical effort.






This was our first opportunity to rehearse with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, and for our conductor to see how we sounded in such a place. After three hours we did OK, but will still need the final two hour rehearsal tomorrow afternoon before the concert.






After such a long work day, we needed a break that was thoughtfully provided by the Newfoundland Symphony Philharmonic Choir. They hosted us to a traditional lobster boil. We all agreed it was the best lobster we had tasted since arriving in St. John's. When two choirs get together, the urge to sing is irresistible, so we gave in and entertained each other with some of our favorites.






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Location:St. John's