Back in the 50436!

We are home! Our summer tour of 2013 has now come to an end and we will all be going home soon. It has truly been a great year of bonding, singing, and having fun. Although we may be changing paths, going in different directions, or going to work for the summer, this year of spending time together has been amazing and will never be forgotten.

Those of us who are not graduating, would like to thank the seniors again for everything they have done for this choir. For those who are transferring or have changing life plans, you forever have a place in the Waldorf choirs heart, and for those of you who will be back in the fall, have a very safe and fun summer, but come back ready to sing your heart out again.

We would like to send out yet another very special thank you to all of those who housed us, feed us, let us sing for you, and laughed at our bad jokes. We thank your greatly for everything, our tours would not be possible without you.

On behalf of each student in the choir we would like to thank Dr. Luebke for ALL that he has done in and out of the choir room to make us the choir and people we are today. Your love for what you do shows and we are so greatful to have you are our director.

We would also like to thank Nancy for EVERYTHING that she does for the choir in playing for us, praying for us, loving us, being our  mother, and caring for each and every person dearly. God Bless you Nancy, you are such a great role model for all.

Another HUGE thank you goes out to Alicia Danielson for ALL she has done for the choir from being a part of the choir to now helping us with everything you have done on tour to make it run smoothly, keep people from getting sick, burnt, and everything in between. Although you will be moving on now, we will never forget all that you have done and been apart of here at Waldorf. You are a great lady and have a great future, but know you will also always have a huge place in all of our hearts 🙂

Thank again to everyone and to Waldorf college for all of the support and love we have gotten and seen on this tour and throughout our year!

We are home! Thanks again!

❤ The Waldorf Choir

The Arch/Day 11

Yesterday we drove from Lexington, KY to Saint Louis, MO to sing our final concert as a group. Before arriving at the church we were able to stop and see the Saint Louis Arch! For Sarah, it was no big deal, but for the rest of us it was a fun and exciting experience to see the arch and the beautiful area around it. After taking some pictures, doing come cool cartwheels, and seeing all of the beautiful brides that were getting married in one area, we made our way to Unity Lutheran in Bel-Nor.

After a fun devotion led by senior Nell Flatebo, getting everyone pumped up, we went out and had a beautiful concert one last time with the 30 of us. For some it was their last first concert, for others it was their last of the last seeing as they have graduated and will not be making their way out into the world, and others lie in between. From here our journeys will all go in different directions, but forever we will remember this last concert for many reasons, including each and every person in this choir at this time. Together we have created wonderful music that will have a special place in all of our hearts.

To all of those graduation seniors, it’s been an honor for all of us to sing with you, and we wish each one of you the best of luck going out into the world and creating new memories. We love you all and thank you for your dedication to this choir and the music.

Keeneland/Lexington on day 10

Hey ya’ll! Yesterday after we went through the Smoky Mountains, we arrived at the horse track in Lexington. Keeneland is the biggest horse track in America. This is a track where Queen Elizabeth sat and watched a horse race, and where the movie Seabiscuit was filmed. We got to tour Keeneland and see/feel the track, stand where the Queen stood, and learn about how a horse track works. The only thing we didn’t see were the horses, we had a very unhappy Karly and Haley who both really wanted to see horses.

Later we went to another church where Dr. Luebke conducted at and knew just about every member in the audience. The Presbyterian church in Lexington was the perfect venue to showcase our musical talents. We were accepted with a wonderful meal and a gracious audience. We are on the road to Bel-Nor, MO this morning! Another little jaunt after this and we will soon be home. We thank everyone with whom we stayed last night. Hope everything is good back home. See you soon!

Day 9

Yesterday we spent the day driving! We went through Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, staying the night in Asheville North Carolina in the Appalachian Mountains/Great Smokey Mountains. We had a very lovely hotel stay for the night after having a long day of driving it was nice to go swimming, sing songs, walk/see some of the town, and just spending more time together.

Today we are on our way to Lexington Kentucky.  We have about a five hour drive and then we will be going to a Horse Track after lunch and before our second to last concert. Our days are winding down, but we have a few more concerts left and are still going strong!

St. Augustine/Day 8

Good Morning! We are now starting to head north, but before we talk about today……. we need to fill everyone in on yesterdays events!

After a short two hour bus ride, we arrived at the St. Augustine Cathedral. The city of St. Augustine was founded in 1565. The Cathedral was the first Christian parish in the new world built in 1797. In 1887 the church had a fire and the only things that remained were the walls, which were made out of coquina (shells and rocks formed together). It was rebuilt after the fire with improved stations of crosses, and the stained glass windows were imported from Germany. The Cathedral was not designed necessarily to have acoustic perfection, but it does sound amazing! There is a five second reverb to free and easy singing as the sound just surrounds you and fills the building. We are all very grateful to have been able to sing in this beautiful space.

After the Cathedral we had free time to tour around St. Augustine to shop, sight see, relax, find a bite to eat, start a “flash mob,” and get Hyppo Gourmet Popsicle! Dr. Luebke had one mission during our free time and that was to find this place called Hyppo because his Aunt told him he HAD to go there while in St. Augustine, and man, oh man, was she right, it was amazing! We also had a small group of the choir that was asked to sing, gained more people while singing, and soon many people walking by, stopped to listen, many of whom than came to our concert last night. 

 

After a few days in Florida, on the beach, at home stays, sigh seeing, and riding on the bus, we are now  on our journey back home to Iowa, but we do have a couple more stops on the way! We are just hoping that we can bring this beautiful warm weather home with us to stay 🙂

Thanks again to our host homes, and for all who attended our concert!

 

Day 7 at Vero Beach

Yesterday we spent our second and final day at the beach in Vero Beach, FL! The waves were BIG, the sand was soft, and the water warm. For Kristen who was just joining us on tour, it was her first time in an ocean, and for almost all of us, it was our first time showering outside. The waves and water were so nice that we did not even make  sand castle, but we did get thrown around in the water and get some more sun.   🙂

Last night we had our concert and home stays with the Presbyterian Church in Vero Beach. It was so beautiful as most of us woke up with the sun coming up over the ocean, and the sound of waves crashing into shore. Again, we thank our host homes for everything they did for of us!

We are now on our way to St. Augustine to sing in the cathedral, look around, and have another concert! You know the choir is going somewhere important (St. Augustine Cathedral) when we are all dressed in our Sunday best and Ben Johnson is wearing a BOW TIE! We will be sure to keep you updated and many more pictures to come! Hello to everyone at home and thanks for all your support!

https://www.facebook.com/TheWaldorfChoir/photos_stream

 

Singing in the Cathedral :)

Last night we had a joint concert at the St. Luke’s Cathedral with two high school choirs. The Timber Creek High School under the direction of Sean Linfors and Freedom High School directed by Tesfa Wondemagegnehu, both of whom went to Florida State Uuniversity with Dr. Luebke.

Each choir sang their own section of three or four songs, and then the high schools sang a joint song of “He Looked Beyond My Faults.” The sound in the space was very beautiful for all three choirs. Many people were very touched in different ways by the music of all three choirs.

Home Stay Stories:

~Eric said as he walked into the house he noticed an indoor pool, from behind him his host dad said “when you get in it, it will rise.” Eric thought it was really funny. ~Victor was checking on Josh in his room and asked how it was going, Josh looked up at him and said “will you switch rooms with me, I’m afraid of statues…” Victor laughed and agreed to than have his own room.

~Kevin got to stay with his Aunt last night!

The choir thanks everyone for letting us sing with you, and for all of those who brought us home for the night.

Day 5!

Yesterday was day five! We had a wonderful day of restful travel from Gulf Shores, AL to Monticello, FL. It was about a five hour drive and we lost an hour as we traveled deeper into Florida. On our drive we did Warm Fuzzies This is where we pass paper with each persons name and write something that will make them feel all warm and fuzzy about their self.  We sang in the beautiful sanctuary with a fresh evening breeze flowing from the open doors. After the concert a spaghetti dinner was served in the fellowship hall. Last night each group stayed with a different host family where we learned some and taught some. A great night was had by all!

Just a few short host home stories!

Last night Cassie,Karly, and Cassidy stayed in the oldest house in Monticello(Picture below) which was built in 1833. This house had original wood floors, doors, wrap around porch, and a lot of really cool history of those who lived there in the past and present.

Ben Johnson woke up with hot coffee on his bed side table.

We are now arriving at FSU, there will be much more to share later! Victor, Eric, Kevin, and Josh stayed in a mansion!

First Concert

Tonight(lastnight) our first concert went really well! Things thus far are going very smoothly and the funny stories are adding up! (we will share some soon!) Tonight in our audience we had some very special guests all the way form Nebraska! Marcus’s family came down to attend our concert and show support! We thank them for making the trip, showing support, and making Marcus very happy 🙂

Tomorrow(today)we hit the road again and move on to some more sight seeing and our home stays! We again, thank CSU so very much for all the hospitality and kindness as we have been here visiting.

(Sorry for the late upload)

Beach day!

Gooood Evening all!!

Today the choir had a BLAST at the beach! The very clean soft sand, warm ocean water, and great weather were all major pluses for our great day bonding at the beach. Many built sand castles, buried people, including Dr. Luebke, got some sun, watched some beach volleyball, and had some great food. All in all it was a very fun experience for those in the choir who have never seen, or been in the ocean, and it was great bonding time out in the sun.

We are now on getting ready to be on our way to our first concert over tour! There will be many pictures to come later tonight, so be sure to follow the blog below to see pictures from earlier days on our tour, and latter pictures from our fun day at the beach.

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