For those of you not involved in the musical arts at the Upper School, it may seem like a strange idea to ride on a bus for an obscene amount of time just to perform a few times over two days and then come back to school, feeling both exhausted and behind. Well when you put it that way, maybe it is a little strange. But going beyond the cramped conditions and make-up work, tour allows a group to hone its repertoire in front of actual audiences. There is truly no greater teacher than stage time. Audiences reveal what’s working and what’s not working, which in turn gives you ideas about how you can improve your music.
Often times, groups from Blake also have the opportunity to work with university directors or conductors to elevate their playing and put a fresh set of ears to refining the piece. This year, the Blake choirs traveled to Kansas City and had a very positive experience. Tenor Solomon Polansky ‘15 comments, “It’s always great to go to another city and share the things we’ve been working on for so long and have fun while doing it. This year did not disappoint.” Highlights included singing with Dr. Charles Robinson at the University of Missouri Kansas City and singing at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.
Meanwhile, the band ventured eastward to perform in front of audiences in the Chicago area. Percussionist Aditi Gupta ’13 sums up the tour experience by saying, “We ran into a lot of obstacles on the way, but we pulled through and di three fantastic concerts. We really bonded during the tour, especially during our clinic at Lake Forest College.”
Despite the snowy weather and the lack of sleep from a couple days of hard touring, both the band and the choir have emerged as more technically skilled, cohesive groups. If you are interested in hearing these groups perform, the choir concert will be May 6th in the MPAC, while the band concert will be May 8th in the same location.
