Jet lag is a hazard of the job on these tours! That combined with a couple of early starts, losing an hour to daylight saving and a certain amount of distrust that my alarm would go off at the right time made for a rather broken night of sleep. The result was one very tired and confused mezzo getting up and starting to pack at 1:50am! Thankfully, it only took me five minutes to realise I’d got it very wrong, and go back to bed. Luckily, the day got better from here…
Tours like this inevitably involve a fair bit of time hanging around at airports. To entertain ourselves and alleviate boredom when waiting to board the planes, between us, we’ve packed a variety of games to play as an essential part of our touring kit! These range from the traditional backgammon to the slightly more wacky ‘exploding kittens’! Today was a Monopoly Deal day, and we passed the time with a couple of rounds before boarding the flight to Dallas. We landed in warmer climes than we had left, and it was just about sunny enough for some of us to sit outside and have a delicious Wholefoods picnic for lunch.
Highland Park United Methodist Church is a venue that we’re familiar with from previous tours, and we were looking forward to returning. We have fond memories of singing Brahms and Bruckner here in 2015. During that particular concert, we were dramatically plunged into darkness by a power cut! Fortunately, there was no danger of the Path of Miracles being derailed by a blackout, given the 6pm start time – and certainly no need for booklights or candles!
It was lovely to be joined by HPUMC chamber chorus, who did a great job in Footsteps and sounded fantastic. Our third performance of the Path of Miracles seemed to go down well with the audience. It’s such a joy to be touring this piece. Even after all of the UK performances, I still find that my ear is drawn to different lines on different nights. It’s certainly not a piece we could ever get bored of! It’s a real pleasure to sing.
A nice early concert and a lie-in planned for the next day allowed us time to enjoy a few half yards of ale before bed.
Next stop: Ann Arbor, MI.
-Martha McLorinan
