"California Girls" Tour: Day 1

We are off! Today is the first of our tour of California, and it has been a long, enjoyable one. Our journey really started yesterday, though, as choir bees gathered in Jewett Auditorium for pizza and a productive rehearsal, dusting off our folders to review our tour repertoire. Each of us is thrilled to perform this gorgeous music for those of you in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles! That night, we settled down in Munger’s common rooms, as if all fifty of us were having a massive sleepover. Although we were informed that we would depart from campus at 5 in the morning, many of us stayed up, watching Netflix and talking all night.

Arriving in SFO

            Needless to say, we woke up bleary-eyed, shuffling around the resident hall to gather our things and brush our teeth before venturing out into the pre-dawn cold to march to Davis Plaza. Perhaps because it was so frigid and so early, we efficiently filled the bus and all fell asleep as soon as we hit the road. Before many of us knew it, we had reached Logan, checked in, and passed through security, finally embarking on a desperate hunt of Dunkin Donuts. Despite the caffeine in our systems, we promptly passed out upon take off, and a lucky few of us stayed that way until we landed in SFO.

Hanging out in Union Square

            Upon arrival, the most striking thing to us was how “warm” the foggy Bay Area  was, especially compared to snowy Massachusetts. We were dropped off at Union Square to grab a bite to eat and explore before heading over to the First Unitarian Center for our incredible master class with Cal State East Bay and renowned conductor, David Conte, who arranged “La Bruja,” one of our pieces on tour. The whole experience was educational and eye opening. The singers from Cal State were an incredible group to work with and get to know. We would especially like to thank David Conte for his thoughtful feedback and for graciously giving his time to answer our questions and to teach us more about the music we were performing.

The First Unitarian Center

Cal State East Bay, the Wellesley College Choir, and David Conte

            After the clinic, choir bees went with their respective host families to various locations all over the Bay Area; I’m pretty sure we were all out like fifty lights after our full day.