Monday June 23

Leeds/Orlando

Well, the trip is over! We are all worn out but already looking forward to the next Sing Live trip! Everything went so smoothly thanks to much preplanning by Linda and Molly. And who could imagine a better tour guide than John Morris himself!

One last celebration we had - Pam's Birthday on Monday. Happy Birthday!

So, as we head back home - we want to say thank you to John and Linda! Thanks for the dream 10 years ago and thanks for letting us share in it! We can't wait until our own 10 year anniversary celebration!

Sunday June 22

Leeds/Whitby

Sunday was a free day for us all. We didn't need to be at the Concert Hall until 6:00 pm.

Kevin has spent most of his time in England searching for the best Fish and Chips. John decided Kevin needed a trip to Whitby as that is where the best are to be found. So, into the car for a trip to the coast. Kevin does agree with John that Whitby has the best to offer and Kevin is quite the expert having had Fish and Chips 6 times in the 10 days we've been here! I really wish I had a picture to post because you most likely would have never seen such a large piece of fish!

Whitby was a beautiful town!

Then it was back to Leeds for the second concert which was better than the first! John was the host both evenings and did such a great job! Back at the hotel, many of the UK singers joined us for the after show party which went on until 3:30. As our motor coach was picking us up at 4:30 to head to the airport, there was no time for sleep! What a great evening!

Saturday June 21
Leeds Town Hall - Show Day!

Now this is what we've all been waiting for!! You all know the drill for show day! Arrive around 12:30, get settled into dressing rooms, wait awhile and wait some more. And then - into place for the technical rehearsal. Wow! Leeds Town Hall is gorgeous! Watching and hearing this rehearsal is something I'll never forget! It was really overwhelming and I find it hard to explain the emotions of seeing our 20 USA singers up there surrounded by their new singing family. Kevin took some pictures of the rehearsal and we'll see if we can get some of the concert pictures onto our website for you all to see.


The concert itself was just perfect and the sound of all those singers singing Starlight Express was breathtaking! After Starlight, our very own Jen Stackpole Hazlett joined UK's Alison Lunn for "I Know Him So Well". We were all so proud of Jen! Beautiful job!

The best part of all, after the concert was over, everyone realized - we get to do it again tomorrow night!

Friday June 20

Castle Howard

Well, this was a perfect end to a very busy touring week! Castle Howard is absolutely beautiful and so very peaceful and relaxing! We had several UK friends touring with us again today and that was so nice to have them along. We were able to tour inside the Castle and the grounds as well. The gardens there are like nothing I have ever seen before. We all wandered around at our own pace and really weren't ready to leave when the motor coach came for us! Certainly a place we will all want to visit again!

The singers all had a free night whilst (new English word) John took Kevin and I and Molly to a rehearsal for a song for the the vocal coaches. Tim Allen (and Toni) were kind enough to host the rehearsal and fixed quite an array of food for us all. The song we are singing is called "Hear My Song" and Gary did a beautiful arrangement of it for us all. Nine of us are singing it and Kevin and I are excited to be a part of this very talented group of UK vocal coaches, or VCs as they say here.

While we've been here, we've had some celebrations! Last Monday, Jen and Jason celebrated their first wedding anniversary and Barbara and Juan celebrated their 29th. What better place to celebrate?

Thursday June 19


York





This morning we got up and back on the bus for a short trip to the city of York. The most amazing thing there is the York Minster which was built in the year 627.

We took what seems to be hundreds of pictures today! We will be posting many other pictures in the very near future, but because it takes so long to download here, I am sharing just this one for now.

We left York at 4:00 and got back to the hotel just in time to get a quick dinner and then head off for what we really came for - singing! The big rehearsal was truly fantastic. What a sound - with 270+ singers. You really had to be there to understand the excitement in that room. The UK singers made us all feel so welcome. Touring around England and seeing all the amazing sights we've seen has been wonderful, but can't really compare to the thrill of singing with Sing Live International! I think everyone was quite exhausted after the rehearsal! Off to bed to get rested for another touring day tomorrow.

Wednesday June 18, 2008

Windsor

We left London this morning and headed to Windsor to take a tour of the Castle. It was absolutely amazing.

Waiting in line:

Marie and Elaine






After a wonderful day of touring around the Castle and the rest of Windsor, we piled back in the bus and headed back to Leeds to the hotel we started out in. It felt a little like "coming home".

Tuesday June 17, 2008
London

Today was a special day for us all. We started out this morning with a tour of the Royal Albert Hall! As they took us into the auditorium, there was a kind of reverence that overtook us all and this was the quietest I have seen this group. It was absolutely amazing to be there. Our guides took us upstairs to the “Royal Box” and then let us look around in the Royal Reception Room. How thrilling for us Americans to be standing in the very room where the Queen waits when she comes to the Royal Albert Hall!

Here is the group in front of Prince Albert's statue:

After we all recovered from that experience (spending money in the gift shop speeded the recovery process!) we headed our for a free day in the city.
I asked around and found out that collectively, this is what we saw:

The National Gallery
Harrods
Tower of London
The Royal Mews (the Royal horses and carriages)
Victoria and Albert Museum
Evensong at Westminster Abbey
Henley on the Thames
King Tut Exhibit
Queen's Gallery
Ride in a London "black cab"
Picnic in Hyde Park
Kensington Palace
Gardens in Kenisington Palace
Kensington Palace's Debutante Exhibit
Museum of Diana's gowns
Diana's Memorial Fountain
The London Eye
Hardrock London
Andrew Lloyd Webber's office

And the shows some of us saw on the West End were:
Lion King
Les Miserables
Chicago
Spamalot

So, as you can see it was a busy day! We're having a great time. Spending the night again in London tonight and then heading back to Leeds tomorrow morning.