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.

Monday June 16
London
We started the day with a delicious full English breakfast which consists of eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, cooked tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans, cereals and a n array of pastries, served of course with hot tea. After breakfast it was on to our nine hour guided tour of London. Believe me, we saw it all and it was fabulous. Personally, my favorite part of the day was the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace.

We saw so many famous places and heard great stories and interesting facts. It is hard to put it all into words. Molly took 297 pictures today on our London tour. I won’t post them all here, but here are just a few -

Marge and Sarah at the Tower Bridge

The Cowin family

Marcia Bowen taking notes on what we've seen!

Marcia Dawson showing off her special Sing Live purchase

George and LeJeune sharing a treat

Sunday – June 15, 2008
Stratford upon Avon
Our tour guide, Leslie, led us on a tour of William Shakespeare’s hometown. After the tour, many of us enjoyed cream tea which is a cup of tea served with a scone with jam and clotted cream.

Lots of nice shops to enjoy. One very interesting fact that we learned there (which will be helpful for any singers) is how to cure a sore throat. If you went to visit Dr. John Hall (Shakespeare’s son-in-law) with a sore throat, he would hold a frog in your throat until . . . well, let’s just say until it did what frogs do. That either cleared up the problem, or kept the patient from ever going back – so Dr. Hall thought they were cured! Anyhow, that’s where the phrase “I’ve got a frog in my throat”comes from.

Notice the sign at the top of the picture "Moon" - perfect for Peggy

Then it was back on the bus to London. After checking into our rooms, John led some of us to dinner in Chinatown. We learned to navigate through “the Tube” (subway) and found our way to a delicious Chinese restaurant. Even with taking the Tube (not riding the tube – we were corrected by John) we had quite a walk through the streets of London. A four hour dinner trip that was quite an adventure!

I know everyone has been waiting for word from England, but believe me, there has not been time to type even a short message and internet connections are sometimes hard to come by when you’re traveling!
I posted last on Friday night and we hadn’t really done much yet at that point. Since then things have really picked up and I don’t know how to fit it all in!!

Saturday was a free day for the singers and they explored all around Leeds. Many had a chance to visit the Armouries Museum, some enjoyed shopping while others went to the Victorian arcades – and then there were a few who made their way over to Leed’s Town Hall to “make sure it’s ready for us”.

The Ball was absolutely amazing and I find it hard to even put into words. I had the singers share with me what they thought of it all.

Peggy Moon – Exquisite! More elegant than I could have realized.

Kathleen Devitt – I was amazed at the friendliness of the UK people! I felt a real sense of “family”. (Kathleen and Peggy also enjoyed a meal at the Pack Horse Pub, dining on Yorkshire Pudding and Steak and Ale Pie.)

Barbara Saldarriaga – As they say in England, “brilliant!” The high point for me was when everyone sang together, “Starlight Express”. There was such an emotional bond in the room.

Barbara Watson – Magnificent! It was so special to be treated like royalty! The UK people treated us so well and everything was so well organized.

David and Bernice Andrews – Everything was so well orchestrated. Somehow between noon and 7:00 pm the room was transformed to look like a million bucks. It was a class act!

\George and LeJeune Smith – We were thrilled with the friendliness of the Brits at our table – especially John’s mum and dad. (George was dressed in his full Abraham Lincoln costume and caused quite a stir! He posed for many pictures on Saturday night. He has portrayed Abe Lincoln in over 750 presentations, but said this is the first time Lincoln has been to the UK!!)

Richard McKee – Had a “Ball”! The amount of people and enthusiasm reached out and pulled you into the family.
Shelby McKee – Everything reminds me of a song and this evening reminded me of “Hello Dolly” when she sings, “We’ve got elegance”. This was the most elegant event I’ve ever been to!

Marge Gehring – I could never have imagined singing “Starlight Express” with over 550 fellow singers and even more stars twinkling on the walls above us. Beautiful centerpieces and elegant decorations!

Elaine Zurowski – I was impressed with the chair covers! It was all so well planned. Singing “Starlight” and “Bohemian Raphsody” gave me goosebumps.

\Marie Brancato – It was great to feel like a celebrity. Even with our different accents, our voices joined together beautifully.

Sarai Cowin – Behind every successful man is a very tired woman! Linda and her team were amazing – everyone was so committed to put it together. We are part of one great Sing Live family! Everyone went out of their way to welcome us. Some even asked to be pen pals! In traveling together, we have become connected to individuals outside of rehearsal. It’s great to really get to know each other.

Marcia Dawson – The sparkling lights seemed to match the sparkling people! Singing “Starlight” together was amazing. The UK people are delightful!

Marcia Bowen – I enjoyed the one on one time with John Morris. It was very special that he came over to our table and chatted with us and brought his mum and dad over for us to meet.

Pam Kiem – “Starlight” will never be the same! Singing it with 550+ voices from 3 different countries was fantastic!

Jen Stackpole Hazlett – Loved it!! Dancing with the Brits was great fun. It felt immediately like family.


Sarah Thompson – The Tarzan song we’re singing in the concert says, “Two worlds, one family.” That says it all . . . it pulls you in – what a great feeling!