"Renaissance hiccup right there, please."
Guiding 70 singers through a rehearsal last Thursday evening, Traverse City West High School choral director Russ Larimer coached students on the nuances of singing classic vocal pieces composed for the massive and acoustically unique stone Cathedrals. These songs date back hundreds of years and Chorale members will sing in languages including Latin, German and Russian during an upcoming two-week European tour.
"As we sing this type of music in this type of setting, the music is meant to support prayer and not draw attention to yourself," he told his singers of masses they will sing in locales including Notre Dame in Paris and St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. "This is how we can get to the sense of what this music has meant for centuries."
The school's Chorale departs Sunday for performances in venues around the Continent as well as at the prestigious Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales. Both the Chorale and the 16-member Choral-Aires ensemble will sing at Llangollen.
This is the third time that Larimer has taken a group overseas, a tri-annual tradition that provides his singers with invaluable experience. Students began learning the extensive repertoire last spring when Larimer assigned one of the pieces as the audition number for the Chorale, banking on an eager and captive audience to master it early. They have since added piece after piece as he wove the tour numbers into the school year schedule.
"It will probably be the most educational time they've experienced in their whole lives," said Larimer of the trip. "They're so ready to learn and there are such great opportunities on the itinerary that they are just going to be inundated with vast amounts of brand new things on the hour."
A veteran teacher completing his 18th year of teaching in the Traverse City Area Public Schools, Larimer deemed the tour the pinnacle of choral experience.
"At first it's intimidating because they start to hear these incredible sounds that you only hear in recordings," he noted. "We have been performing these pieces throughout the year in an environment where there's usually only a one- or two-second reverberation. But we're going into settings where there will be ten seconds of reverberation time."
Chorale members have forged close bonds over the school year, which featured multiple performance opportunities as well as the annual acclaimed musical. The chance to sing in Europe and spend a fortnight with friends is a wonderful adventure.
"We all get along with each other, we see each other a lot," said Elizabeth Pixley, who just completed her junior year. "It's very exciting and for all your friends who are leaving, it's a great way to bond."
The Chorale will present a send off concert featuring their European tour repertoire on Friday at the school. The evening event is a fundraising finale for a trip that cost each participant $3,865, with group fundraising efforts defraying $1,200 per person.
Despite the steep price tag and two-week duration that cuts into summer job time, 70 out of 74 Chorale members are making the venture, as well as 18 chaperones. Approximately 40-50 percent of the students going are graduated seniors who are both giving up time to earn money for college and spending a significant chunk of change.
Many singers saved and fundraised for months, sometimes years, to make a trip that is rare for high school level singers. The ones that do go are often from private schools or part of an elite camp, where parents have the means to send their children.
"It's a real cross section of financial backgrounds going," said Larimer. "A lot of kids, if they're going to try and make this one they have to start considering it way back."
The West High School Chorale send-off concert will be held Friday at 7 p.m. at the West High School auditorium. Tickets are available at the door for $5 each and doors open at 6:30 p.m. The Chorale still welcomes donations to help defray the cost of the trip for students; for more information, contact Larimer at 933-7798.