Tuesday morning found Oasis Chorale deeply refreshed from a Monday off and a solid night of rest. After downing our continental breakfast and doing our individual warmups, we trundled onto the bus for the short ride to Grantham Brethren in Christ Church. Our morning’s agenda? A workshop with Dr. Joy Meade. Dr. Meade conducts several choirs and ensembles at the nearby Messiah University, and she spent three hours gently urging us to keep growing in our musical capacities.
We learned to sing like snowplows, to add specific color to individual words within a song, and to keep breath moving forward through the end of a phrase. The morning flew by, and soon we were marching to Messiah University’s dining hall for a staggering variety of lunch options. Some of us even managed to drift through the athletic center on our way to the dining hall. Wow. Crazy how lost one can get. One of my favorite moments from lunch was the joy of sinking my teeth into a hotdog slathered with sauerkraut and other wonderful condiments.
Our afternoon of rehearsal began with our very own Kristen, our very own vocal coach, working us through our very own vocal paces, experimenting with both steady tone and a more colorful, vibrato-y tone. We also worked several problem spots in the rep and did our normal pre-concert walk-through. Dr. Meade graciously provided us with a delicious supper of pulled pork sandwiches, and before long, our concert was underway. The audience was attentive and appreciative.
After the concert, we hobnobbed with attendees, and several of us at the sales table managed to give away lots and lots of CDs (shouts to Sarah). Post-concert, we loaded the bus for one final time and were whisked back to Neffsville Mennonite, where we unloaded and disbanded for the night. The bus tour section of OC 2026 was over.
On Wednesday morning, the sun rose well before I did. Our morning off was a great chance to snatch some much-needed rest. What a delightful break. We met in the early afternoon at Resurrection Philadelphia church in steamy downtown Philly for rehearsal. It took a little while for our groggy bodies and voices to adjust to the rigors of rehearsal and the warm sanctuary, but before long, our vocal engines were purring. The acoustic in the church was warm and lovely, and as the golden light streamed through the impressive stained glass windows, we began to anticipate the sounds of the concert to come.
After a sumptuous supper provided by the Sixth Street Mission folks (these people know how to make a mean chicken sandwich), we prepped and got on stage. The crowd was small but very friendly, and we soon settled into the welcoming atmosphere they helped create. I was grateful for this settledness, as we had cameras pointed at us for the entire evening. Myron Eby, accompanied by several cronies and a bevy of videography equipment, manned the lenses to capture our repertoire for posterity. An hour and a half and several bucketsful of sweat later, we had released the final chord of “Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow” into the humid air, and another concert was in the books.
We’re grateful to all the people who have shown up to attend our concerts. Thank you for your support!
Joseph Miller, Tenor 2