Seventy-three members of the Hamilton College Choir spent 12 days of spring break traveling across Italy as performers in the annual Hamilton College Choir Concert Tour. Singing from Venice, to Florence, to Perugia, to Rome, the students completed the choir's sixth European concert tour under the direction of G. Roberts Kolb. While the choir tours a region of the United States every March, the European tour is a special privilege that comes only once every four years.
The morning of its first full-day in Venice, the choir warmed up with an impromptu performance of Jubilate Deo (written by the Italian renaissance composer Palestrina), outside of the Doge's Palace. After two days of Venetian dining and exploring, including visits to the Murano glassmaker's island and attendance at performances such as a local string quintet's take on Vivaldi's Four Seasons, the choir gave its first full-length concert in the Duomo S. Lorenzo. Many choir members were blown away not only by the beauty of the church, but by the warmth of the audience, some of whom stuck around to congratulate and chat with students afterward.
Trekking on to Florence, the choir stopped for lunch in Bologna, the home of tortellini, and explored Florence's biggest sites, including the Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, and the Medici Chapels as a group. Individually, many students were delighted to see the Botticelli room and several da Vinci paintings at the Uffizi Gallery, and visit Michelangelo's colossal David at the Academia. Some more senior members were visited by choir alumnus, Marco Allodi '08.
On March 21, the choir performed its second concert not in Florence, but at the Chiesa S. Catherina in nearby Pisa, where the concert was sponsored by UNESCO. Several students commented that while they had sung in many beautiful churches on the domestic tours of previous years, there was an unparalleled enchantment to singing in a vast Dominican church from the 13th century, complete with tombstones and partially restored frescoes. For a second time, the choir was touched by the hospitality of Italian audiences, this time demonstrated with a full hors d'oeuvres and dessert bar following the concert.
After three days in Florence, the choir departed for Perugia, where singers who could fight the call to sleep spent the afternoon and evening exploring a charming city that some call Italy's artistic center. The next morning, the choir went on an excursion to Assisi, where they had the privilege of warming up for the night's concert with a spontaneous performance in the Basilica of St Francis of Assisi.
Upon returning to Perugia, the group had a couple hours to pass out paper invitations advertising the night's performance in order to encourage a better turnout than the choir had received last time it was in Perugia. Despite the rain, the concert at Sala dei Notari in Palazzo dei Priori had the highest attendance yet, including three Hamilton juniors studying abroad in town. Sponsored by the Municipality Perugia, the performance was followed by a very emphatic speech by a local leader, and the gift of books and stationary to each choir member from local students hoping to start their own choir, asking Hamilton not to forget Perugia.
The last leg of the journey was Rome, stopping in the picturesque town of Orvieto for lunch and a spontaneous cathedral performance along the way. Fitting of a grand finale, the visit to Rome concluded the tour with not only the most celebrated venues, but with what the entire Choir agreed was their best performance. An initial evening that included a fun impromptu singing of Jubilate Deo at the Pantheon was followed by a morning tour of the Coliseum, the Forum, and the Circus Maximus. On Thursday, March 26, the choir had the special opportunity to sing at 5 p.m. Mass in the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica.
Although the Pope himself was in Cameroon, the entire choir stood in complete awe of the opulence and significance of the cathedral in which they were singing, the very epicenter of the Catholic Church. While some students felt moved to take communion, everyone was humbled by the ability to participate in such a grand ceremony. Later on the same evening, the choir gave its final performance at the Chiesa S. Marcello al Corso. Almost every member agreed that this final concert was the best of the tour, and the perfect note on which to end.
At the farewell dinner in Rome, tears flowed among seniors as they reflected on not only their incredible experience on this particular tour, but on all of their experiences in choir over the past four years. Even among younger students, there was a deep appreciation for the opportunity. James Beslity'11 called the tour his "best experience yet at Hamilton," describing it as a "once-in-a-lifetime chance to tour a foreign country as a member of a first class performing arts group." It was certainly an unforgettable experience for every participant.
The Hamilton College Choir boasts an uninterrupted tradition of fine choral singing that dates back for over a century, and under the direction of G. Roberts Kolb since 1981. The tour is supported in part by The John L. Baldwin Jr. Memorial Fund, established in memory of the Choirmaster at Hamilton from 1946 to 1964.
The Choir's Home Tour Concert will take place in Wellin Hall on Friday, April 3 at 8 p.m.. In addition to nine classical pieces, two spirituals, and five pieces by the College Hill Singers, the concert will include a unique arrangement of Ecce Beatam Lucem by Allesandro Striggio, divided into 40 individual voice parts.
