Pilgrimage to England with St. Paul's Choir June 18-28, 2009

2009-07-14T23:13:00.001+01:00

2009-07-11T21:48:00.000+01:00

The whole trip was truly exceptional. Everyday was a new adventure and not once was I disappointed! My most treasured tour moment was singing in St. Paul's Cathedral and hearing our voices echo while we sang. An awesome experience! -Lee Larkin

more from our singers and groupies...

2009-07-09T19:48:00.002+01:00

I have to begin at St Paul’s: when we stood under the dome to sing, we looked out over a sea of faces; I wondered if they had any idea what they were about to hear. I remembered Douglas saying that “many” had wanted to sing here, but we had been selected. During that concert, each time Douglas gave us a cut-off I felt as though our sound was flowing over everyone, bathing

2009-07-08T20:06:00.001+01:00

singing evensong in Bristol Cathedral - learning from Douglas before the service that our plainsong Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis were the most appropriate settings we could sing in that ancient space - being affected by the women's beautiful singing of the Magnificat (I'm glad we didn't have to sing immediately after that!)riding in our coach through the idyllic Cotswolds and suddenly spotting a

2009-07-06T16:16:00.002+01:00

The glorious weather!! The gorgeous church at Dover Castle. The superb tour of Canterbury Cathedral and our very knowledgable docent. Two of the best meals I've ever eaten: Lunch and dinner in Canterbury. Hearing the wonderful resonance of our choir's sound at St. Paul's in London. The moving Communion service where we all gathered around the altar at St. James, Picadilly.-Chris MartinAt first

More responses from our singers and groupies...

2009-07-04T11:38:00.005+01:00

So many favorites . . . where to begin? In the spiritual realm, my time at Canterbury left the deepest impression. As a convert to Anglicanism (rather than the "cradle" kind) I don't think I've ever so fully experienced our roots and my connection to them. Musically? The choir performed beautifully -- I almost soared with the sound as it re-sounded up and up and up into the dome of St. Pauls.

Message from a singer...

2009-07-02T18:34:00.003+01:00

Only a few years ago I would have never guessed that I would be singing in cathedrals across England with a quality choir. At our Concert at St Paul’s Alexandria one of my friends commented on how well we did singing most of our music a cappella, I had not thought of it that way. Finally, singing at St Paul’s in London and hearing our music reverberate over us under the dome was a highlight. -

Day 10...

2009-07-02T14:37:00.005+01:00

In my mind, Sunday is framed with the amazing experiences of the recent days, concluding our tour Sunday morning with the service at St. James's, Piccadilly in London and walking the St. Paul's Choir mascot Frida in our Washington D.C. Capitol Hill neighborhood just before midnight!Why did we choose St. James's for our final morning? It is commonly believed that Wren's St. James's inspired

Day 9...

2009-06-28T01:54:00.007+01:00

The group thoroughly enjoyed their free time in London today, a continuation of yesterday afternoon. Miraculously, no rain had fallen except for overnight during the tour until late this afternoon on our coach ride to Covent Garden for our farewell dinner. Many moving sentiments were shared among us falling under the category of "what happens in London stays in London."But, I can tell you that

Day 8

2009-06-27T09:41:00.007+01:00

Here in London there have been plenty of chances for folks to explore the city and it has been quite fun to randomly bump into those we know in this thriving city of over 7,500,000.Yesterday morning groups of us were off on the Tube or city busses (yes, the double decker ones) for St. Paul's Cathedral, [http://www.stpauls.co.uk/]designed by Christopher Wren after the previous one was destroyed in

Day 6 and 7...

2009-06-25T09:29:00.008+01:00

Canterbury Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This has been the case since Pope Gregory appointed the first Archbishop, Augustine, to Canterbury in the 590's. Thomas Beckett was selected by Henry II for Archbishop in 1162. Those were days of social turbulence and political upheaval. Beckett, during his life, spoke up for the church even when it was add odds with the King. For

Day 5...

2009-06-24T22:10:00.016+01:00

Tuesday morning we were on the move again, leaving Oxford for our next overnight in Canterbury. Two scheduled stops broke up the long drive eastward. We first stopped in Rochester to visit the castle [http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.14818] and cathedral, England's second oldest dating back to 602. [http://www.rochestercathedral.org/cathedral/index.asp] Charles Dickens resided

Day 4...

2009-06-23T23:11:00.012+01:00

The whole of Monday was spent in Oxford. Think "land of Lewis Carroll (Chancellor at Christ Church College) and C.S. Lewis (Professor at Magdalen College (pronounced MAUD-E-LIN), Presidents Carter (Honorary Fellow, Mansfield College) and Clinton (Rhodes Scholar, University College)" and you have the general idea. Oxford University is made up of forty-four colleges. Scenes from Harry Potter

Days 2 - 3...

2009-06-21T18:50:00.010+01:00

Saturday morning began with David Brock and I traveling by car to Bristol Cathedral to set up and practice on their famous 1907 J.W. Walker & Sons pipe organ for the Choral Evensong. The organ includes components dating back to 1685 and is one of the finest examples of the English Romantic genre in the country. [http://www.bristol-cathedral.co.uk/index.php?id=32] Meanwhile, the choir and groupies

Day 1...

2009-06-19T22:54:00.014+01:00

concludes with what I am sure will be a night of peaceful rest...our first since leaving home. After a long day of traveling from Heathrow and a stop to stretch our legs while visiting Stonehenge we have found our accommodations in Limpley Stokes to be quintessentially English for which we are happy. We are also happy for lost passports that were found with only a minor detour and family that

On the day of our departure...

2009-06-18T15:53:00.007+01:00

This past Sunday morning, this sending prayer was prayed, sending us forth from our parish on our pilgrimage: Gracious God, you know our coming and going, our rising and sitting, even our words before they are sung and spoken. We give you thanks for the St. Paul’s Choir who minister beside us in the music and worship of this place. We give you thanks for the marvelous gifts of music, care, and

As we prepare to leave home...

2009-06-03T18:22:00.013+01:00

In just a few days the choir and I will depart from St. Paul's and the worship space we love tocall home. Our destination is England and a ten day singing tour. We are in the midst of the final stages of preparations: final rehearsals, a recording session for a CD to be released on September 26, packing and caring for ourselves so we maintain good health in anticipation of beautiful singing and