Brasil—July 16 2006

I don't know if people find this unsolicted blog interesting or self-serving or boring or what. Feel free to scroll down the the photos. Those that have sent me e-mails say they enjoy getting some more detail. I do it partly for those on the tour, so we can remember later what we saw, heard, and felt. I don't want the details to be forgotten. Not sure why so many of today's photos are out of focus.

We packed up our things and headed to Niteroi (across the bay from Rio proper) for our second concert with the National Symphony Orchestra. It didn't seem like we got to bed late, but we seemed tired today. A couple guys were putting their heads on the tables in our dressing room. Can we still sing well? Hampton hopped up and had everybody do 20 jumping jacks.

The orchestra played a Mozart overture and then we sang the Coronation Mass in the first half. Before the concert, we were invited to do two encores before intermission. I had told the boys "Beati and Jericho," but backstage thought Beati would put people to sleep, and that we should do just Jericho. But for some reason I changed my mind, and we ended up doing not one or two, but four encores.
The traveling PBA family contingent of eight or so led the cheers from their great seats up front. I felt bad since the soloists came out for another bow, and kind of got stranded as the audience encouraged us to sing more. It was a concert-within-a-concert. Kind of awkward, quite fun, and we just pick a song and sing it since we have so many strong candidates. The orchestra kept telling me the audience was yelling for us to sing more. We did four and maybe could have done more, but as Jim Litton once told me "Leave then wanting more." We stopped after four songs.

The orchestra keeps a book of all their concert programs and has guest artists sign the (huge) book. Mariana, the orchestra manager, became a big PBA fan. One orchestra member said she almost missed the concert because her back was hurting, and after we sang, she felt fine and her back was cured. She said the choir sounded like listening to "the sky." Maybe she meant "heaven," but when people mistranslate something, sometimes you get something better, something poetic, in return. If the sky sang, would it sing Beati Quorum Via? I don't see why not.

When our plans with Varig fell apart, we looked for other concert options in the Rio area. Having toured here with the Cornell Glee Club, Hampton made contact with folks in Cabo Frio, a resort town, and Ruy, the director of the Canta Vento (singing wind) choir, enthusiastically took us on for a concert in the municipal theatre.

The theatre is not huge, about 350 seats, but it was packed and people sitting in the aisles again. I was not on my game; I know some singers that say theyhave moments when they look at music and forget how to read it momentarily. There is a Far Side cartoon where an orchestra member says, "Gee, look at all the little black dots." I have it on my fridge. I had a few of those moments and blew a couple of cues slightly, so if only for that it wasn't our cleanest concert yet. Still, the audience was standing and we did two encores. They had a cool poster for us, which we asked if we could have, and Bryan scaled a wall and cut it down for us. We sold another 30 or so CDs.

Garret, on his first Troubador tour, is starting to think on Troubador tours you're on TV every day. We've been on television in more places than not. Mr. Kula was interviewed for TV in Cabo Frio. Our last concert, we're told, is being recorded for TV.

We had a proper dressing room where everybody had their own seat, so Mr. Tarango and Peter orchestrated a folding contest as we used to do at ABS. It's brilliant since it gives everyone something to do, and gives guys another way to show some individuality in the context of a trip where lots of things have to be done all together the same way. This wasn't the first folding contest, but was by far the best, and though I used to do this myself at ABS, I never really thought about how these little things, some seemingly stupid, can make a big difference in a concert.

We had dinner at a local Italian restaurant, and exchanged gifts with the folks from Canta Vento. Their choir and town symbol is a windmill, and both Page and I got a windmill. We gave Ruy CDs and a bottle of California wine. The next day, Ruy passed along a card, which I now keep in my music bag. He wrote:

"My very dear Page, Kevin, Chris, Marcia, Jonathan, and everybody:
Indeed to negotiate with the Town Hall administrators, the hotel owners, the restaurant owners, the press, the TV persinnel to advertise, and so on and so forth, was somewhat exhaustive. But I must confess that my whole energy of before, and indeed more was already again in my soul at the end of the concert: I had already had my whole compensation, a superabundant compensation. May God pay for you for everything, for your art which is unique. Some day perhaps we meet again: it will always be some glorious day. We are united in love of mankind. The words being not sufficient...
Long live you all!
Ruy"

A propos of nothing: Headboy nominees are Timothy, Kerry with a K, Jacob, and Polish Adam. They will prepare a two-minute speech and find an advocate to speak on their behalf for one minute, then we will have a vote for next year's Head Boy.

Pam tells me we've sold almost US$2000 in CDs so far. We use the cash to do tour bank or buy food or water for the boys. We're buying a lot of water. Everf seen a 10liter container before? They're big. And heavy. And oh s***, did that one just break!??! Pull over, let the flood drain out of the bus!

We stayed at a residence hotel, where all rooms had a kitchen a washroom (as opposed to a bathroom, which they also had), and either two bedrooms or a sitting room and a bedroom. The hotel & dinner provided by the kind folks in Cabo Frio.

Peter keeps chiming in on random and less-random trivia to kep things lively, and gives the choir performing suggestions, mostly about walking on and off stage or holding folders or whatever. Because we have a concert almost every day, we can practice these things and get them right in a matter or days, rather than over months or years when we're no on tour. But more importantly, having Peter, Tim, Bryan, Fernando, and Hampton shows the PBA guys older guys who are passionate about music and performing, who challenge them to get better. There's no mystery to it, it is just diffcult to get all the pieces there at the same place and time. Kind of like how I envision that any one of the Beatles could have had a good band with three different other band members, and you see a lot of good bands, but when time and space allow for all the Beatles to Come Together at the same place and time, you get the Beatles. Rather than another good, but less monumental, band.

I digress. This opportunity to have a strong, experienced Continuum group along with the oldest, largest, and most experienced Troubador group ever, our great staff, and our guest singers, has made this choir so impressive. I'm just amazed at their sound concert after concert. These guys are starting to act and feel like professionals. They are having great time just singing. The work has been put in over months, and now we just sing incredibly difficult music for fun. I've never seen the PBA sing with this much energy. We get to a new venue, and we check placement and acoustics and a couple spots here and there, and we're done rehearsing until the concert.

Not counting tomorrow's brief sing at Melodia, this choir has one more concert, and I will surely miss this choir. Every year is great for its own reasons, and next year's choir will be great I know. But we have reached a high level in this choir I knew PBA could find, but didn't see it happening anytime in the near future if ever. These guys challenged themselves and, inspired by the audiences we've had, became an amazing choir. The sound is incredible. "Astonishing" comes to mind. To various degrees of success, we've recorded many of the concerts, but it will not substitute for being there in a packed room, with boys spread around the room, or seeing the people smile and cheer when Hampton sings Precious Lord or City Called Heaven. This is why we do this. This is why we work hard through the year, this is why we travel and why we came here. I will never forget this tour and this choir, and the boys will not either. (yet, we've been able to say that every year and it just gets better...) This is the unbelievable cultural and musical experience that make it all worthwhile. I'm so proud of these young men right now. This is the choir the PBA was founded to become.

Tomorrow we go to the beach here and then back to Rio to join Melodia in the evening.