Day 3, which is typically our most difficult day on tour due to jetlag, started bright and early at 8am at Christuskirche, the main rehearsal and concert space of the Hannover Mädchenchor. We convened with the singers, all of whom were eager to share their stories of their first nights with their host families. Between home made pizza, barbecue dinners, and some early nights’ sleep, everyone seemed well-rested, well-fed, and eager to be back together again.

After a short rehearsal in the church, where we discovered the beautiful acoustics and prepared for our first concert tonight, we headed to the bus. We were then took a short trip over to the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus) for an amazing tour, and the wonderful opportunity to meet and speak with the meeting Mayor of Hannover. The New Town Hall is a city hall that was opened on July 20, 1913, after having been under construction for 12 years. It is a magnificent, castle-like building in the eclectic style at the southern edge of the city (right outside of the historic city center of Hannover). While her translator was running late, the Mayor did an extraordinary job herself of explaining some of the history, and current fun facts of Hannover. Our choir had the opportunity to sit in the very room where Hannovarian politicians sit once a month to vote on important municipal issues. We also learned about two of the most important historical people who came from Hannover! First we got to hear about Niki de Saint Phalle. She was a sculptor and painter who was one of the few women artists widely known for her monumental sculptures. The second, Gottfriend Wilhelm Leibniz, was a German philosopher and mathematician, who invented the binary sequence! We can thank him for our 0s and 1s, and for helping create one of the first calculators. We also had the opportunity to eat some yummy chocolate cookies, called Leibniz Cookies! Named after the mathematician himself, of course. Our last visit at the New Town Hall was for lunch, where singers had the options of currywurst sausage, a German Stew, and vegetarian stir-fry. All of the dishes were yummy and filling, and singers were pleased to fill their bellies before our next excursion!

After lunch, we assembled for a walking tour of The Old Town, which was the hub of life in Hannover before the Second World War. Unfortunately, after the bombing raid of WWII, there was almost nothing left of Hannover’s old town. However, during the rebuilding of Hannover, parts of the old buildings, mainly the facades, were transferred and concentrated in this area. We were lucky enough to go inside of Hannover’s oldest church, the Marktkirche, built in 1333. Our very own chaperone, Katrina, did an amazing job of translating for our German tour guide as we visited the church, and several other beautiful and historic sights.

After about 1.5 hours of walking, the singers were happy to let their (still a bit jet lagged) selves nap for a couple hours before one last rehearsal. Our concert with Madchenchor Hannover started at 7pm, and was a HUGE success! The Hannover Mädchenchor started the concert with three beautiful German songs. Ensemble then took the whole crowds breath away with about 50 minutes of heartfelt music. Ensemble did a particularly impressive performance of Eric Tuan’s Nagasaki. Bob even brought our singers out for an Encore of Homeward Bound after the whole audience banged their feet on the church floors in support, and ultimately gave us a standing ovation.

Though still a bit tired, the passion-filled performance seemed to bring new life to the singers. We happily walked across the street for a late dinner, where most of the homestay families joined us for pizza and pasta.

It’s off to bed now, before we head to Denmark bright and early tomorrow!

Click through the sideshow below to view some highlights from today: