We woke up bright and early to make two pick-ups: one in Klarup at a school, which most of the host families’ singers attend, and another in Aalborg, right outside of a beautiful new Music School. Singers were abuzz with fun facts about how they had spent their night with their host families. Chloe was particularly excited to tell us about her host mom, who is a baker, and had packed her freshly baked rolls as part of her lunch. Ava and Milla enjoyed their dinner of tacos, which seemed like a popular meal of choice for several of the families.

We started our day of sightseeing by touring the Aalborg Kulturskole, a local visitor’s center that houses music lessons, sports facilities, dance classes, concerts, and more fun cultural activities. Many of our ambitious singers climbed all 13 floors of stairs to make it to the top to enjoy the gorgeous view of Aalborg (which was well worth the trek). Plus, the exercise helped us get warm on this pretty overcast, and a bit rainy Denmark day!

We continued our sightseeing at the Lindholm Høje Museet, a local Viking museum! The burial site of Lindholm Høje is one of the most beautiful ancient monuments in Denmark from the late Iron Age and Viking Age. There are several hundred stone circles, which indicate the tombs. Our singers enjoyed exploring the tombs, and saying “Hej” to the sheep that filled the grassy fields. The site also includes a museum, where we had the opportunity to see an exhibition on the lives of the Vikings on Lindholm Høje, as well as a new exhibition on the ancient time in the land of the Limfjorden. Elizabeth and Phoebe particularly enjoyed learning about the “Flint Knappers” who collected flint to make weapons and tools.

After eating what looked like very yummy picnic lunches, which were generously packed by the homestay families of the Klarup Pigekor, we departed the museum by bus to head to Budolfi Kirke, a beautiful church in the center of town, which would be our meeting spot for the rest of the day, and our concert venue for later that night.

For the rest of the afternoon, singers were given free time to explore the walking streets and local shopping in the area immediately surrounding the church. Singers had the opportunity to hunt for souvenirs, mentor/mentee gifts, and yummy snacks.

We reconvened at 4pm to start prep for our second concert. Singers love to take the time to braid each other’s hair, and get in “the zone” before dress rehearsals. We had a brief joint rehearsal with the Klarup choir to run our two mass pieces for the night. The concert was at 7:30pm, and Ensemble kicked off the show with He’s Gone Away. They performed a particularly haunting and magical rendition of nagasaki, another Eric Tuan original.

After a long day of sightseeing and a late show, singers were excited to reunite with their host families for their final night together! We head to Herning tomorrow, where we will spend our final three nights in Denmark.

Check out this video of the choir singing in the lobby at the Kulturskole: https://youtu.be/VC9kZyHF5xM

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