Back to Deutschland we go! The singers got a relaxed start on the day by sleeping in and having breakfast with their homestays. Their generous Danish hosts were sad to see the ensemble singers go after a fun-filled 3 days in Herning! At 10:30am, we all congregated by the music school, where Ensemble said goodbye to their hosts with words and with song by performing Homeward Bound.

Once everyone was on board, we were off. Our lovely hosts were kind enough to pack all of the kids and the chaperones lunches to eat. We stopped around 1pm to stretch our legs and for a quick lunch. Anna and Catalina had a whole grocery bag full of goodies. Their homestays really didn’t want them to get hungry! During the remainder of our journey, chaperone Katrina taught the whole bus a German birthday round, Viel Glück und Viel Segen. After learning the text, the whole bus had a mini-aural skills lesson and had to dictate the melody in solfege. Ensemble is now very ready to serenade those singers who have birthdays coming up in the next few days!

Once we arrived in Hamburg, we went straight to rehearsal with the Hamburg Mädchenchor. Ensemble acted with a great deal of maturity and poise during the rehearsal, considering how tired they all were! Then, it was time to perform. The Hamburg Mädchenchor performed first, singing a diverse set including German, Norwegian, Finnish, and American music. A particular favorite that was heard was Panta Rhei by American composer, Jim Papoulis. This piece included a lot of clapping, stomping, and extra motions that really enhanced the music! Ensemble then took the stage. Starting with the Finnish piece Hanget Soi, the singers of Ensemble went on to perform a very strong set of nearly all of their tour repertoire. The audience favorites tonight included Eric Tuan’s nagasaki and Danish composer Michael Bojesen’s Eternity. At the end of their performance, Ensemble received a standing ovation, so they then performed a moving rendition of Homeward Bound as an encore for our new hosts. To end the evening, both choirs performed Richard Smallwood’s spiritual Total Praise and two German pieces, including Johannes Brahms’ Guten Abend, gut Nacht.

And with that, as the singers sleep soundly in their new homestay’s houses, we bid you a Gute Nacht!

Goodbye song for our friends in Herning: https://youtu.be/1cBF-dTJXsc

Click through the slideshow below for some highlights: