- Oh My Gaudi! Adventures in Spain
- Singing and Sightseeing in London
By Rylen McGuire, Staff Writer
London is one of the most popular cities in Europe and is visited by over 20 million tourists yearly, known for its rich history and famous landmarks. The TBR Global Studies Program here at Pellissippi State Community College has given many students the opportunity to travel abroad for the first time, myself included. The honors choir here at Pellissippi State, Variations, got a chance to travel together to explore and perform in the beautiful city of London. Every day, there was a new activity and a chance for us to learn about the diverse city while also getting the opportunity to give many London inhabitants their first show from an American choir.
Notable Landmarks
During this trip, we did a few walking tours while also having plenty of time to explore on our own. We got to see many popular and historical places, Westminster Abbey being one of my favorites we visited. Westminster Abbey is a historic church that has held coronations since 1066 and is the burial site for over 3,000 notable figures, including some of the most influential composers and composers of the choral music we performed. Some of those composers include Ralph Vaughan Williams, George Frideric Handel, William Croft, and more. The church is also the site of many notable royal weddings, including Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s wedding in 1947. The structure is 32,000 square feet large, with thousands of beautifully crafted panels of stained glass, magnificent, intricate architecture, and historical artifacts from over the years. Westminster Abbey was a beautiful final walking tour for our trip.
Another famous location we got to explore was the British Museum, which is 990,000 square feet, filled with artifacts and art from all over the globe. We only had about an hour to explore, which barely even scratched the surface of the exhibits. The main ones we explored were the Greek and Roman exhibits, which house architecture, sculptures, jewelry, terracotta, and more from around 5000 BC to the 4th century AD. Opened in 1759, the British Museum is the world’s oldest museum open to the public, with exhibits holding over 8 million historical pieces on many different floors and rooms. Some groups of students came back during their free time just to explore the giant museum more!
Other places we saw included the London Bridge, the London Eye, Shakespeare’s Globe, and, of course, Big Ben. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to explore them in depth, so we only got to view them from the outside. However, they were still memorable places. If I ever get the chance to return to London, I’d love to explore these places more.
Choral Performances
A large part of the trip was bringing our performances to a whole new audience. Variations had the opportunity to perform at the Royal Academy of Music, one of the UK’s oldest and most prestigious music schools. We also performed in the Holy Sepulchre Church and St. George’s Cathedral.
Our first performance was at RAM, kicking off our tour on the second day of the trip. We performed a similar set at each performance, which is about an hour of both sacred and secular selections. We performed songs such as Antiphon by Ralph Vaughan Williams from our sacred pieces, Let My Love Be Heard by Jake Runestad from our secular pieces, and some amazing student soloist performances, which alternated each show. The audience was incredibly responsive and lovely, some of whom stuck around after the show to speak to some of us and thank us for the performance.Â
The next day, we performed at the Holy Sepulchre Church, built around 1450, for an open performance. The openness of the church had incredible acoustics, which were so cool to listen to, especially as a performer. We also had appreciative audience members after this one, one woman informing us we had to try tea and crumpets with jam and clotted cream (we did afterwards, and it was delicious.)
Our final performance was at St. George’s Cathedral, built in 1848, where the acoustics were the most breathtaking. The architecture of this church was beautiful as well, with very tall ceilings and stained glass windows. The audience at this show was also sweet, especially the church staff. We even had a flyer at the front of the church advertising our performance to the public.
We were also invited to sing at The Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home. Many of the residents came to watch us perform, as well as the caretakers and the owner of the nursing home. After the performance, we got the chance to talk to the residents and staff, who were very kind and thankful for our show. Variations was very happy to talk to everyone, and the staff even served cookies and drinks afterwards for everyone. Talking to the residents made me realize how the love of music transcends culture, and it made me happy to make them happy with music!
We also got to do a workshop with the incredible Adenikè Zen at the Institute of Music Performance. Zen is a vocal director, arranger, and coach, and has been backing vocals for notable artists such as Dua Lipa and Demi Lovato. She also sang in the choir at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal wedding in 2018. Zen taught us choral arrangements of Lean on Me by Bill Withers and Stand By Me by Ben E. King, and at the end of the workshop, we were able to use the school’s recording equipment to record our rendition of Stand By Me. It was most of our first times ever recording in a studio, and it was a very useful experience for all of us. Zen taught us good methods for learning and memorizing music, which will definitely help all of us now and in the future. The recording portion was also helpful for our music majors who want to go into professional careers performing and releasing music.
Miscellaneous Activities
While our group activities and performances were amazing, our individual adventures were just as fun! My group went out to explore almost every moment we were free, where we got to see popular places such as Camden Market in Camden Town, which is a historical market with over 1,000 vendors. There was a variety of products, including food and drinks, clothes, jewelry, souvenirs, and more. This is another place I’d love to return to and explore more.
We also got to see Denmark St., which is home to many small musical businesses, such as vinyl record and guitar stores. The record shop we visited is called Rough Trade, which is also an independent record label that the band The Smiths originally signed with in 1983. Another cool place we got to see was a guitar shop that sold only vintage guitars, where some of the oldest ones for sale were from the 1920s. Some friends in my group even got to play a couple of them.
Some other group activities we got to experience were viewing the musical Hadestown, an award-winning Broadway musical. We also got to see the real Abbey Road and take the iconic picture (which actually proved to be difficult because it’s still a real crosswalk), and an activity we couldn’t miss was going to high tea to have authentic UK tea and finger foods. Right after our performance at the Holy Sepulchre Church, we got to take a double-decker bus to a cute tea room, where most of us tried traditional British tea for the first time. The finger foods consisted of savory foods like small sandwiches and crumpets, and also desserts like macarons and brownies. Oddly enough, one of my favorite parts of London was the walking aspect and the public transportation, like the buses and the tube. Being able to get around a city so easily and conveniently was fun for me.
Looking Back
Overall, this trip to London was an incredible opportunity for Variations, both in musical and life experience – not many can say they’ve gotten to travel abroad while in college. However, at Pellissippi State, you can! Even if you’re not in the choir, TBR Global Studies is a scholarship program that helps students go to many countries across the globe, and it’s available to every student. Traveling is a wonderful experience that everyone should get to do at least once in their lives, and TBR makes traveling more accessible. So if you have the chance to travel or study abroad, then take it!
