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When the McDonogh’s Concert Choir broke out in an impromptu concert in Pele du Pont (the Pope’s Palace) in Avignon, 法国最近, a young European couple stopped and asked chaperone Libet Ottinger if the choir was doing any more performances. She told them the group was performing that night in Cavaillon, about an hour away. The vacationing couple was so impressed that they made the trip to attend the concert.

From June 16 to June 27, McDonogh’s Concert Choir took its biannual foreign tour. Their singing took them to Spain, 安道尔, 和法国, where they stayed in hotels in Barcelona and Cavaillon.

As always, the choir’s performances impressed listeners. Ottinger noted the choir’s particular skill for connecting with the audience. Fellow chaperone Alex Gardner, who recorded all the events, freely admitted getting “misty-eyed” every time the students sang certain numbers.

The students were so excited to be abroad that they broke out in song whenever possible. The most memorable, according to 凯瑟琳一个. ’11, was in Aix-en-Provence. 在那里, they befriended a couple of street performers in the city square who could play “Under the Bridge” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. As choir members sang along, the people sitting outside the surrounding restaurants and shops listened and clapped along with the music.

Also memorable was the concert in 安道尔. McDonogh had the privilege of being the first American choir ever to sing in 安道尔, and the event was widely publicized and heavily attended. The stirring music even inspired a couple of local children, a little boy in the balcony and a little girl who moved up to the front row, who both enthusiastically conducted the choir from their seats.

As impressive as the students’ talent was, 然而, it was their attitude that really made this a special group. Chaperone Ceil Millar described them as “cooperative, 灵活的,” and “just really open to the experience.” Ottinger, who has been on seven of these trips, called them “the best group ever.”

This great attitude made the students great ambassadors for McDonogh and for the United States as a whole. This was evident at the choir’s last concert, alongside an adult community choir in Caumont-sur-Durance. After the concert, the two choirs dined together. 在那里, a sing-off between the two began, with sub-groups of the choir like Gentleman Songsters and Women of Note performing some of their favorites.

Afterward, the mayor of the town, who was 6 when the U.S. liberated France from Nazi occupation in 1944, told the students that he was happy to finally be able to thank Americans for what they had done back then. 此外, an old woman from the community choir made a point of telling the adults that McDonogh students had forever changed her perception of American teenagers for the better.

In addition to singing, the trip included a day at the beach in the town of Tossa de Mar on the Mediterranean Sea, a trip to an 安道尔n spa, and a shocking exposure to some au naturel French bikers. 凯瑟琳一个. described the whole experience as “exciting, rewarding, challenging, and fun.宝贝B. ’10 called it “the trip of a lifetime.”