Choir of America's 2nd Oldest College Tours Romania, Hungary, Slovenia & Croatia
Second tour with Classical Movements for the Choir of the College of William and Mary after successful 2002 Scandinavian tour
Accustomed to singing abroad regularly, the Choir of the College of William and Mary and the Botetourt Chamber Singers embarked on a 22-day journey of four countries. The Choir, following the 83-year tradition of choral singing at the College of William and Mary, performed eight wonderful concerts while on tour, including venues in Bucharest, Timisoara, Budapest, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Rijeka, Korcula and Dubrovnik.
The choirs were lead by James Armstrong, Jr. and Jamie Bartlett. When the undergraduate ensemble of about 70 members representing a wide array of disciplines, wasn't busy rehearsing or performing, they had many opportunities to enjoy the rich history and breath-taking landscape of the region. While en route from Romania to Hungary, they experienced one of the most exciting parts of Transylvania—the castle of Bran—supposed home of Prince Vlad Tepes, a.k.a. Dracula. In Slovenia, the group visited the beautiful Alpine resort of Bled, a town nestled at the foot of the Julian Alps. There they took a gondola ride to the small romantic island for a visit to the Bled Castle and Church of the Virgin's Nativity with the famous Bell of Wishes. A visit to the one of the world's largest and most beautiful cave systems, the Postojna Caves, was also not to be missed.
While in Croatia, the group spent time in the seaside resort city of Opatija, which features old-style villas surrounded by luxurious subtropical vegetation. A highlight of the tour was a visit to Plitvice National Park with its 16 crystal blue lakes, joined to each other by a series of cascading waterfalls. Further down the coast, the choir attended a Mareska sword dance in Korcula, birthplace of Marco Polo. The last stop on the tour was Dubrovnik, where in addition to performing one last concert, the group learned of the city's rich history and enjoyed relaxing on the beach while reflecting upon their successful journey.
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