May 25 - Nick Fritschler, Cailey Kudrna & Bridgette McCarthy

Today was Chamber Choir's final formal performance. We opened the show for the dancers by performing our set of four Italian madrigals, followed by the sixth overall performance of A Time to Dance by Gonzaga's dancers. Their performances have changed with venue - four in GU's new performing arts center, one in Florence's Pergola Theater, and now here - but the biggest change in this case was the presence of our choir in the audience instead of sharing the stage.

In prior rehearsals and performances, the choir had seen glimpses of the dancers' craft, and perhaps even felt we understood what they were doing behind Dr. Westerhaus' conducting arms. Only in that moment did we realize the magnitude of what we had been missing. The choir began to appreciate how every dancer reflected text, emotion, music and season in their every movement, posture and expression. How we were finally able to see, in full, the amount of thought that went into every detail of the costumes, choreography, and sharing of the stage between each of the dancers. What a treat it was to finally be able to see what the audience was able to enjoy during every other performance.

Though we were unable to sing on stage with them, this performance gave us the realization that we had participated in bringing to life something simultaneously unique, stunning and multidisciplinary. The dancers added a visual breath of life to this music, something that had never been done in prior productions of Alec Roth's work. This performance culminated our awe and gratitude for the art that we have created together, the experiences we have gotten to share together and the friendships we have been able to build. This was the last performance of A Time to Dance by Gonzaga students, and the dancers will depart in the morning. As we all go our separate ways, we will continue to reflect, remember and be grateful for the experiences we have shared, and the art we have had the pleasure to create with one another.

- Nick Fritschler & Cailey Kudrna

This morning started off a little slow, but got rolling along pretty quickly. 

After a breakfast of croissants, cold cuts, peach juice and other pastries, we headed down to the Red Cross Tour at 9:30am. We arrived and were ushered in quickly to a room that just barely fit all of us. Our tour guide talked to us about Henry Dunant who observed the Red Cross in action in Castiglione and noticed something quite peculiar. This was a medical organization that didn’t care which side you were on; if you were wounded you were taken care of. This eventually turned into the Red Cross and for a long time only Swedish citizens were allowed to serve as this country was neutral in many conflicts in Europe. Henry Dunant helped create the International Red Cross and also proposed and established the Geneva Convention. As a result, Henry Dunant was the very first recipient of the Nobel peace prize.

Our tour also talked more about present day medical war issues. We saw pictures of how civilians were effected by the tragedies of war. These pictures were heartbreaking but important because they were true and real. We saw struggles of the aftermath of war too. Many farmers in Middle-eastern counties have unexpectedly activated a land mine that was left there from a previous war. The Red Cross is able to provide to them ways to rehabilitate and sometimes give them artificial limbs to be able to walk again. From this tour I learned about all the hard work of the workers and volunteers and about problems that are still occurring today in war culture.

After, there was a set up Saturday market on the street with many clothes and a square of fresh produce and large blocks of cheese. We couldn’t stay too long however, because we soon had lunch. 

On our way up to the top of the hill where our temporary home resided, we saw lizards scattering into the scrubby hillside sprinkled with poppies. Lunch was very good, with penne pasta with a red sauce and bacon with turkey as our main course. 

We later had free time where I rested and then we had rehearsal. We ran through our songs and got to see our new space. After, a few of us got Gelato and then had pizza for dinner. It started to sprinkle raindrops on us on our way to the top of the hill once again. 

On the way down to the Teatro Sociale (where we performed), the manager of the hotel brought us umbrellas and then insisted on driving all the ladies to the spot. She was funny, but got a little upset at others driving too slow and was often honking her horn and saying who knows what in Italian! 

Our performance was sweet, and it was really enjoyable being able to share our songs with everyone, including the dancers who have been a large part of our stay here. Watching the A Time to Dance performance from the front for the first time was really gorgeous and was like watching a story unfold. It was hard to not sing along! 

Today was an amazing, full day that leaves me ready for whatever adventure awaits tomorrow.

- Bridgette McCarthy