The Blue Mountain Christian University Chorale is excited to be taking a trip to Italy on May 13-22, 2024! The students will visit several places while on their trip, including Rome, Vatican City, Sienna, Florence, Padua and Venice. During their stay, they will be able to take in the sights and perform at several different venues.
When asked for one of the main reasons that he wants to take students to Italy, Dr. Gregory Long, Blue Mountain Christian University Chorale director, states that “history” is a large draw. “For the students, I felt like it would be a very rich cultural experience because you’ve got church history, […] ancient history, […] language, and then also, it’s modern too […]; it’s old and new in that one country.”
Long also mentions that Italy is a special place for the chorale students to visit because of its musical history, noting that “Venice is one of those key places for music; [there has] been music written for a particular cathedral there from the 16th century on. That [is] very special.”
The trip is accessible to all that would like to participate. “It’s open to anyone,” mentioned Dr. Long: faculty, staff and alumni are welcome as well as non-chorale students. He notes that students who are not interested in singing on the tour are still welcome to join the trip. “We’ll have non-performers and performers, and then we’ll have guests who [will] perform with us that are not necessarily students. I’m welcoming other people to come and sing, and then we’ll be joining with the Millsaps singers.” The BMCU chorale will be joined by a collection of singers from Millsaps College, and Dr. Long notes that between the two groups he hopes to have roughly 40 to 45 people on the trip.
Students will have several opportunities to give concerts throughout the trip but will also retain plenty of time for other activities. Long states that “we only have four performances scheduled. Two of them are regular open-ended concerts, and two of them are church mass settings that we’ll be joining in at […] a beautiful cathedral.” When considering what types of music to perform at each concert, Dr. Long and the director of the Millsaps choir are preparing a selection of different styles. “We’re looking at some […] early American, folkish, choral music, and then music that would be appropriate for those beautiful cathedrals, that would be more appropriate for those acapella, Latin texts.”
Students planning on joining the chorale tour have many new experiences to look forward to this summer. BMCU sophomore Brianna Wilder states, “I’m so excited for this opportunity to go to so many amazing locations in Italy, all in one trip! I never thought I’d have the opportunity to see the Sistine Chapel, travel by boat in Venice, or sing in a Roman mass, but here we are!”
Dr. Long notes that the first deposit for the trip is not due until the end of October. If any BMCU students are interested in joining the tour, please contact Dr. Long at glong@bmc.edu.
