Holy Cross College Choir

Yesterday, May 30th, was our long-anticipated free day to explore Buenos Aires. To some a free day to decide what to do in a new city might seem overwhelming, but we had the opportunity to meet up with HC study abroad students who showed us their favorite places. Their four months of Buenos Aires experience certainly came in handy for us newcomers of five days! We had a delicious lunch of Argentinian cuisine at Cholita (introduced to us by Monic    a of study abroad fame) in Ricoletta, one of the neighborhoods in Buenos Aires. We had empanadas and steak among other traditional dishes. Afterwards, Michaela (also of study abroad fame) took us to Havana, a coffee shop. This was prime because we got to try Argentinian coffee and see more of the city.

Following our coffee, Michaela and Monica took us a street fair in a park in Ricoletta. The fair was stunning. The park was bursting with booths full of hand-made jewelry, clothing, paintings and other trinkets. There were many musicians playing in different locations in the park. The atmosphere was great and we had so much fun.

Following our day of exploration, we all met up for one of the best cultural events of the trip so far. We had the opportunity to take a tango class at La Ventana – un barrio de Tango. At La Ventana we took an hour-long class where we learned the basic steps of the tango. We partnered up and got to practice our newfound skills.

The best part, though, was the tango show that followed dinner. We were treated to two hours of tango and Argentinian music. The dancers and musicians were amazing. I did not know how beautiful tango could be until we saw the incredible dancers. The show was very patriotic, especially when they sang Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina (No llores por mi, en español) – the dancers came through the audience waving Argentinian flags. Everyone was blown away by the show. To end the night, we were all presented with certificates to commemorate the beginning steps of our tango careers. It was a great day!

Rose Fusco ’17

Usually when you see a choir performing with an orchestra you see a huge group of singers.  Even professional choirs usually hire 40+, but 21 collegiate (mostly underclassmen) against a full orchestra?!  Yeah, that doesn’t happen often, but last night, our HC College Choir not only held their own, they were glorious, singing out over the Universidad del Salvador orchestra (a very fine band) just like pros.

How did this happen?  Teaching and dedication.  Going into the spring semester, our vocologist (voice scientist), Laurel Mehaffey, and myself set out with the goal to teach the choir how to sing operatically.  That’s a goal that most people reserve for decades of study, and we had 45 days.  We condensed the main elements of operatic singing into individual parts, explained them scientifically, and worked to help the students gain the physical sensations necessary to recreate them.  The singers were profoundly dedicated to this process, and they nailed it.  So much so that yesterday with their vocal tracts aligned and stabilized, and their articulators working together in time, vibrato synched up, breath pressure engaged, they produced all the right high frequencies to float their sound out over that huge band, and simultaneously make every word intelligible. Perhaps we should write a book “How To Sing Opera In 45 Days: A day in the life of the HC Choir”?

I’ve never been so happy to work with a group of singers.  I even got so carried away, that I lost my baton, which flew across the room and landed at the feet of the Buenos Aires Minister of Culture, who, kindly, returned it to me just in time for the final crescendo.

~David Harris, director

Well, here we are! After an entire year of preparation, fundraising, and rehearsals, we are on our way to Argentina! I can’t believe this day has already arrived. When David told us last year that we would travel to Buenos Aires, I didn’t know what to expect; not only have I never traveled to South America, but I can’t even speak Spanish (luckily, we have several Spanish speakers in the tour choir!) But as I sit here on the bus on the way to JFK for our flight this afternoon, I can’t help but feel an enormous sense of pride and confidence in what we have accomplished this year in preparation for this trip. This afternoon, Holy Cross Chaplain Norm Gouin blessed the choir with a prayer before we left the Hogan Campus Center. Norm’s blessing was a great way to stop and think about all those who have supported the choir this past year and made this tour possible. And now we just have to wait for our 12 HOUR flight…Argentina, here we come!

Adam Ouellet ’16