IceWorld & The Concordia Choir

For many of the students, it was time to try something new: Today we went to "Iceworld," on our second Winter Sports day of the year, for some ice skating! A smaller group went to Boise's Bogus Basin more skiing, but over half of us favored a lower-key activity.

It was the very first time in ice skates for many, but after just a little practice and some circles around the rink, we all improved. Tight laces helped incredibly to brace ankles and keep skates from being too wobbly... I have sore fingers from helping so many of the boys tie their ice skates tight enough. :) I was impressed that everyone (who could) tried skating! All the kids, including the boys, came out onto the ice with confidence, even if some spent most the time slipping, sliding, or spread out flat. They were great!  It helped that Sam, Mike, and Dean Fitting all skated with finesse/old hockey experience and set a nice example for everyone, especially the guys... though it shall be a small eternity before we can all skate that well!!

I learned how to stop! Granted, I still can't really stop;) I just have to keep cruising around and come to a gentle glide/stop. But I did perfect the art of skating backwards (for a short distance), which was completely new.

Overall, quite a fun morning. . . before driving myself to Walla Walla for a MUCH anticipated choral concert given by the nationally-recognized, world-class Concordia Choir!!! Rene Clausen, the director, is famous for over 100 compositions and has made appearances across the country as well as globally. We sang many of his pieces when I was part of ICantori!  Needless to say, EXCITING to have them in little Walla Walla!  The concert was marvelous! The choir has an unbelievably breathtaking, blended, pure sound. I sat with my music-appreciating, choral/classical enthusiast friend Elizabeth Field (about to graduate in June with her BA in Music, piano); sharing this experience together thrilled us both. We smiled and trembled and got goosebumps and tears!! I wished and WISHED that my brother Elliott could be sitting by me to hear them, too. In many ways, he would have appreciated it even more than I did. (For one, the bass voices were spectacular!!)

With the music only floating in afterthought now, I waffle between being thoroughly inspired, immensely envious, and-- never wanting to sing again. :) I've looked forward to this concert since September; yes, if you must know, a choir concert was the sole reason for coming all this way. It was WELL worth the drive!