MU Concert Choir completes ninth European tour

Written by Peggy Dettwiler, Director of Choral Activities

The Mansfield University Concert Choir recently returned from their ninth European Tour, a journey organized by Encore Tours, that led the Concert Choir and the Mansfieldians to Madrid and its surroundings, Barcelona and Montserrat, as well as Southern France with Carcassonne and Avignon as highpoints.

The tour took place between May 15 and 27. The entourage included forty-two university student singers, choral directors Peggy Dettwiler and Sheryl Monkelien, and eleven guest travelers for a total of fifty-five tourists. Since 1996, the Concert Choir has traveled in nineteen countries during their nine European Tours, adding Spain to its roster in 2022.

On this tour we visited: Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, El Escorial, Barcelona, Montserrat in Spain and Carcassonne, Nimes, Avignon, Arles, Les Beaux de Provence in southern France.

We took every opportunity to sing on this performance tour. Those listed below as “formal” were pre-arranged and those “informal” appearances took place as we visited the site and were granted permission.

• Toledo: Cathedral (informal)
• Segovia: Cathedral (informal)
• Segovia: Plaza Mayor (informal)
• El Escorial: (informal)
• Madrid: Iglesia San Anton (formal)
• Barcelona: Palau de la Musica (informal)
• Barcelona: In Front of the Cathedral (informal)
• Monastir Montserrat: (formal)
• Barcelona: Park Güell (informal)
• Barcelona: Sagrada Familia (informal)
• Nîmes: Roman Arena (informal)
• Carcassonne: Before the Gate into the Medieval Fortress Town (informal)
• Avignon: Église Saint Agricol (formal)

During these days, some of our folks took advantage of the opportunity to see a flamenco show, a bull fight, a soccer game, and even a show, Chorus Line!

Here are some pictures from the European Tour! We were able to make music in beautiful churches, basilicas, concert halls, and even the streets of many towns. When asked, students said their favorite part of the trip was making music together in these beautiful venues. Some students remarked that music is a universal language that everyone can enjoy and communicate with. Many lifelong memories were made on our travels!