The Trinity High School students who trekked to Spain for an a cappella concert tour had to follow two rules: Be on time, and if you can get it in the U.S., don’t get it in Spain.
“To me, it was really awesome to see the girls embrace the culture,” like trying new foods and attempting to speak Spanish with locals, said Margaret Metzger, one of the chaperones on the trip and an English teacher at Trinity.
The 17 sophomores, juniors and seniors who made the trip — members of the school’s a cappella choir — traveled from April 2 through 11, and visited Seville, Granada, Córdoba, Toledo, Segovia and Madrid, said Trinity’s choral director, Linda Crabtree Powell.
The girls sang in four languages: Spanish, English, Italian and Latin. The group gave four official performances, including singing during two Easter Masses, as well as other impromptu ones, Powell said.
When fellow airplane passengers or those in a restaurant discovered the students were a cappella singers, they were asked to sing, and the girls obliged.
“Those things, they really loved,” Powell said. “Really, the special part of our travel is that we’re sharing music.”
Seville was the first stop, “and that was really the magical part of the trip,” Powell said, because the group took in the Easter celebration parade, which featured floats carried, rather than pulled, by people. The beautiful weather and fragrance of the orange trees was spell-binding, she said.
Also in Seville, the group took in traditional flamenco dancing performances, which was a highlight, Powell said. A cooking class in Granada provided more great memories.
Because Trinity is a Sinsinawa Dominican school, a special trip to Caleruega — the birthplace of St. Dominic — was made, and there the group met cloistered nuns who made delicious cookies, Powell said.
“It was our pilgrimage,” she said.
A cappella students travel every two years, Powell said; past trips include Ireland and Toronto. Powell said the opportunity provides one-of-a-kind bonding time for the girls.
“Every place just has such a different flavor, but Spain … just being exposed to that culture is really so educational for the girls,” said Powell, who credited Blueprint Tours in Riverside with organizing the trip. “It’s an environment that you could never duplicate in a class situation.”
More Top Picks Best Pillows For Shoulder And Arm Pain
One of the trip’s most memorable and emotional moments for senior Maddy Witt followed a performance at a church in Granada. After the girls sang Mass and performed other songs, they were asked to sing “Ave Maria” to the church’s prized statue of the Virgin Mary.
“There were a lot of tears, definitely,” Witt said.
Although performing was a bit nerve-wracking, the girls received a warm welcome from everyone they met, Witt said.
“It was really, really just a completely incredible experience,” she said.
Unique to this choral trip was the role the music played, Metzger said.
“The way that music connects with everyone despite the language barriers was really incredible,” she said.
Caitlin Mullen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.