"Musical Postcards" Europe 2003

May 25th, 2003, the Chorale and Orchestra journeyed to the other side of the world.  For over a year plans were made for the two ensembles to bring the love of God expressed through music to Italy, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.  The purpose of the tour was to share the Gospel and to provide a rich musical and cultural experience for students.
 
The tour was planned by Tour Resource Consultants (TRC) out of Evergreen, Colorado.  The itinerary included five days in Italy in the cities of Sienna, Florence and Venice, four days in Budapest and Szentendre, Hungary and three days in Prague, Czech Republic with two additional travel days.

The groups were able to give concerts in all the cities except Florence.   The first concert was in Sienna, where each ensemble performed separately and then combined with an Italian community choir, Coro Vico Alto, for Mozart’s Coronation Mass, k. 317.  It was a unique opportunity to connect with the people in rehearsal, performance and an after-concert party that lasted until 2 a.m.!  The concerts in Budapest were particularly special as they were in evangelical churches where there was a shared joy in the Lord and love of great music.  Junior Luke Payne commented “It was amazing to see how vast God’s kingdom is. We worshipped with people who have nothing in common with us... different culture, different language, different general world view.... but despite the differences, we are united under one faith.” Chorale and Orchestra performed separately at different Sunday morning church services in Budapest.  Following the services, several students mentioned the deep impact that singing hymns with Hungarian congregations had upon them, not understanding each others’ words but knowing common melodies and certainly knowing the same God!  The final concert was in Prague at the historic St. Nicholas Church.  It was a remarkable opportunity.  In addition to  the outstanding acoustics and the breath-taking beauty of the cathedral, seeing tears in the eyes of the audience members after Chorale’s When David Heard, and professor Mary Beth Woodruff’s performance of The Lark Ascending with the Biola Symphony Orchestra, made it one of the most unforgettable experiences of the tour.  

The ensembles had prayed that God would open doors for  ministry,  whether  it  was  sharing  the  Gospel  or encouraging Christians.  Hopefully, a lasting impact was made on at least one person’s life.  Without a doubt it effected deep  change  in  the  lives  of  some  very  grateful  Biola students!

Biola Symphony Orchestra

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