ACFEA is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2015. Over the years, we have received many excellent photos from our groups, several of which we’ve included in our annual newsletter, Tour Notes. In honor of our anniversary year, I’ve selected my 60 favorites from the newsletters I helped put together over the last 12 years. Here are the first 20, in no particular order.
Anima – Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus
From 2010 Tour of Spain and Morocco: Performing in the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de las Angustias in Granada, Spain. I love how the choir’s outfits add more colors to the photo.
Lexington High School Choir
From 2012 Tour of Sweden, Finland and Estonia: One of the most unique venues our groups perform in, the Rock Church (also known as Temppeliaukio) in Helsinki, Finland.
Boston Children’s Chorus
From 2013 Tour of Vietnam and Cambodia: at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. This was our first ever tour to Cambodia. BCC also toured and performed in Vietnam, also an ACFEA first!
Myers Park United Methodist Church Chancel Choir
2013 Tour of the United Kingdom: Singing at Evensong in Bristol Cathedral in England. Just another ordinary day on tour, huh?
Chorus of Westerly
From 2014 Tour of the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary: Performing in the Matthias Church in Budapest, Hungary.
Sacramento Children’s Chorus
From 2013 Tour of China: At a tea village near Hangzhou.
CSU Fullerton University Singers
From 2010 Tour of Italy: Performing in the Chiesa Santa Maria Trastevere in Rome. What a gorgeous venue!
El Camino Youth Symphony
From 2007 Tour of Finland, Estonia and Russia: Performing in the Glinka Capella in St. Petersburg, Russia. I can’t see a spare seat in the audience.
Palo Alto High School Choir
From 2006 Tour of Brazil: During a workshop with a Bahian Afro-Brazilian percussion group in Salvador de Bahia.
Stanford University Taiko Ensemble
From 2012 Tour of England: Performing in Barthlomew Square as part of the 2012 Brighton Japan Festival.
Fountain Valley High School Troubadours
From 2014 Tour of China and Hong Kong: Fountain Valley director Kevin Tison presented with flowers from Chinese girls in the He Luting Concert Hall in the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. I can’t tell who is happier!
Temple Beth Emeth Choir
From 2004 Tour of Romania, Bulgaria and Greece: From one of the first newsletters I put together and still to this day one of my favorite newsletter pictures. The group is performing in front of a packed audience at the Choral Temple in Bucharest, Romania.
Geneseo Chamber Singers
From 2013 Tour of Portugal and Spain: On the beach near Torre de Belem (Belem Tower) in Lisbon, Portugal. Any time I write in the sand, it never looks as good as this!
University of Delaware Choir
From 2007 Tour of Estonia, Finland and Sweden: Encore performance after winning the 2007 Tallinn International Choir Festival in Estonia.
Heinz Chapel Choir, University of Pittsburgh
From 2014 Tour of Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and Croatia: On top of Srd Hill in Dubrovnik, Croatia. On every one of its tours, Heinz has sent us some amazing pictures including this one from its most recent tour.
Northwest Chamber Chorus
From 2012 Tour of Slovakia and Hungary: Performing in St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest, Hungary. ACFEA Tour Manager Rachel Flamm sings with this group. See if you can spot her in the picture.
Hendricks Chapel Choir, Syracuse University
From 2009 Tour of Chile, Argentina and Uruguay: After a concert in the Iglesia de Punta Carretas in Montevideo, Uruguay, everyone moved to the church’s beautiful courtyard and Coral Cantemus, the host choir, handed out special treats: traditional white wine and cookies with miniature Uruguayan and American flags stuck in them.
Rachmaninoff Choir
From 2009 Tour of Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece: Performing in the Byzantine Museum ground in Athens, Greece. I love the way the lighted museum in the background blends with the darker choir outfits.
Shallaway
From 2013 Tour of Portugal: In Porto, Portugal. While Portugal is a less visited destination than many other European countries, several of our recent groups have discovered the amazing opportunities this Iberian country has to offer.
The Choir of St. Wilfrid of York Episcopal Church
From 2014 Tour of the United Kingdom: Rehearsing in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London during its weeklong residency. Not a bad way to spend a week of your life!