USA Tour Blog

Saturday. It was "check-out day" and "meet Andy day". The day started with a rehearsal in the Board Room which was also choked with the girls' luggage. It was check-out day and there was a healthy anticipation of moving on to our next base and, more importantly, meeting Andy in Palm Springs. There was a diversion on the way, though, as the girls were taken on a guided tour of Walt Disney Concert Hall, an impressive structure that is the home of LA Philharmonic and built in 2003. Apart from its amazing acoustics, one of its unique features is that no surface on the outside of this building is at a 90 degree angle. Oh, and the girls got to sing in here - even though it was impromptu and brief. Another tick in the box: at least they can say that they've sung in the Walt Disney Concert Hall ;) Then, it was on the bus again with the short, lunch stop at Ontario Mills (California!), en route to Palm Springs - and Andy. As we neared Palm Sprigs, the landscape transformed from flat, dry concrete jungle to a dry rocky/sandy outlook. Flanked by a mountain range on either side of us, with the valley floor on which we were driving peppered with wind turbines, the image one got was: hot, windy and dry. And so it turned out to be. As we turned down Rattler Road to our final destination, ... (Be right back).

This day was much anticipated as it was "Outlet Shopping Day". However, before the girls could spend their hard earned cash, there was work to do, starting with a music exchange with the California State University. California State University This was an interesting mix that brought together our "college" students - i.e. secondary school level - with their "college" students (university level) so there was an immediate age difference. Their group ranged from 18 to 72 years of age. It was a very warm and connected exchange with both choirs interested in learning about each other's style, technique and, on a personal level, countries. They were particularly impressed with our facial expression, deportment and movement (in our songs involving Maori dance). The standard was high from both choirs and our girls gave a very good account of themselves. It was quite poignant that our exchange took place in the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Centre. The girls were surprised to learn that one of the songs in our repertoire, Sing (Sing a Song) , was a hit song for Richard and Karen Carpenter (of Carpenters fame). The university provided a lovely lunch for us and then it was on the bus again bound for Citadel Outlet Centre. The girls couldn't get there quickly enough. Citadel Outlet Centre There isn't much more to say about the shopping other than: the girls had fun no one got left behind the girls were free to do their own shopping so we cannot vouch for what they'll bring home :) All too soon, it was on the bus again to our next exchange with Claremont High School. Claremont High School As we approached the school, there were two students holding large posters emblazoned with "New Zealand Choir" so we knew we'd arrived at the right location. They were soon joined by other students as they escorted us to the auditorium where we were to perform together. The choirs, again, greeted each other with genuine warmth and friendship - further validation that music is the universal key that unlocks the door to people's hearts. But, first, they fed us .... really well. We were treated to another meal of spaghetti (meat and vegetarian) with lots of add-ons like salad, garlic bread, soft drinks and dessert. There was certainly no reason to go hungry here. There wasn't much opportunity to learn or teach songs to each other but the joint concert went really well and our girls, once again, gave a good account of themselves. Their choir and director were particularly mesmerised by our embodiment of Maori waiata and culture in our repertoire.

Hello Auckland Girls family. My billeting family are the Thornhills. They're very kind and caring. We watched a movie last night and ate popcorn and lollies. This morning we went out and had breakfast and I ordered nutella crepes. Tonight we're going to go swimming!