Today was our last actual day of the program. We had the morning to ourselves, and then class in the afternoon.
We sang a few songs together, for which I accompanied. Then we filmed ourselves singing one of the songs in the chapel, waiving the flag of Great Britain. This video will be used as a report of our study abroad program at the beginning of the semester for freshman orientation. Then we had a little rehearsal with Bob Chilcott, a former King's Singer. He worked with us on a piece that he wrote, The Real of Heart. It was cool to see how he would rehearse a choir, what his priorities were, and how he conducts. Then he talked to us about things he'd experienced in his life while growing up in the choral world of boy choirs. We got to ask him some questions. I took notes inside my copy of the sheet music that we sang.
Then, we all met together at the restaurant underneath St. John's Smith Square to enjoy one last meal all together. Honestly, the food wasn't that great... but it was paid for by the program, so it was free. AND, we got to all be together.
Then we went upstairs to enjoy a concert of Marian motets. The concert was put on by the Gabrieli Consort. The concert had a mix of old and new music, and even a world premiere! And it was a lovely end to a wonderful study abroad. You can find the program here.
After the concert, we all went home to pack. It was bittersweet. I was so ready to go home, but I had enjoyed my time in London so much. I'll admit, it was quite difficult for me to live for five weeks with a group of girls 10+ years younger than I am. But I enjoyed getting to know some of them a bit better, and look forward to continuing friendships with them in the coming semesters.
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