Our final day began with worship at St George’s and St Andrews Church, a wonderfully warm congregation of the Church of Scotland.  Arioso and Camerata each contributed a song for the service and then closed with our traditional benediction – “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.”  After the service, everyone was free to grab a bite to eat and finish shopping for souveniers, visit museums and take pictures of the beautiful city of Edinburgh, minus the mist and clouds of the day before!  We met again for a delicious dinner together and then headed off to our scheduled “Ghost Walk!”

We learned about some of the gruesome history of Edinburgh and had a lot of fun!  Afterwards, we gathered back at our hotel for our final “Nickname Awards Party”.  Nicknames have been a traditional part of SCC tours for years.  Seniors and some of our oldest choristers present every touring chorister with a nickname and special “certificate”.  It’s all a lot of fun for everyone and leaves each chorister with a sense of belonging to a great group of new friends.

A noontime concert at St Giles Church was a very moving experience.  We had a very nice crowd of tourists and shoppers that stopped to hear SCC sing.

After the concert, we had lunch at a wonderful Italian restaurant where many new friendships were obviously blossoming!

Lunch was followed by more shopping and then everyone headed back to the hotel to get ready for our final evening concert at Greyfriar’s Church.  The choirs both were able to present most of the repertoire and the audience loved their performance.  The church was a wonderful space to sing in, with great acoustics.

After the concert, it was PIZZA at the hotel!  And now, it’s time for bed.  We sing at St Andrews Church on Sunday morning for their worship and then will enjoy a free afternoon.  Then, it’s the final dinner and a Ghost Walk!  (Monday morning will come very early!)

Arioso sat in the Pavilion to hear their performance, which was equally great and then stayed on to hear the other choirs.

It was a bit overwhelming to hear the very excellent university level choirs from all over the world – eight in all.  We returned to the Pavilion after a little more free time to hear the results.  For the formal adjudications, one of the judges would read a few of the comments from each of the judges, in front of the entire auditorium.  We were all impressed with their gracious, but very candid assessment of each choir.  The judges remarked that their first song, “Cindy” was “stylishly performed” and they like how it was “interrupted with humor”, that their diction was so clear that the humor showed through beautifully and said their performance was “absolutely delightful”.  “This Little Light of Mine” was sung “powerfully” and with “very good chording”.  When the comments were finished, we were not extremely hopeful of the outcome.  When the scores were read there were audible gasps that came intermittently as each score was announced in order of performance.  Those who were paying close attention realized what high marks Camerata had received and as the final score was read, we were ecstatic to learn we had placed 2^nd, once again!  What a thrill!  We wish everyone could have experienced the excitement first hand!

Watching the video of Camerata’s peformance!  We left Llangollen after lunch and headed north to Scotland, checked into our hotel and enjoyed a wonderful dinner together.

Unfortunately, we had to leave the Pavilion as soon as Camerata finished their performance and were unable to stay for the results.  This information would have to wait!  We left Llangollen and headed to a neighboring town to perform for a nursing facility that cared for the disabled.  You would have been proud as our young people not only sang beautifully and had fun doing it, but then to see them interact with the residents was truly a blessing!

When we returned to the Festival Grounds, we were met by Anna Stueckle who had been present to hear the final results of the Youth Choir Competition announced.  Public comments are made from the stage for each choir before the marks are read.  The adjudicator indicated that Camerata had a “warm, rich sound” and “heartfelt singing” with “good balance” and a “good, consistent sound”.  They had chosen two contrasting pieces (a requirement for the competition that not all choirs followed) and they especially liked the piece “The Conversion of Saul” for it’s “impressive, rhythmical drive” and “captivating atmosphere.”  The marks were read:  Czeck Choir 156, Philippine Choir 180, English choir 168, California choir 171 and SCC 177 – Camerata had taken 2nd place and received 350 British Pounds as their prize!  There will be celebrating tonight!

When not performing, choristers have been enjoying the beautiful village of Llangollen.  They’ve enjoyed shopping, tasting Welsh specialties and some freedom to roam the festival grounds.

After a bite to eat in the competitor’s meal tent, we lined up to attend the amazing Eisteddfod Welcoming Ceremony and the evening concert – One World, One Stage.  Four of our choristers were chosen to join other performers from all over the world in the opening procession.

It was quite a colorful event, filled with some very unique musical offerings, festive dancing and even a greeting by the president of the Eisteddfod – Terry Waite.  It was a another late night and we are thankful to be able to sleep in on Thursday!

We marched all through town and enjoyed singing “America the Beautiful,” “The Star Spangled Banner”, “God Bless America” and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” for the thousands of locals and visitors who were there to greet us.

Clara, Melissa, Lynne, Clarissa, Julianne and Clare, enjoying our day of exploring!

This afternoon, it was a huge privilege to work with the director of the National Children’s Choir of Great Britain, Lissa Gray.  She worked with both Arioso and Camerata – a really worthwhile afternoon!

Another highlight of the day was our Castle Banquet!

We wore bibs, ate with our fingers and hailed our honorary Baron and Baroness of the evening!  We were also treated to traditional Welsh music and entertainment.  Delightful!

SCC choristers always enjoying shopping and after grabbing a quick bite of lunch, we headed off in groups to explore the shopping district.  This afternoon, we packed up our concert uniforms and headed for the Brecon Cathedral, out in the countryside in a small town about an hour from Cardiff.  We joined with the Mid Powys Girls Choir for a benefit concert supporting the local hospice charity.

Kris – rehearsing Arioso prior to the performance in this beautiful cathedral in Brecon.

The Mid Powys Girls Choir

From Stonehenge, we traveled another hour or so to Bath.  We landed in very lovely weather – not too hot and not too cool, so our visit to the Roman Baths was very nice, taking us both inside and outside to explore this bit of history.

Our first dinner in the UK was great and from there, we headed to our hotel, checked in and enjoyed an early bedtime (for most)!

After a smooth and uneventful flight, we made our way through the Philadelphia airport, stopping for a meal and headed out to our gate.  It was nice to have some time together for an orientation meeting with all of our choristers, directors and chaperones in one place at one time!  Kris and John each got a chance to do a little rehearsing and we even drew a bit of a crowd as travelers gathered to listen.