Welcome to Hungary

We weren’t surrounded with magnificent gold or awe-inspiring acoustics for our last concert. We were given so much more than that. We were surrounded by jewels of people. We were welcomed by fellow choirs to participate in Hungary’s annual choir festival.

Una Taylor professor of music, our fearless leader, asked the audience to hold their applause until our performance was finished. Mid performance the crowd’s suspense broke into a loud group clap that lasted nearly five minutes. Later it was explained to us that it was an equivalent of a standing ovation in the U.S.

For our final piece we sang “The Evening Song” from Mendelssohn (a famous composer from that part of the world). We invited a local choir to join us in singing this well known song. Our voices clashed because we were singing two different languages at the same time. Somehow it was still beautiful.

When we walked off stage, several members of the audience anxiously handed us sheets of music to join in a mass choir song. “It was a fun sight reading experience” Heather Converse, senior of Wray Colo said.

After our concert we were excited to go to dinner. Our itinerary clearly stated that we were to be taken into the woods for a goulash festival. Although we walked through trees to get to our restaurant I don’t think it was something that went on annually as we were the only people in the restaurant.

To our surprise Hungary’s goulash is nothing like our American tomato based noodle hamburger combination. It was more of a vegetable beef with a unique spicy paprika flavor. We were more excited for the homemade bread, which was served with butter (only because we were American)

When it was finally time to leave, many of us were torn on how we felt about going home. We were happy to visit but ready to see familiar lands.

“I think that traveling has helped me mature and discover more about myself. This trip also helped me grow closer to all the members of the choir although there were moments of tension; it was definitely a bonding experience.” Rayna Waggener, sophomore, of Alliance said.

Our Europe trip was a once in a lifetime experience that some musicians can only dream about. We touched history and became apart of it when we performed. We experienced elaborate architecture and the acoustics that they held. We made new friends and became closer and stronger as a choir.