A Georgia Baptist Institution
Updates from Italy: May 19-28, 2008
The Shorter Chorale, Shorter College’s premiere performing ensemble, will make institutional history while touring Italy in May. Under the direction of Shorter alumna Dr. Martha Shaw, the choral ensemble of 43 Shorter students and five faculty/staff members will perform in Rome, Florence, Verona and Venice. This includes performing in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City; they will sing Mass at the historic basilica, where the Pope often presides.
Below are student reflections on the trip.
Click here for May 19-24 updates.
Click here for May 25-28 updates.
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Reflections from Italy
I had to think a little to figure out what my most memorable Italy experience was. The entire trip changed my life. I have never been out of the country, nor has anyone in my immediate family.
The Sunday before we left, I went up for prayer at my dad’s church....my dad began to pray over me, and as he was praying he said to me, “When you walk into some of these amazing places in Italy, you are going to need to pray, and what you need to pray for will be revealed to you.”
I totally forgot that he said that to me until I walked into St. Anthony's Basilica in Padua. I was so amazed by the beauty of the building....inside and out. I was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. I felt the spirit of the Lord surround me. I was completely taken back by everything around me... to know that people hundreds and hundreds of years ago built this building because they honored God so much.
As I walked around to the left side of the building, I came to one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. It was a mosaic of Christ on the cross....above his head was a beam of light shining down from Heaven.....the beam of light shimmered in gold.....my heart exploded with emotion. I then looked over to the immediate right of the mosaic, and I saw my mother’s name written in Latin on the wall.....there were two other letters before her name, but all I saw was DORIS.......with my eyes full of tears, I immediately went into prayer for my mom and her life......I stood there praying for what seemed like an hour, praying for a holy covering over her. I thank God for that experience because I believe that my mom needed a blessing in her life and that I was the seed for that blessing.
I will never forget this trip. I can now say that I have walked in the footsteps of some of the most historic figures of our time, and that I stood in some of the most holy places in the world. I am so grateful to all of those that made it possible for me to make it to Italy. I hope and pray that I am able to go back again and experience more.
~ Doronte Evans, rising senior musical theatre major
My most fond memory of Italy was singing the Chorale’s special song, “When I Survey The Wondrous Cross,” under a crucifix. The song took on a whole new meaning to me. As a Southern Baptist institution, we are not used to all the symbology that Catholics use. However, seeing all the beautiful cathedrals and understanding what the symbols mean made Christianity that much more real to me. “When I Survey” has always held a special place in my heart, but nothing can compare to singing the beautiful lyrics of that hymn while looking at the crucifix—a symbol of Jesus pouring out his heart for me.
~ Jonathan Parks, rising junior in piano performance and musical keyboard and conducting in musical theatre
The choir tour with the Shorter Chorale in Italy was definitely an experience of a lifetime! The sights were gorgeous and the guided tours were very informative! However, at the very beginning of the trip, the importance and magnitude of what the Chorale was about to embark that week didn't hit me until we rehearsed outside St. Mark's Basilica in Venice the very first day in Italy.
One of the pieces we were to sing in mass that afternoon was "Jubilate Deo" by Gabrielli. After we rehearsed the piece, our conductor, Dr. Shaw, opened the piece of music to the very first page where notes about the history of the song and how it should be performed were located. On that same page was a picture of a Procession in the Piazza San Marco, drawn by Gentile Bellini. She asked us, "Does this make more sense to you now?" I looked closer at the page and realized that the picture I was looking at, dating back 400-500 years ago, was exactly where I was standing in St. Mark's square! The realization that we were going to sing the very piece that was composed in the very spot we were standing just centuries ago was incredible!
Another moment that really set the entire experience for me was when we sang mass in the Vatican. It took a good eye from a very observant individual, but when we looked closely at the words inscribed along the perimeter of the dome inside the Vatican, the words "Tu Es Petrus" were written, which just happened to be one of the pieces we were about to sing! The performance that afternoon in Rome was beautiful, along with the concert we gave that same day at a nearby university (which happened to be my last concert with the Chorale).
I am so glad I was given this opportunity of a lifetime. It will be something I will never forget!
- Ashley Lane, 2008 Shorter graduate
As the Chorale accompanist, Dr. Shaw allowed me the privilege of accompanying the Chorale on organ during the Mass. This was a definite cornerstone of my musical career that was an amazing and life-changing experience for me. There was no opportunity to rehearse on the organ beforehand, so the first time playing the organ was in the actual performance. Unlike the piano, you cannot just sit down and play the organ, you have to set specific registrations or "sound colors" to make the organ sound.
While participating in the service, before I expected it, the music director who was guiding the Chorale through the service as best he could (despite the language barrier) is pushing me onto the organ bench and motioning for me to start the introduction for the piece. Luckily, he knew the piece and set the registrations for me while I was playing. Between the music director changing registrations for me on the right side, the organist at St. Peter’s turning pages from the left, the beautiful singing of the Chorale behind me, and the very room in which we were performing, it was just a constant emotional crescendo all the way through the piece.
Towards the end of the piece, the music director crouches down, reaches in front of my legs and depresses the crescendo pedal on the organ all the way open making the organ sound at its full capacity, or "tutti". The full organ combined with the rich and full voices of the choir creates a majestic sound, the kind of sound that you feel in your bones, that I will never forget the rest of my life.
As I released the last chord on the organ, counting the 5-7 seconds of reverberation in my head, the realization that the peak of my musical career thus far had just been reached started to set in. I thank God for allowing me to have an experience such as this at such a young age, and I will feel privileged if I have anymore even close to this one.
- Justin Maxey, rising junior organ performance major
There is no way that I could define a specific moment of this trip that I treasure most, because this entire trip was life changing! There were so many once-in-a-lifetime opportunities I was able to experience, such as singing Mass at the Vatican and St. Mark's Cathedral, touring though and seeing numerous Italian cities, and getting to do it all with friends I love. These are moments and places I may never see or experience ever again, and getting to have those special moments while at Shorter really made this experience memorable.
- Michelle Austin, rising junior music education major
There was not one moment of this trip that was not life-changing. Not only did we have the opportunity to go to so many wonderful places in Italy, but we got to share our music with many people. The most important thing I learned on this trip was that music really is a universal language. One of our first concerts was part of a choir festival in which we sang with two other choirs. After the concert was over, many members of the other choirs came up to members of the Chorale, and without hardly saying anything, expressed to us the beauty of our music. To get to make beautiful music with people I love in beautiful places was the best thing I could have ever asked for.
- Katie Cecil, 2008 music education major
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