Professional beyond their years

This is a "blog series" of journal entries that the choir wrote about the France trip on the way home from Atlanta to Birmingham.

John Ray
Music professor

From the moment we boarded the bus in Birmingham, our Concert Choir represented UAB with a musical professionalism beyond their years. Unver the fine direction of Dr. Copeland, each note sparkled, each word revealed depth of understanding, and each individual voice united in magnificent harmony.

Though often tired from travel, time change, and hectic schedules, their “esprit de corp” and love for singing carried our choir to soaring heights, whether in Nore Dame’s Cathedral, a small Catholic church in Paris, or on the stage of the Tours competition, our students took their singing seriously, lifting listeners to often ethereal planes. They truly made me proud!

Outside of the music, it wa a distinct pleasure spending time with the students in Paris. One of my favorite parts of any choir trip is the chance it provides to know the students on a different and often deeper level. Trips like this allow us all, faculty and students, to see one another at our most “human” breaking down those unspoken barriers that sometimes exist in academic relationships. One thing is for certain, none of us will ever see the other through the same eyes again. I think that’s good!