While many college students travel to warm destinations during spring break, members of the Sacred Heart University Choral Program traveled somewhere colder. From Feb. 27 to March 7, the SHU choir visited Reykjavík, Iceland, where they performed, explored, and spent time together as a group.
“We were looking for something really interesting and different to do for the choir tour this year,” said John Morrow, assistant director of choral programs at SHU. “Iceland has a strong singing culture, the Nordic and Scandinavian roots certainly lends itself to that. Those countries have a lot of good singing.”
Twenty-two students attended the trip along with Morrow, his wife Rachel, and Christopher Grundy, director of choral programs at SHU.
Source: Contributed by John Morrow, Assistant Director of Choral Programs
Junior Bethany Gibson said the destination made the trip stand out compared to traditional spring break locations.
“The Iceland trip was one of a kind. A lot of people going on spring break say they went to Florida, the Bahamas or Mexico. We can say we went to Iceland. It’s not something that people normally think of off the top of their head. It’s cool to say that I went to Iceland for a week,” said Gibson.
Members of the SHU Choral Program performed at several locations during the trip. The group sang in a Catholic mass at Skálholt Cathedral and the Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King.
“They did the mass in Icelandic, which I thought was pretty cool,” said Gibson.
The choir also performed at Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík.
“It is an internationally known performance space. It’s pretty highly sought after by all types of professional, high-level performers. So we were glad to perform there,” said Morrow.
This marked the first time the SHU Choral Program traveled during spring break. Previous trips took place during winter or summer breaks and included destinations such as Dingle, Ireland and Sicily, Italy.
Senior Elizabeth Knapp, president of the SHU Choral Program, said the Iceland trip was her favorite of the choir tours she has attended.
I really enjoy the spring break trips. I think it’s nice that we have a break, but we still get to really do what we love. When am I ever going to sing in Iceland to the mountains?” said Knapp.
Participation in the trip was open to all members of the SHU Choral Program, though students were responsible for part of the cost depending on fundraising efforts.
“Everyone was welcome to come. We tried to make a balanced group, but of course that depends on the interest because it is an additional cost,” said Knapp.
When they were not rehearsing or performing, students had time to explore Iceland’s natural landmarks.
“We got to go do all kinds of exploration of things like go see waterfalls and see the Northern lights and go on a whale watching tour,” said Morrow.
Gibson said the experience allowed the group to grow closer while traveling together.
“The trip was beautiful and I would 100% go back. I had such a fun time, we did a lot of group bonding, which obviously will make us sound better in the end,” said Gibson.
Morrow said trips like this allow students to experience music in a different cultural context.
“We always see that taking students out into the world lets them get to know a different culture musically, seeing how people respond to and have music in their lives in a completely different place and also just being part of a different culture as a human, experiencing different languages all around you,” said Morrow.
