Tomorrow night, 76 BMPC choir members, church members, and community friends will depart for a choir tour to France. This trip, with the largest number of travelers since the 2001 tour to Brazil, will start in the south of France and over the course of a packed week, head north to Paris. The choir will perform in some of the most historically important churches in France, including the church where Mary Magdelene’s remains are purported to be buried and in Paris, St. Sulpice Church, home to one of the most spectacular organs in the world (and the inspiration for many of the sounds in the BMPC organ).
As with previous tours, we look forward to performing for and with locals. In Aix-en-Provence, home to a large Ukrainian community, we will offer a benefit concert to raise funds to purchase an ambulance for Ukraine. That concert will be shared with a local Ukrainian Choir (and yes, your choir will sing three pieces in Ukrainian!)
France is one of the most culturally rich countries in the world. Thus, we look forward to presenting a variety of wonderful choral works by American, German, and French composers. The French especially love African American spirituals, so the choir will perform four of the most celebrated works from that genre.
To help you follow us on our journey, here is an abbreviated itinerary and map:
June 13: en route to Nice, France.
June 14-16: Aix-en-Provence. Joint benefit concert with the Ensemble Avec Ukraine Choir in the Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine (June 15)
June 17-19: Toulouse. Concert in the Basilique Notre-Dame-la-Daurade in collaboration with organist Philippe Lefebvre, organiste emérité of Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris. (June 18)
June 20-21: Tours. Concert in the Eglise Notre-Dame-la-Riche (June 21)
June 22-24: Paris. Staff Singers performance as part of La Nuit de l’Orgue at the Eglise Saint-Philippe-du-Roule (June 22). Concert in the Eglise Saint-Sulpice (June 24)
Finally, we invite your prayers for a safe, joy-filled, and impactful journey. Please consider setting aside time each day to lift up our travelers in prayer:
June 13: Bill, Paula, Lauren, Larry, Devon, Carolyn, and Jim
June 14: Dottie, Frank, Susan, Jeffrey, Tony, Paul, and Sharon.
June 15: Mary, Anne, Terry, Deb, Jasper, Elizabeth, and M.J.
June 16: Judy, Tori, Fred, Kay, Mary, Linda, and Misoon.
June 17: Peg, Kara, Peggy, Ron, Mary, and Valerie.
June 18: LuEllyn, Cherie, Christina, Mike, Meg, and Bob.
June 19: Karin, Mary, Chris, Jeff, Clare, and Tracey.
June 20: Oscar, Lauren, Pallavi, Siddhartha, Dianne, and Elizabeth.
June 21: Agnes, Brenda, Bob, Sharyl, and Nicholas.
June 22: Anne, Debi, Gladys, Bill, and Sherri.
June 23: Dolores, Gretchen, Paul, Eric, and Susan.
June 24: Charlotte, Donna, Laura, and Kent.
