After pandemic pause, MSU Chorale students travel international again

News-Leader staff
·2 min read

Every other year, Missouri State University Chorale students go on an international choir tour — unless there is a global pandemic.

After a COVID-related pause, the chorale members were able to travel again this year They recently returned from South Africa.

The group performed with local choirs in Cape Town, the Drakensberg Mountains and Johannesburg. The choir was also able to travel to the Basque Country region of Spain last fall to sing in the Tolosa Choral Contest.

For some students in the chorale, this was the second trip to South Africa. The choir was first there in 2015.

The Missouri State University Chorale recently visited South Africa.
The Missouri State University Chorale recently visited South Africa.

“Returning to South Africa is a really unique experience,” said Zach Reece, a choral conducting graduate student, in a news release. “On some parts of the tour, I found myself recognizing places that we’d been to during the last tour or seeing places and stores I know I explored last time. Of course, it wasn’t any less amazing than the first trip.”

Choir members immerse themselves in new cultures by singing with and for locals. They also connect to the past by performing traditional music tailored to the region they are visiting.

“This country changes you,” said Anna Brummell, vocal music education major, in the release. “The nature, obviously, is gorgeous. They have mountains, oceans, lush greens and as many monkeys as we have squirrels."

For each tour, Cameron LaBarr, director of choral studies at Missouri State, collaborates with Perform International to create an itinerary that balances time in major international cities, but also remote countryside experiences.

Between performances, the choir:

  • Flew to Frankfurt, Germany, and saw the sights in the Rhine Valley.

  • Explored Camps Bay and the Atlantic Seaboard.

  • Hiked in the Drakensberg mountains.

  • Took a safari at Kruger National Park.

LaBarr said traveling has been difficult due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

“However, we are now even more aware of just how important sharing culture across international borders really is," he said, in the release.

“We live in a world of seemingly constant challenge – but music and the arts create conversations and empower people to empathize in ways that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.”

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: After pandemic pause, MSU Chorale students travel to South Africa