As your HSU insider returns from vacation, we find the HSU Chorale deep in the lush culture of old Europe on a unique and rather prestigious tour. The 40-member HSU Chorale’s first stop is the invitation-only and very exclusive International Choral Festival in Switzerland. After the inevitable trials of moving a large group long distances, the Chorale is on the ground and already performing. When they leave the festival, one of the performance stops will include singing the Mozart Mass with the finished Credo (completed by HSU musicologist Dr. Murl Sickbert) in the very church it would have been performed in had it been completed by the great composer himself.

The brave explorers set out excited and expectant

Dr. Clell Wright leads the Chorale, and his son Josh will send us updates and images as well. During the tour through Lucerne, Salzburg, and Innsbruck, the Chorale will sing two Masses in the Jesuitenkirche of Innsbruck, and will sing in the Dom (cathedral) and the University church in Salzburg. With Father Ruben Covos presiding, Dr. Wright and Dr. Sickbert will share conducting duties.

After a trans-Atlantic flight, some Chorale members seem to be conserving their energy

Josh’s first update: “The bus ride and plane trips went off without a hitch for the most part, we had some delays leaving Dallas, but it did not effect our connecting flight. We arrived in Zurich tired from the journey, but hit the ground running when we arrived. We spent the late morning and early afternoon in downtown Zurich surveying the sights and then made the last leg of the trip into Luzern about 3:00 in the afternoon. We had a short break at the hotel, and headed off to The Casino Luzern for the welcoming dinner with the other choirs. I has been a great day….couple of days…I am not really sure, but it has been fun. Stay tuned for our adventures!”

Odd, ducks look pretty much the same everywhere you go.