By Rebecca Neal
rebecca.neal@indystar.com
rebecca.neal@indystar.com
When 85 area singers travel to Italy with the Indianapolis Children's Choir next week, they'll have a once-in-a-lifetime experience when they sing at a Mass at the Vatican.
"They do realize what that means, but yet they don't. The moment they walk in, they will realize what it means," said Henry Leck, the choir's founder and artistic director. "The Catholic kids are all over it, but the Christian kids and the Jewish kids understand what this means too."
The choir, including students from south Marion and Johnson counties, will fly to Rome Thursday and perform at Mass that afternoon. They'll be in town for Rome's Festival of St. Peter, said the director who first thought all of the choir spots at the Vatican's Masses were already assigned.
"People send their musical requests years in advance," he said of trying to perform during the Festival of St. Peter.
After two letters from Indianapolis Archbishop Daniel Buechlein and more than 50 e-mails with the Vatican, the choir secured a place at a Mass that Friday.
Roncalli High School freshman Caitlin Schmoll said she can't wait to perform at the Vatican.
"It will mean a lot. I think it will help me be closer in my faith with God," said Schmoll, 14, the daughter of Mary and Paul Schmoll, Perry Township.
That Saturday, the students will take educational tours around Rome, including a stop at the Sistine Chapel.
Other notable stops on the trip include an evening concert July 3 in Florence in a former church built in 1116. The students will again perform July 5 in Venice at the Basilica of San Marco.
The basilica has a great musical heritage, and visiting choirs are hardly ever allowed to perform there, he said.
"It's very important musically because that's where surround sound started," he said.
The students will stop in Verona and Milan before returning to Indianapolis on July 7 or 8, depending on flights. Assistant director Josh Pedde will accompany Leck on the trip.
While Leck is proud of his choir's musical talents, he also wants to make sure the trip is educational. Each student is assigned a research topic about Italy, such as pasta, currency or politics. They then make presentations about their topic to others.
"By the time they go, they'll know when the Coliseum was built and what happened there. That way it's not like they won't recognize half of the things and then come back and forget the rest," he said.
The trip's parent chaperones also have to do a research project, and students must keep a daily journal.
The trip costs about $3,000, and students spend several years fundraising. Scholarships also are available for low-income students, and Leck said the choir works to make sure any student who wants to go can. Schmoll said she sold candles and ferns to help her make the trip.
The choir is made up predominantly of students in Grades 7-9, though some older high school students are also part of the choir. The students traveling are part of Leck's two advanced choirs, which went to England and Greece last year.
Schmoll, who has never traveled outside of the United States, is thrilled to be able to tour Italy.
"It's going to be really beautiful and fun to be able to experience the churches and sights in Italy," she said.
The choir, including students from south Marion and Johnson counties, will fly to Rome Thursday and perform at Mass that afternoon. They'll be in town for Rome's Festival of St. Peter, said the director who first thought all of the choir spots at the Vatican's Masses were already assigned.
"People send their musical requests years in advance," he said of trying to perform during the Festival of St. Peter.
After two letters from Indianapolis Archbishop Daniel Buechlein and more than 50 e-mails with the Vatican, the choir secured a place at a Mass that Friday.
Roncalli High School freshman Caitlin Schmoll said she can't wait to perform at the Vatican.
"It will mean a lot. I think it will help me be closer in my faith with God," said Schmoll, 14, the daughter of Mary and Paul Schmoll, Perry Township.
That Saturday, the students will take educational tours around Rome, including a stop at the Sistine Chapel.
Other notable stops on the trip include an evening concert July 3 in Florence in a former church built in 1116. The students will again perform July 5 in Venice at the Basilica of San Marco.
The basilica has a great musical heritage, and visiting choirs are hardly ever allowed to perform there, he said.
"It's very important musically because that's where surround sound started," he said.
The students will stop in Verona and Milan before returning to Indianapolis on July 7 or 8, depending on flights. Assistant director Josh Pedde will accompany Leck on the trip.
While Leck is proud of his choir's musical talents, he also wants to make sure the trip is educational. Each student is assigned a research topic about Italy, such as pasta, currency or politics. They then make presentations about their topic to others.
"By the time they go, they'll know when the Coliseum was built and what happened there. That way it's not like they won't recognize half of the things and then come back and forget the rest," he said.
The trip's parent chaperones also have to do a research project, and students must keep a daily journal.
The trip costs about $3,000, and students spend several years fundraising. Scholarships also are available for low-income students, and Leck said the choir works to make sure any student who wants to go can. Schmoll said she sold candles and ferns to help her make the trip.
The choir is made up predominantly of students in Grades 7-9, though some older high school students are also part of the choir. The students traveling are part of Leck's two advanced choirs, which went to England and Greece last year.
Schmoll, who has never traveled outside of the United States, is thrilled to be able to tour Italy.
"It's going to be really beautiful and fun to be able to experience the churches and sights in Italy," she said.
Source : indystar.com
Call Star reporter Rebecca Neal at (317) 444-2710.
Call Star reporter Rebecca Neal at (317) 444-2710.
1 comment:
sounds brilliant our choir is going to Rome in Oct.'08 how does one start to get in touch with the Vatican anitamacgabhann@hotmail.com
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