While other students are kicking back for Spring Break, the Marshall University Chamber Choir will be performing across Spain from March 16 to 27.
Under the direction of Dr. David Castleberry, 30 students are set to arrive in Granada, Spain, on Thursday, March 17, and will kick off the tour the next evening with a joint performance with a University of Granada choir at the Santuario de Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro. Over the next week, Marshall’s Chamber Choir will sing in Jaen and Seville before a performance at the Toledo Cathedral on Thursday, March 24. The tour will culminate on Good Friday in Madrid.
“I’m looking forward to experiencing what the rest of my life as a performer will be like,” said sophomore performance major Ryan Phipps. “As a performer, travel is a huge part of what I do: I travel and perform at different venues. This is my first international experience doing these things.”
Castleberry, who led the choir on a 10-day tour across France in 2012, said the experience is designed to expose students to history and culture.
“Many of these students have never been abroad,” Castleberry said. “A number of them have never even flown. During this trip, students will see firsthand a very old and different culture. They will also see the things we share with that culture, and that is, for me, maybe the most important thing.”
Castleberry noted that students would have time to explore, as well as participate in scheduled visits to such historic sites as the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella in Granada and the Prado Art Museum in Madrid.
“From Spanish food to an evening of Flamenco dancing to an equestrian show—we will be immersed in culture,” Castleberry said.
Students will provide an on-the-ground look at their tour via social media using the hashtag #MUChoirToursSpain. Look for these posts on Facebook and Twitter.
The Chamber Choir tours the United States each year. The next stateside performance will be at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 3, at Fifth Avenue Baptist Church in Huntington. For more information about Marshall’s Chamber Choir, visit www.marshall.edu/music.
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Photos: Marshall University’s Chamber Choir, pictured at a February event on Marshall’s Huntington campus, will tour Spain March 16-27.