Immediately following the concert on Sunday, the singers were fed dinner in the ballroom of our hotel, and then many of them celebrated and “took a bite out of” The Big Apple on Saturday night. Choral directors, accompanists, grad students, and soloists attended a reception hosted by the Alumni Association, then continued the celebration afterwards. It was a late night for many.
CLA Dean Larry Rodgers, Steven Zielke, Nicola Zielke, Nickoli Strommer, Julie Schwartz
Monday was a cool, sunny, pleasant day, and because our buses to the airport didn’t leave until 3 p.m., there was plenty of time to sleep in and/or take in a few final sites, pick up souvenirs or gifts, or to just have some down time to relax and recover from several full days and late nights.
Quite a few of the singers went out for breakfast at one of the several classic New York diners near our hotel in midtown Manhattan. Beth and Mari shopped the Metropolitan Opera and Juilliard Gift Shops. Erin, Bryce and Josh covered much of Central Park on foot,
visited the Guggenheim Gift Shop, had a yummy lunch from a food cart and took a taxi ride back to meet the buses. Several singers took in Rockefeller Plaza. Many students shopped for last minute gifts and souvenirs.
Photo of actor Bradley Cooper taken by Angela Neil at the Today Show
One energetic group of singers that included Geoff, Angela, Shea and Hannah, got up very early in the morning to see if they could get on NBC’s Today Show, where they represented OSU on national television, met the hosts, and got to see the actor Bradley Cooper!
Late Sunday afternoon, it was time to board the buses and to say goodbye to the city.
Thankfully, everyone made it on the bus. The security line at the airport was extremely long and slow, even zigzagging down an escalator to a lower level, but the weary travelers remained patient (or were just too tired to complain much) and got through it. Everyone boarded the plane.
Several students were administered midterm tests in flight, proctored by Tina Bull (an agreement made with their instructors since the students were missing tests for the tour.) Many students slept. Or rehashed the trip.
Soon they will be back at Benton Hall and before they know it the term will be ending.
Thank you choirs, for working so hard, for sharing your talent, for being such excellent ambassadors for Oregon State University.
Go Beavs.
