SALT LAKE CITY — The Choir of the Cathedral of the Madeleine, featuring the choristers of The Madeleine Choir School, returned March 4 from its 2013 International Tour. The 10-day tour took choristers to Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria. The first stop was Berlin, followed by Dresden, Leipzig, Prague; it concluded in Vienna, Austria. The choir performed sold-out concerts and participated in several Masses, singing works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Anton Bruckner, William Harris, Alfred Desenclos, Michael Tippet, Gustav Holst, and Colin Mawby, a collection of music often considered the choir’s "best hits." The choir sang in the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, where Johann Sebastian Bach had been cantor, in addition to performing a joint concert with the Dresdner Kapellknaben in Dresden’s Hofkirche. Other performances included concerts in Prague and Vienna, as well as Masses in St. Hedwig’s Cathedral in Berlin, Our Lady of Victory Church in Prague and St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. The choir’s conductor and The Madeleine Choir School’s Director of Music, Melanie Malinka, is a native German, and was thrilled to bring the choir to her native former East Germany for the first time. This was the choir’s eighth international performance tour since the school’s inception in 1996. More than 100 students, chaperones, and adult choir members participated. Another 80 parents, grandparents and friends accompanied the tour as well. In addition to the performance aspect, the tour was an educational experience for The Madeleine Choir School students. In preparation for the trip, all students in grades five through eight studied the history, art, architecture, and geography of each country they visited. "This trip was quite an enriching learning experience, typically reserved for college-age students. For children 10 to 14 years old, this was an unparalleled opportunity," said Jill Baillie, Choir School principal.
Courtesy of The Madeleine Choir School
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