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The Naperville Chorus took its second trip to Europe in June 2001. On this page and the pages linked to it you can see our guides, our concert sites, some of the side things that were done. As in our previous trip to Eastern Europe, miracles seem to occur. The ones that I know about are listed on our miracle page (and like all proper miracle pages, this one has no pictures).You may view the itinerary as well as the repertoire that was prepared for the trip
The page includes pictures by Toby Berkun, Carol Ane Bloomquist, Joanne Fries, Chuck Jonah, Lindsey (little LuLu) Lillig, Pete Martínez, Tom Mathern, Laurie Peterik, and Jon Warfel. I would like to thank all for their contributions. In these pages we show all the places that we sang, pictures from the people that led the tour, and some pictures that are just fun. All pictures are represented by reduced pictures and if you click on the small pictures, you will get the full picture (which will be no larger than 640 pixels wide or 480 pixels high). Trip members can obtain even larger files for most of the pictures so that good prints can be made. Let me know and I will e-mail them to you..
We were assisted accompanied by Marie-Dominique, our primary guide-Mother Superior from Entropa, Paula, who guided us through Portugal and bus drivers Fernando (see also the section on miracles) in Portugal and José in Spain. Pictures and information about these people can be seen on this page.
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It was a pleasure to meet (again for some people) Pete's sister Mimi and her husband John. Mimi is so lovely and charming ... . |
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 Throughout Portugal our faithful bus was Vera. With a Vera as a member of the chorus, it was truly an appropriately named bus -- and it is unusual to find a bus with a figurehead! We also have pictures that quelled the Revolt of the Altos, flamenco and gypsy dancers, our shoppers and dancers and Pete either with one of his favorite treats or accepting his Don Quixote statue for his efforts in windmill jousting to get the chorus to actually watch him! These are shown on our Fun page.
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In Cascais, we sang with two other choruses in a small theatre that reminded one of the old theatre on the Muppet show (sorry if you are too young for that reference) except there weren't the two grumpy old men making snide comments. The other two groups were choruses that were part of the auxilary of the the firefighters in the local towns. We discovered that chorus directors would sing the starting notes to the choruses for each part and in some cases their first intervals.. This was a lovely introduction to singing in Portugal. Pictures inside the theatre as well as pictures of the other choruses can be seen here. |
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 We sang afternoon mass at the Nossa Senhora Dos Prazeres in Lisbon. We sang the classical music for mass in this very live church. Jon Warfel played the prelude on the organ at the Church -- his only opportunity to play organ on the tour. At the end of the service, we sang "Ride the Chariot", which appeared to be very exciting to the congregation. This was the only site where we did not get a standing ovation -- of course sitting and standing in a mass are very scripted! Other pictures of the Church can be seen here.
 In Leiria (the capital of the state where Fatima is) we had the opportunity to sing with the Corais do Orfeão de Leiria. They were a splendid musical group, and this was clearly a high point of the tour. After the concert we were invited to a Portugese party with the group, where sharing went with food, handwaving, singing and a rousing singing of Home on the Range and a joint performance of Shenandoah. Pictures from the Party and of the Church of San Francisco can be found here.
 In Sevilla we sang at the Santo Angel Church. The audience was small but enthusiastic -- one group wanted us to come back and sing for them -- unfortunately it wasn't possible. It was very hot and a couple of singers sat out because of the heat. Pictures inside the Church can be seen here.
 In Madrid we sang at the Cathedral church San Jeronimo. This concert is the only one where we sang our entire repertoire. In between the pieces, Pete made comments about our abilities in Spanish. This concert is where Carolyn sang parts of Ride the Chariot in Spanish. Pictures inside the Church can be found here.
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Throughout Portugal our faithful bus was Vera. With a Vera as a member of the chorus, it was truly an appropriately named bus -- and it is unusual to find a bus with a figurehead! We also have pictures that quelled the Revolt of the Altos, flamenco and gypsy dancers, our shoppers and dancers and Pete either with one of his favorite treats or accepting his Don Quixote statue for his efforts in windmill jousting to get the chorus to actually watch him! These are shown on our Fun page.
We sang afternoon mass at the Nossa Senhora Dos Prazeres in Lisbon. We sang the classical music for mass in this very live church. Jon Warfel played the prelude on the organ at the Church -- his only opportunity to play organ on the tour. At the end of the service, we sang "Ride the Chariot", which appeared to be very exciting to the congregation. This was the only site where we did not get a standing ovation -- of course sitting and standing in a mass are very scripted! Other pictures of the Church can be seen here.
In Leiria (the capital of the state where Fatima is) we had the opportunity to sing with the Corais do Orfeão de Leiria. They were a splendid musical group, and this was clearly a high point of the tour. After the concert we were invited to a Portugese party with the group, where sharing went with food, handwaving, singing and a rousing singing of Home on the Range and a joint performance of Shenandoah. Pictures from the Party and of the Church of San Francisco can be found here.
In Sevilla we sang at the Santo Angel Church. The audience was small but enthusiastic -- one group wanted us to come back and sing for them -- unfortunately it wasn't possible. It was very hot and a couple of singers sat out because of the heat. Pictures inside the Church can be seen here.
In Madrid we sang at the Cathedral church San Jeronimo. This concert is the only one where we sang our entire repertoire. In between the pieces, Pete made comments about our abilities in Spanish. This concert is where Carolyn sang parts of Ride the Chariot in Spanish. Pictures inside the Church can be found here.
