A fifty person french youth choir on tour to the U.S. for August of 2012. This is one of my summer projects.

What goes into an escapade of this nature? How does one go about arranging such a production?

Rewind to January of this year when a dear family friend, who happens to be on the board for a prestigious french choir, asks me to assist with the choir’s tour. After meeting Francis Bardot, the director and founder of the choir, with his lovely wife on their preliminary trip from Paris, it was decided that I would arrange for concerts in the D.C. part of the tour. I was also invited to play the harp with the choir during their performances.

In order to understand this privilege, let us pause a moment to learn about the man: Francis Bardot. He is a noteworthy maestro in his own rite. France celebrated him in her highest award; he is a chevalier for the Legion of Honor due to his musical contributions to the French people. Francis is a gentle, fatherly soul whose love for music is evident when he speaks of it, and his desire to share beautiful liturgical and secular music is apparent in the 40 tours he has tackled over the years with hundreds of children, youth and adult students who support his mission. What makes Professor Bardot so special, is not only that he has the ability to appreciate good music and conserve it, but that he brings people together through the music. The choirs are comprised of various christian denominations, muslims, atheists and so forth. In this sense, the force of the music starts with the unity of those who create it. You can listen to their music here: http://www.leschoeursfrancisbardot.org/index.asp?intro

So, getting back to business on 50 foreign, music students heading to Washington, D.C. Where will they sing, and where will they stay? Typically, a choir makes a partnership with another choir, or organization so that the hospitality received may be returned. Ideal candidates for such relationships are school or church choirs, tour groups, or any highly involved and dedicated community within a very small geographical radius. Luckily, the families and young adults in D.C. who committed to hosting students were very generous and volunteered to house students in groups of 2-6 with no plans for a choir trip to France in return. They did volunteer to share their culture with the french students and in offering this hospitality received their own reward for the virtue offered. In the end, Francis opted out and decided that the choir would stay in a hotel so that they could be in one location for the duration of the D.C. visit. He also decided that he would like the freedom of sightseeing all day with his students without the level of planning involved with a host. This turned out to be a blessing because they were able to see the capital of the U.S. at their own speed, with concerts in the evening. Donations from the performances were used to cover accommodations.

Here is a picture of the youth choir performing:

Though all of the performances were delightful, and extraordinary in their own way they each left a different impression.

Performance 1: St. Rita’s Church in Alexandria. The acoustics in the church are to die for and the organ is fantastic. The music director there is a delightful gentleman who shared his space and made rehearsals effortless.

Performance 2: This performance took place in St. Mary’s Church in Old Town Alexandria. The audience stole the show that night. Their enthusiasm and support was unmatched and the choir sang to the heavens!

Performance 3: Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Bethesda, Maryland. This was a magical performance because the rain pounded from the sky, but could not thwart, nor diminish the voices rising up in glorious tones.

So what makes this happen? Trust. People working together and supporting each other. When someone has an idea, whether it was Francis Bardot’s decision to bring his choir to D.C., or my commitment to their performance here, or the hospitality of their hosts, or the men and women who chose to listen to the music, and that idea becomes reality, a miracle occurs. Many thanks to all those who assisted to make great music possible!