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News & Photos
Concert Choir Performs in Peru
Where in the world was McDonogh’s Concert Choir in June? For ten days, the touring choir, under the direction of Philip Olsen, traveled hundreds of miles across Peru, stopping to perform in Lima, Cusco, Puno, and Arequipa. The group of 34 students was joined by alumni choir members Alison Thomas ’01 and Shawn Paterakis ’03, along with Glen Rideout ’03 and Robby Ford ’07 who served as assistant conductors.
As the McDonogh Concert Choir traveled across the South American country, they experienced Peru’s diverse geography and ecosystem. The group moved from the Pacific Coast in Lima, to the city of Cusco located in a beautiful valley in the Andes Mountains, then to the tropical mountain ruins of Machu Picchu, and then to Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world at 12,507 ft. elevation. They finished their tour in Arequipa, a city in southwestern Peru that was built in the shadow of an inactive volcano. Along the way, the choir toured many historic sites from the Inca and Colonial periods.
A highlight of the trip was the students’ interaction with a local choir from the Inka Tupac Yupanqui School (located in a town called Chincheros in the Andes Mountains). When Mr. Olsen began planning the choir trip a year ago, he worked through ADI Tours, a New Jersey-based travel agency that specializes in sending choirs abroad. In turn, ADI contacted Cultural Immersions, an agency in Peru. Cultural Immersions used the McDonogh Concert Choir visit as a catalyst to enhance a local school’s curriculum by helping to pay the salary of a choir director to create a music program at Inka Tupac Yupanqui School. The local choir made their debut performance in a joint concert with the McDonogh Concert Choir in Cusco at the Sacra Familia Church on Sunday, June 16, 2013. The concert was a beautiful example of the unifying power of music.
After a performance with the McDonogh choir, the local children extended a spontaneous invitation to the group welcoming them to visit their school the following day. The Chincheros students surprised the McDonogh Choir with a traditional ceremony of baking the best potatoes of their harvest in earthen mounds and then sharing them with their guests. The McDonogh students played soccer and volleyball with the Chincheros students as the group waited to share the meal. At the end of the visit, the students of Inka Tupac Yupanqui School gave handmade gifts of bracelets, headbands, and belts to their new McDonogh friends.
Bridget Collins, one of the chaperones on the trip, shared, “I was so inspired and moved by the strength and generosity of the Andean people. We learned that there is no word in Quechua for thank you, instead, the word they use means pass it on. The McDonogh students, alumni, and faculty that shared this Peruvian adventure together will always strive to repay the hospitality of the people we met by sharing our love and talents with others.”
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Where in the world was McDonogh’s Concert Choir in June? For ten days, the touring choir, under the direction of Philip Olsen, traveled hundreds of miles across Peru, stopping to perform in Lima, Cusco, Puno, and Arequipa. The group of 34 students was joined by alumni choir members Alison Thomas ’01 and Shawn Paterakis ’03, along with Glen Rideout ’03 and Robby Ford ’07 who served as assistant conductors.
As the McDonogh Concert Choir traveled across the South American country, they experienced Peru’s diverse geography and ecosystem. The group moved from the Pacific Coast in Lima, to the city of Cusco located in a beautiful valley in the Andes Mountains, then to the tropical mountain ruins of Machu Picchu, and then to Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world at 12,507 ft. elevation. They finished their tour in Arequipa, a city in southwestern Peru that was built in the shadow of an inactive volcano. Along the way, the choir toured many historic sites from the Inca and Colonial periods.
A highlight of the trip was the students’ interaction with a local choir from the Inka Tupac Yupanqui School (located in a town called Chincheros in the Andes Mountains). When Mr. Olsen began planning the choir trip a year ago, he worked through ADI Tours, a New Jersey-based travel agency that specializes in sending choirs abroad. In turn, ADI contacted Cultural Immersions, an agency in Peru. Cultural Immersions used the McDonogh Concert Choir visit as a catalyst to enhance a local school’s curriculum by helping to pay the salary of a choir director to create a music program at Inka Tupac Yupanqui School. The local choir made their debut performance in a joint concert with the McDonogh Concert Choir in Cusco at the Sacra Familia Church on Sunday, June 16, 2013. The concert was a beautiful example of the unifying power of music.
After a performance with the McDonogh choir, the local children extended a spontaneous invitation to the group welcoming them to visit their school the following day. The Chincheros students surprised the McDonogh Choir with a traditional ceremony of baking the best potatoes of their harvest in earthen mounds and then sharing them with their guests. The McDonogh students played soccer and volleyball with the Chincheros students as the group waited to share the meal. At the end of the visit, the students of Inka Tupac Yupanqui School gave handmade gifts of bracelets, headbands, and belts to their new McDonogh friends.
Bridget Collins, one of the chaperones on the trip, shared, “I was so inspired and moved by the strength and generosity of the Andean people. We learned that there is no word in Quechua for thank you, instead, the word they use means pass it on. The McDonogh students, alumni, and faculty that shared this Peruvian adventure together will always strive to repay the hospitality of the people we met by sharing our love and talents with others.”