‘Surreal’ performances in Ireland for FHS Choir Tour
“We were invited to perform in Galway Choral Festival in Galway,” said Kirstine Buchanan, co-choir director, along with Mitchell Moore. “We have a great relationship with Dr. (Craig) Zamer (professor of music and choral activities) from Tennessee Tech University.
“He was conducting in the Galway Choral Festival and he invited us to come and join Tennessee Tech (chorus) on the trip,” Buchanan added.
“It was so surreal,” rising FHS junior Layla Baker said. “When we first found out, it was not a place I thought I’d be able to go, especially in high school, and it was such a cool opportunity.”
To take the trip, “students had to fundraise on their own,” she added.
They held fundraisers, had jobs or did odd jobs to raise the funds.
Meanwhile, “we used a tour company that organized the trip, called Perform International,” Buchanan said. “They were amazing to work with.”
The group left Knoxville Monday, June 2, arrived in Galway Tuesday, June 3, and performed at Galway Cathedral Friday, June 6. Then, they left Galway on Saturday, June 7, for Dublin, where they stayed for a couple of days before traveling home Monday, June 9.
“The kids were very excited when we announced the trip,” the choir director recalled. “We ended up having about 30 kids sign on to do the trip. Kids, all the way from ninth-graders to seniors who had graduated the week before (attended the trip). We just felt like it was an opportunity we couldn’t turn down, to take them abroad and sing in places people had been singing in for thousands of years.”
