This morning the boys all got a wake-up
call at 08h00 and had breakfast at 09h00.
We left the hotel at 09:30 am to go to an acoustic rehearsal at the
venue for our competition tonight at the Culture Palace Ziemelblazma. This venue is a 30 min bus drive from our
hotel and is situated very far from the city centre of Riga.
After our sound check there, we drove back to the World Choir Games
catering center for lunch at 13h00.
Today’s lunch of pasta bolognaise satisfied the boys’ culinary
requirements, although the accompanying cucumber salad (which is basically what
we know as gherkins, chopped into little blocks) did not receive any nods of
approval. J
After lunch
we hopped on a shuttle bus back to our hotel, where the boys watched a video of
our Pop set as performed at the UN Assembly Hall in Geneva. Chef’s aim with this exercise was for the
boys to scrutinize themselves and see where they maybe did movements wrong, or
if their movements weren’t together and if all the voice parts blended together
without any individual voices sticking out. From 15h00 to 17h00 the boys had some free time to rest and have a
nap. They had to be ready to leave the
hotel at 17h30,showered and dressed in their Young Male Choir Uniform. We had to be at our concert venue at 19h00, ready to perform at 19h30.
As I
mentioned before, this venue is quite a drive from the hub of the city center,
so there weren't as many people in the audience as with our Folklore performance. Nevertheless, the hall is really beautiful
and surrounded by acres of grass and majestic acorn trees. The acoustics were not really suited to
choral music and it was very difficult to project and let the choir resonate. We were third on the program and our boys
gave the performance their all, even though music in a traditional choral style
is not our forte. As always they sang
with such passion and energy, and I do believe that they did their best and
left their hearts on that stage. Chef entered this category only to challenge
the boys and push the boundaries of their skills. It was a worthwhile experience for the boys
and they did themselves and us very proud. The Hong Kong Diocesan Boys School
Choir, who are ranked number one in the world for male choirs, performed
straight after us. These gentlemen are
extremely skilled and some of our boys who listened to their performance were
left in awe and felt humbled by their masterful vocal technique and flawless
harmonies. There were only four choirs
competing in this category, so we will definitely be in the top 5! J
We left the
concert venue at about 21h00 and headed back to the hotel. Because we could not have supper before or
after the competition, the boys were all given a supper stipend to go and buy
themselves supper somewhere in the vibrant city square of Old Town Riga. They did not complain and as soon as we got
to the hotel, they changed into more female alluring attire, as it is not cool
at all to walk around in your choir uniform.
They had to be back at the hotel by 23h00 because we have another
competition day tomorrow – Scenic Pop – at 11h00. The boys are really amped and excited for
this competition. They feel quite
confident about their Pop set and are determined to bring back some gold
tomorrow night!
