A new ‘Singing Revolution’: Lawrence Children’s Choir heads overseas to perform / LJWorld.com

Archive for Monday, July 13, 2009

July 13, 2009

Special to the Journal-World

The Lawrence Children’s Choir performs at Palanga Katholic Church.

Reid Hildenbrand kicked off his summer with a bang — a very, very cold bang.

Diving into waters about 30 degrees colder than his normal swimming hangout — the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center — Hildenbrand also went headfirst into the summer vacation of a lifetime.

While his friends were back home in Kansas, the soon-to-be sophomore at Lawrence High School was freezing in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Lithuania. And he was going to enjoy every minute of it — he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

As a member of the Lawrence Children’s Choir since sixth grade, Hildenbrand had sang all across Lawrence, the state and the country for years. But finally, for the first time since he’d joined the choir and the first time in five years, the choir was on an international trip.

Hildenbrand was one of 54 members of the 80-youth tour choir, which includes singers from fifth through ninth grades from Lawrence and the surrounding area, who took the June trip to sing in the former Soviet republics of Lithuania and Latvia.

“It was a real learning experience for me,” Hildenbrand says. “I just saw so much, and it really opened my eyes.”

The choir performed four concerts during its stay for people from two Baltic countries that were part of a “Singing Revolution” while under Soviet rule. The revolution, which took place in the Baltic nations between 1987 and 1990, included massive, spontaneous groups of people meeting in the street and singing songs as a sign of resistance.

History was all around the choir members, who learned not only about the revolution but also about measures regular citizens took to protect what they loved from Soviet rule. In one church the choir was able to see a pipe organ once hidden from Soviet metal scavengers by a false wall. And on a patch of land in Lithuania they saw the thousands of crosses laid in what is called the “Hill of Crosses” — a popular site visited by religious pilgrims, including Pope John Paul II.

Janeal Krehbiel, the founder and director of the choir, says she believed the trip was a successful mix of fun, history and music.

“The people just love music. It’s such a rich part of their tradition,” Krehbiel says. “I thought it was the perfect balance of educational opportunities, social opportunities, hangout time in the dorm and concerts.”

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13 July 2009
at 10:03 a.m.

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avoice (Anonymous) says…

“Hildenbrand had sang all across Lawrence,…”

That would be: “had sung.” Appalling!
13 July 2009
at 10:08 a.m.

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KansasPerson (Anonymous) says…

“As a member of the Lawrence Children’s Choir since sixth grade, Hildenbrand had sang all across Lawrence, the state and the country for years.”

That “had sang” hurts my ears. Can that be correct? Shouldn't it be “had sung?”