Each year, the three choirs of Texas A&M take turns traveling abroad to experience and perform in another country. This year the Women’s Chorus spent 10 days in Romania, performing four concerts and visiting eight different cities.
Chorus Director Travis Angel said the chorus typically only performs four concerts on these tours to give the singers a chance to experience the country they are visiting.
“You take out several hours of time when you do a concert. I mean we could do a concert every day, but then we wouldn’t really get to visit the country. We would just be performing. So we do four concerts and we’re there for 10 days. That gives us an opportunity to see the sights … and to get to know the country a little bit. Also, it gives us the opportunity to sing in some of their beautiful cathedrals and churches,” Angel said.
The Women’s Chorus performed in several historic churches, including the Black Church, the Church of the Holy Trinity and the Reformed Church.
English senior Alexis Kennett said that she enjoyed getting to spend free time experiencing what Romania had to offer beyond their performances.
“My favorite part was probably all the history,” Kennett said. “It was cool getting to kind of immerse ourselves in the history of the country. We had enough time to experience the architecture and really get a feel for the place.”
Angel said he believes it is valuable for the chorus to travel abroad because it allows them to understand the differences between life in America and life in other countries and see the responses people in other countries have to American choirs.
“I think it makes you appreciate being a part of the United States. We have a lot of things we just take for granted and when we go out in the world, we see a lot of things we have from a different perspective,” Angel said. “I have found that people outside the United States really enjoy hearing American choirs… We always have very good audiences for our concerts.”
Kennett said she was impressed by the response the chorus received in Romania.
“It was surprising because at our first concert we walked into the church and every single seat was taken… These people were watching us so intently… We were able to feel the energy of these people who were so happy to hear us sing,” Kennett said.
The Romania trip, as with all of the choirs’ international trips, provides an opportunity for members to travel to another country that they would not be able to visit under other circumstances.
“It’s a great opportunity [for chorus members] to see something outside of the United States which they might not be able to do without being a part of a group like this,” Angel said.
Kennett said this was her first time traveling abroad and she felt the trip had a positive impact on both herself and her Aggie experience.
“For many of the girls this kind of opportunity doesn’t come around often… Not only does it bring the choir closer together, but it really gave me the confidence to feel comfortable [traveling in another country,]” Kennett said. “You know the Aggie Spirit — it follows you everywhere. Just little things like our tour guide saying ‘howdy’… it really reminded us of how amazing it is to be a part of this Aggie family.”