Chicago Concert

Chicago! This was a really hot one, too… :p REALLY HOT. Poor boys. There were so many people from out-of-town at this concert! Freddie’s dad came from England, and we met him before the program. He's very nice and very tall. Freddie looks a lot like him only blonde and little. Maybe he came because it was Freddie's birthday the day before. :) More friends from Japan came and joined the others who have been traveling with us, Fan de LoK from France has been at every concert, quite a few people from California and lots of other states, 2 German twin brothers who work in California now, and 2 girls who flew all the way from China just for the concert! Wow! And Sal Solo came also! He was the singer who has the earliest recorded St. Philip's Boys Choir video, "San Damiano," from 1984. He lives in the Chicago suburbs right near me! I got my picture taken with him! :D

Before the concert, there was a free carillon concert that lots of people came to, so the 2 little boys I babysit, Nick and Nate, ran around passing out fliers inviting people to stay for the Libera concert. They were very excited to see boys sing who are their age. :)

The doors to Rockefeller Chapel were left open the entire time, so we all just took our seats earlier than usual. We were there so early that many of us got to see Libera practicing beforehand. That was very exciting!

Nick & Nate's grandma took this picture of the rehearsal.

You can see little Nick & Nate's front row seats - so they could see.

I think they were still running around when my mom took this picture. :)

Despite the heat, the concert itself was really great! Everyone’s voices sounded amazing! Ralph was especially good on "Song of Life." Nick and Nate's grandmother sings in church choir with us, and she commented on what a great singer Ralph is. She also liked Freddie and Josh's voices.

I noticed that Cassius is behaving like one of the older boys around the little newbies now, helping them get situated on stage. Jakob is still growing…his robe doesn’t touch the floor anymore! :)

Nick and Nate had to leave at Intermission, because they're little and had to get up early for Choir Camp the next day. So...my two cousins, Nathanael who's 12 and Hannah who's almost 16, my aunt and I got to sit in their front row seats! On a family reunion trip a year ago, I tried to introduce Nathanael to Libera's music while we were in the car. But he said, "Oh, I love Libera! I have one of their CD's!" lol. So he was super excited to sit on the front row! :)

The second half was amazing! The sun had gone down, and the lighting was so beautiful in the church. We could see the boys in Te Lucis better this time. They stood center stage. All 7 of them sang in unison on the first stanza, then Sam had a solo for the whole 2nd stanza and then they sang together again. It sounded really good! I love Sam’s voice!

Kavana and Cassius were the goofy ones last night, as always. At the end of Freddie’s speech about the robes, Cassius usually looks right, left, and goes back to his spot. Tonight he looked and then Kavana came out of the line shaking his head and pulled him back to their spot in line, then yanked his hood off of him. :) It got quite a laugh.

Sam got a good laugh, too. When he said that he had been in the choir since he was 8, someone started spontaneously clapping, and everyone joined in. Sam grinned and did a little bow, after which my cousin Hannah declared that he was her favorite. :)

Everyone loved the concert. The audience gave the boys a standing ovation with lots of cheering.

After the concert, my cousin Nathanael was very happy because 3 separate times people came up to him and told him he sang very well. lol. He does look a bit like Jakob only shorter. :)

Some of us waited around for a long time after the concert and got a chance to tell the Libera boys "good job" on their way from the church to the coach. They really did do a great job! Keep it up boys! Then we all had a waving contest with them while they were sitting in the bus. Tiarnan was the first to make the heart sign with his hands then Ralph and Daniel. Sam and Liam were waving bouncing around in their seat acting all crazy. :D It sure was a fun day!

PS: I won’t be in St. Louis, because I have Band Camp this week…which gives me mixed feelings, because I love Band Camp, but I really want to go to the concert, too. Anyway, my mom will be there, and I will see everyone in Dallas!