Over the first weekend of Spring Break, choir director Bradley Kauffman and his peppy entourage of 11 concert choir students traveled to Ohio and Pennsylvania for choir tour. Mennonite Schools Council (MSC) Choir Festival, the highly anticipated gathering for Mennonite school’s choir students, had been canceled for the third year in a row this year. This unfortunate yet COVID-responsible decision left many schools uncertain about what to do. Bradley Kauffman led the charge and put together a series of fun events for his students to do in place of the mass-choir assembly.
On Thursday, the students left for Archbold, Ohio where they performed an evening concert for members of Zion Mennonite Church. Junior Lucca Kauffman noted that the full and vibrant sound of the choir at their first unmasked performance of the year was “inspiring.” That night the choir split up and stayed the night with a host family from the congregation. Friday morning the choir reassembled and headed out for Pittsburgh. A two-day concert break gave the students a little break but that didn’t mean they stopped singing. Snippets of hymns or other countrified tunes could always be heard from not too far away. On Friday and Saturday, the group attended an Art and Natural History Museum as well as a Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concert. In their free time, the choir kids enjoyed exploring Pittsburgh, speaking in accents, and singing…duh.
Senior Ivonne Ortiz said that one of her favorite moments from the trip was “staying up late talking and playing games,” spending time with people who she doesn’t typically see each school day. Another shared favorite memory was hearing Adam Siemens-Rhodes’ incredible British accent on the bus ride home. On Sunday morning the choir performed one last memorable worship service at Pittsburgh Mennonite Church before heading back home.