Harmonizing History: The Hopkins Choir’s European Adventure

Olivia Yu ’27 Assistant Arts Editor and Saisha Ghai ’27 Assistant Arts Editor

On June 10, the Hopkins Choir departed from Kennedy International Airport, eager to explore the historic cities of Vienna and Prague. They embarked on three exclusive tours, participated in a workshop, and visited twelve cultural sites. Together, they performed four concerts in breathtaking places such as St. Stephen’s Cathedral, and during some performances, they were joined by local choirs to host incredible performances.

The trip began with a seven-hour flight to Heathrow Airport in London, followed by a transfer to Vienna. The choir spent three full days in the city where, as Claire Billings ’25 said, the choir “performed for a mass at St.
Stephen’s Cathedral, which is the most important religious building in Austria and one of the most famous cathedrals. We also performed with a local professional choir in Vienna and had ... a workshop with [its] choir director.” For Billings, the historical locations they visited and performed in were especially impactful. She said, “All the churches we performed in were so beautiful and the acoustics were really good.” But overall, “every day was pretty much the same,” said A’nai Alvarez ’26. “We would leave the hotel and head into the city we were in. Sometimes we would have lunch together as a group. On the days we didn’t, we would have dinner together. [After concerts] depending on what time the concert was over, we would either go explore the city more or head back to the hotel for the night.”

During their time in Vienna, the Hopkins Choir also had the opportunity to take several guided tours. On June 12, members went on a historical tour. Karolina Jasaitis ’27 says that they learned about “World War II, Vienna [in] 1900, the Hapsburgs and their Empire, the art and architecture of Vienna, and the Spanish Riding School.” Alvarez said that she particularly enjoyed these guided tours: “It was really cool learning about the history of the monuments and people from there.” According to Billings, “We got to do a lot of sightseeing, which was fun but also insightful. One of our tour guides was an art history expert and taught us a lot about the different kinds of historic architecture and art around Vienna.” According to Michael Mfuko ’27, choir members “took a tour around Prague, and sang in two other churches.” Jasaitis recalled that a last day was filled with sight- seeing, including a “walking tour of Prague at Prague Castle, the Lesser Quarter (Mala Strana), the Charles Bridge, the Old Town and the Astronomical Clock.” The second leg of the trip started with a bus ride from Vienna to the city of Prague in Czechia. Billings recounted that the Hopkins Choir “stopped at a super little, quaint town” named Český Krumlov on the way there. A highlight of the trip was a day that included “a benefit concert for [the] Samaritans Pantry, located in Jindřichův Hradec,” Jasaitis said. The Hopkins Choir got the opportunity to “learn about [the] charity’s work” helping homeless people. Billings said that “the choir we sang with in the benefit concert was really sweet. Even though most of them didn’t speak any English, they taught us how to pronounce the lyrics to a Czech song that we sang together.”

Adjusting to singing in such large venues was not without challenges. Billings said that the choir “had to work hard to get used to a different sound” when performing. According to Billings, “I think as a choir, we definitely got a lot better and [more] cohesive throughout the trip from performing the same songs over and over.” Billings attributed this improvement to “adjusting to new spaces, which forced us to listen to each other more and be more conscious of dynamics and phrasing and what we collectively sounded like while singing.” The three days in Prague had their grievances as well. Jasaitis said that her “least favorite part of the trip was the hikes we did in Prague.” According to Jasaitis, the hikes “took up times in our day when we could’ve had more free time to spend in the city of Prague,” leaving only “2-4 hours of free time, which was truly disappointing since it was such a vibrant and unique city.”

The trip ended on June 19 with a flight back to JFK. Throughout the journey, the students explored these major European cities, sang in historical venues, and connecting with old and new friends alike. Jasaitis noted that her “favorite part of the trip” was “bonding with my roommate until 5 a.m. By 5 a.m., the [sun was already rising] and the next day we needed to be up and ready by 10 a.m., so I was very much sleep deprived, [but it] was so worth it!” For Billings, a highlight of the trip of the trip was choir members “just had time to just talk and hang out, which is hard to find sometimes during a busy school year.” For his part, Calder Resch ’27, was hesitant to divulge too many details. “What happens on the choir trip stays on the choir trip,” he said.

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Harmonizing History: The Hopkins Choir’s European Adventure