Homer Alaska - Schools

There are field trips, and then there are field trips.

Today, 52 Homer High School students representing the HHS choir, as well as members of the Kenai Peninsula Community Chorus, depart for a 10-day tour of Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria. Under the direction of Mark Robinson, the group will perform at locations in Berlin, Leipzig, Prague, Vienna, Salzburg and Munich.

"Four years ago we went to Italy. In the ensuing time, I thought about where I would like to go next and it occurred to me that Germany and Austria were sort of the historical center of western civilization classical music. That seemed like a good thing to do," said Robinson, HHS choral director and director emeritus of the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra.

When Robinson looked at an atlas, he noted Prague was located between Berlin and Vienna and added it to the itinerary.

In all, there are 99 travelers in the group, including musicians and chaperones. Performances are scheduled for St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, the Salzburg Cathedral and the American Church in Berlin.

Some stops involve singing a mass, others a few carefully selected pieces of music.

They'll visit small churches and bustling village marketplaces. They will stop at Mauthausen, a concentration camp and holocaust museum in Austria, a visit Robinson anticipates will be "a very powerful experience."

Powerful in a different way will be performing at the church in Leipzig where Johann Sebastian Bach was chorale master for 25 years. Robinson's voice filled with emotion as he anticipated performing where the master once stood.

"It will be overwhelming to sing a chorale in that space, a phenomenal experience," Robinson said.

The group's repertoire includes 30 pieces drawn from the German Lutheran liturgy and the Catholic liturgy. There is Czech music, pieces from the German masters, jazz, pop, American folk songs and Hebrew music.

"Whatever setting we find ourselves in, we have a choice of appropriate music to sing," Robinson said. "We're doing everything from Ellington to Bach and in between."

Signing up for the trip was a decision made by students and their families, with each student responsible for raising the necessary $3,400. It includes motorcoach and air travel from Homer to Europe and back, hotels every night, two meals a day and an English-speaking guide, organized by Intropa Tours.

"There was a lot of fundraising that has happened to help them, but fundamentally, they were responsible for paying their own way," Robinson said.

Planning began more than a year ago, with the help of Laura Norton. This is Norton's third trip with the high school choir and community chorus. She performed with them in Italy in 2006 and New York City in 2002.

"If Italy is anything to go by, I suspect that what will have the most impact on me personally will be the smiles on the faces of all the travelers," Norton said, anticipating the high point of the trip. "The camaraderie of making music in foreign lands is indescribable."

For mother and daughter Connie and Alicia Isenhour, the trip is an opportunity to perform together.

"She sings much better than me and I get some looks from her and the other girls when I mess up," Connie Isenhour said with a laugh, describing what it's like to share this experience with her daughter.

As the departure date drew near, the duo shared the challenges of packing.

"Alicia and I are busy trying to remember what we forgot to pack and how we get the dress (for performing) and the (music) folder in the carry-on along with our iPods, passports and emergency supplies," Connie Isenhour said.

Looking back over months of preparation, Alicia noted the group's improvement.

"We've come a really long way from the beginning of the year when we started practicing," she said.

A member of the Kenai Peninsula Community Chorus, tenor Karl Stoltzfus shared Connie Isenhour's observation.

"The kids seem to know the music better than we do since they sing it almost every day at school," Stoltzfus said. "They're just great to sing with."

While it takes many voices to make this choir, it also has taken a community to make the trip possible.

"Obviously, we could not do this without Mark Robinson spearheading the project, but almost as important is the shared excitement of the entire community," Norton said.

Support of that magnitude has been a reminder of the strength and generosity of Homer's community spirit, "whether it is in response to a tragedy or in celebration of good fortune," Norton said.

Robinson also recognized the crucial role of hometown support.

"The Homer community and all the many businesses have donated all kinds of things. Over and over again, they have been just amazing," he said. "We've had lots of help, and lots of parent help in terms of fundraising."

On April 10, the community will have an opportunity to hear all the voices of the Homer High School Choir and the Kenai Peninsula Community Chorus, almost 200 total, perform songs prepared for the European tour. The Mariner Theater concerts will be at 3 and 7 p.m.

To follow the trip to Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria, visit the Web at http://e01650.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu.

McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibben.jackinsky.@homernews.com.