Photo credit: Jeff Bennett of Bennett Travel
Lakewood Area Choral Society (LACS) has just returned from a fantastic performance tour to St. Louis, Missouri and Nashville, Tennessee. In St. Louis, choir members took the tram up in the iconic Gateway Arch, a viewed the city from on high. Others went to the Old Courthouse (part of Gateway Park) where the Dred Scott decision was issued. It was an exciting time to be in St. Louis, as their hockey team, the St. Louis Blues, won its first Stanley Cup….ever! There were an estimated 500,000 extra people in downtown St. Louis at the Rally including many LACS members. It was so fun to be there for their celebration, with everyone singing Laura Branigan’s “Gloria” and dancing in the streets. LACS also visited the Missouri Botanical Gardens – 79 acres of flora and fauna – just beautiful! The performance at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica was amazing. The choir sang six pieces, during the 5:00 p.m. Mass, and there was a long, seven-second reverberation in the massive structure, replete with 38,000,000 mosaic tiles. At the end of the Mass, the choir was met sustained applause and the priest even came over and personally thanked Dr. Robert C. Oster, LACS director.
In Nashville LACS toured the Country Music Hall of Fame, Opryland Resort, and visited the Hermitage, President Andrew Jackson’s residence. LACS enjoyed a performance at the Grand Ol’ Opry, including 83-year old Charlie Daniels, who seems still in his prime as he did a heart-rendering performance of “How Great Thou Art,” and then rosined up his bow to treat the audience to a rousing rendition of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” LACS took an afternoon lunch cruise on the Cumberland River on the General Jackson Showboat with sparkling entertainment and delicious food. One of the more memorable experiences, however, was the choir’s visit to the historic RCA Recording Studio B, where numerous performers, from Chet Atkins and Roy Orbison, to Dolly Parton and Waylon Jennings made their legendary recordings, including Elvis! Not only was the choir in the same studio as Elvis, and not only did Sue Morton, LACS accompanist, get the play the same Steinway he played, but LACS had recording session in that same room, singing “I Cannot Count the Stars” and “The Old English Prayer.” LACS is now part of the history of that building. At the Parthenon, a wonderful full-sized replica of the original Parthenon, LACS sang two acapella selections and also performed a full concert in the large atrium at the Embassy Suites Hotel where the choir stayed in while in Nashville.
The choir is taking a brief break, and then will be preparing for a concert, Sunday, September 22, 3PM at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel in Monroe, Michigan. And Lakewood Area Acapella Choir (LAAC) will be working to prepare for their second solo concert to be held Sunday, October 6, 3PM at Grace Lutheran Church in Hastings. Caption for attached photo: Lakewood Area Choral Society and fellow travelers near the main altar in St. Louis Basilica.