It’s about four o’clock in the morning and all round Moseley, and further abroad, choristers, parents and suitcases are all beginning a journey that will last for the next ten days, but for now, everyone just wants to get to the airport and on a plane. Despite increased security, and a throng of uniformed officers greeting us, everyone got on the plane and off again safely, which was worth the extra security.
Once we’d all arrived at the hotel, and checked out our rooms, which, despite beds that a few people definitely had to warm to, our rooms had everything you could need, including toasters, kettles, microwaves, and other such amenities that only made our stay even more enjoyable.
On our first night, we all went downstairs to the deck for a barbecue. The night was warm, and for over twenty one’s the bar provided anything else necessary. What I particularly liked was seeing the whole choir together, happy. Though without St Mary’s, this group of strangers would never have met.
The cathedral itself is 83,012 square feet with a total weight of 150,000 tons, and only about 100 years old. Basically it was huge. With shiny, marble floors and ceilings it makes you giddy to look at, Washington National Cathedral really was a sight to behold. The main church area alone dwarfed the whole of St Mary’s, but on top of that, the Cathedral had other layers, below ground and above, including a huge Museum Shop, various other chapels, space for the choir, offices, a theatre and a restaurant.
But despite the huge space we had to fill with our voices, even the smallest trebles were bouncing with excitement. Over the week we sang to varying numbers of people, the Sunday Morning service being the largest with 611 people worshipping. It was a great experience to sing somewhere so big. I was really nervous about getting everything right, especially for Sunday as we were being filmed, but thankfully, all the services went without a glitch.
In between services we had plenty of time to explore D.C. Our tour guide Jeannie was fabulous and gave us a real insight into the history of Washington. We saw a real variety of places, including the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the changing of the guard at Arlington Cemetery, as well as other points of interest like the Air and Space Museum and the White House.
Going to America was an amazing experience for everyone, as singing in Washington National Cathedral was an opportunity of a lifetime, and we got to visit a place with something for everyone. It was a lot of fun, and hard work, but I think the best part was seeing the people in the choir open up, and getting to know everyone better.