Day Four: Back to Rehearsals

After the break of yesterday, today was back to work! It was great to be singing in our base at St Mark's again, working through lots of the material that we will be looking at this weekend. We have a lot to cover on Saturday and Sunday, and even if most of it is familiar material to us, working through the detail so we can sing at our very best and represent both ourselves and Worcester College well matters. For sure, this is a terrific time away and an amzing opportunity to explore one of the world's great cities, but we are here to be Worcester College Choir! Caius, our director of music, is struggling today though. The sun is relentless, and the walk up to San Miniato yesterday seems to have taken its toll.
Fortunately Benedict, our organ scholar, knows all our music, and stepped in to run the second half of the rehearal while Caius went back to his hotel room to get a bit more rest. Today also sees the last day Matthew, our assistant chaplain, is with us before he has to return early to duties at home. We will miss him this weekend!!! Very much!!! It's a really great thing that we have such a good team working together, looking after each other and looking out for everybody. And here's just a bit of Byrd that might work its way into Santa Croce's Sunday morning mass... We've got a little more rehearsal tomorrow yet. But this is heading the right way.
In the evening, again we gathered for supper.
The food here has been amazing all week - really, really good. Each restaurant we've visited has been so welcoming, and has fed us so well. It's been terrific to sit and relax and share stories over good food and good wine and to enjoy each other's company. At college, the choir eats together regularly - but this week has taken things to a whole new level.
And even at night we wander the city and see the sights! Marcus insisted we all have gelato (he really does have a thing for gelato) so we all agreed, just to make him feel better... Then it was time to wander back and let one day slowly fade away and another begin to seep toward us. Saturday brings a performance at St Mark's. Sunday we'll be singing all day.

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