The Concordian

Many students consider the opportunity of traveling and studying abroad to be a rewarding once in a lifetime experience that is sometimes unreachable, but for the Concord University Music Department this dream will become a reality for 23 students. 

Starting on March 4 of this year these 23 students will be traveling to Glasgow, Scotland for their nine day excursion of sight-seeing and concerts across the area until the students arrive back in Charleston, West Virginia on the 13th. 

Josh Miller, Director of Choral Activities and Vocal Studies, is excitedly preparing for this international event with students going on the trip saying, “Out CU students are in for a wonderful experience.” 

After questioning Miller about what types of activities the students would be participating in throughout this nine day expedition, he answered that, “[The] music students will be collaborating with university students in Scotland and Ireland in three public performances in three of the finest cathedrals in Europe.”

A detailed layout of the tour from Arts Development International Tours begins the trip with a departure from Charleston, West Virginia on the fourth of March with an overnight flight into the largest city of Scotland, Glasgow. 

The following days include a variety of different all day excursions to historically famous locations within both the Scottish and Irish landscapes, including trips to the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh and the capital of Ireland, Belfast. 

While in Glasgow on the eighth of March, in Belfast on the tenth of March, and in Dublin on the twelfth of March, the Concord University music students will be performing in their three choral concerts, one of which “will be a fundraising event for the Haiti relief efforts,” says Josh Miller. 

As this upcoming musical trip will be one of the first international music tours for Concord University in many years, students are looking forward to a unique and gratifying excursion that should influence and impact their future musical and professional experiences. 

Over the course of the semester the music students have worked and are still working with different fundraisers to raise enough money to pay for certain unavoidable costs concerning the entire trip. 

The entire trip will cost each student $2,389 per person, but this comprehensive price includes, “complete tour administration and coordination, international round trip airfare, roundtrip transfers, private motor coach, eight nights tourist class accommodations in twins, breakfast daily, two dinners (March 5 & 9), ADI personal tour director escort, and concert arrangements for a maximum of three concerts,” as stated by Arts Development International Tours. 

All students that attend the trip will be roomed with another person in their room for each night of the eight night trip; however, if a person wishes to have their own room for the duration of the trip, they can pay an additional $480 to the original price of their trip. 

While this fee for the trip does cover the majority of the expenses that are required during the trip, passports, visas, and personal expenses are not included in this initial fee. 

Because of the expense that this trip will cost the students that are going on the trip, the music department has scheduled different fundraising events throughout the semester along with many more to come before the students leave for their trip in March. 

Recently during this spring semester, the music students did participate in a fundraising pancake breakfast at the Applebee’s located in Bluefield, VA, and then during the fall semester of 2009, the music students along with 130 high school students of the area performed different public choral events in Athens, Bluefield, and Princeton.  Josh Miller said, “Those [the public choral events] were our biggest fundraisers.” 

He has also stated that future fundraisers will come from, “any profits from our The Tender Land opera performances,” as well as, “an ongoing fundraiser that CU faculty, staff, and students could help out with.” 

The ongoing fundraiser that he has referred to is called the “Pot O’Gold Project” and works by people simply donating any loose change or even paper money that they may have lying around into the different donation pots located around the campus, and so far the music department has already made $500 from this fundraiser.

The roster for the students travelling to Ireland and Scotland include: Hayley Bird, Aaron Chamberlin, Hannah Clark, Donnie Coleman, Kelly Connors, Laura Croy, Fallon Davis, Michael Dorsey, Sarah Edgar, Rebecca Easton, Heather Gray, Matthew Hamilton, James Hodges, Carrie Honaker, Kyle LaMothe, Jenna Phillips, Jesse Ratcliffe, Jordan Stadvec, Whitney Stroud, James Suroski, Miles Vaughn, Chelsea Willis, and John Wisman.  Any students, faculty, or staff that is interested in donating to the music department and their trip to Ireland and Scotland in early March can assist by participating in the “Pot O’Gold Project” or attending The Tender Land opera performance coming soon.

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