Report from the Road:
Orchestra Concludes Tours and Bids Farewell to Professor Penner

Today has been a very bittersweet day for everyone. It was our last day of concerts for the tour, as well as our final day together as a full group.  

We began the day by playing a few pieces for church service at Carmichael SDA Church before enjoying a delicious lunch of haystacks provided by the church members. During the afternoon we had a chance to go to a nearby park and enjoy the sunshine one last time. We saw rattlesnakes and lizards and entertained ourselves by walking or playing in the water.  

We performed our final, and best attended, concert of tour this evening in the Carmichael church.  It was also the orchestra’s last performance with Jennifer Penner as conductor, which made it all the more special.  (Professor Penner will be moving to Germany.)  We were well received, as we have been at every performance we have given. 

After the concert there were many hugs all around, and a number of eyes were moist. In the morning, the extra musicians that joined us for tour will be flying home, as will a few CUC students, while the rest of us travel on the buses back to campus.  So for some, our tour has reached its end. We’ve lived together for over a week, and have had a lot of fun together.  Even the members that have only been with us for the week of tour feel like a part of the group now. We only hope that we will all see each other again someday.