Continuing the tradition of touring the globe, the Wabash College Glee Club will spend the next two weeks in Ecuador.
Director Richard Bowen along with the aid of Spanish Professor Dan Rogers will lead a group of 31 Glee Club members through an unforgettable visit to the region. Rogers annually leads the Summer Ecuador program to the country located on the northwest coast of South America.
The Glee Club enjoyed an official send-off ceremony, during which President Pat White wished them well and Dean of the College Gary Phillips read a proclamation from Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. See
pictures from the send-off here.
The traditional Ecuador program is underway in Quito. Students are already
blogging about the experience. Glee Club members will be writing about their experience during the two week tour.
While the tour includes all the sights and sounds an immersion group might experience, the Club will also perform six concerts throughout the country, including four in Quito.
They will hold a concert at the Eloy Afaro Military School on Saturday, May 22nd, followed by another concert on the 23rd on the Grand Plaza of the Cathedral of Quito. After an eight-hour bus trip south to the city of Cuenca, Glee Clubbers will sing May 25 in Abdon Calderon Park. Upon return to Quito, the group will tour the capital as well as sing May 27 with the Choir of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador.
The Glee Club will experience the culture of Ecuador firsthand when they visit the village of San Clemente on May 28th, performing a joint concert with the community chorus, as well as an overnight home stay with residents of the village.
Perhaps the highlight of the trip for the group will come on Sunday, May 30th, when the Club provides accompaniment for Mass at the Jesuit Iglesia de La Compania, one of the oldest and most impressive churches in Ecuador, which dates to 1605. The traveling party will return to Crawfordsville Wednesday, June 2.
While the tradition of singing at Wabash College dates back to its earliest years, formal organization of the Glee Club was established by 1892. The Glee Club has been an indispensible part of life at the College for more than 100 years. Performing for a variety of College activities and concerts during the academic year, the group also makes a concert tour in the U.S. during the College’s spring break. The Glee Club also performed in Wales, England, and Scotland in 2006.
Here's a schedule for the Glee Club's tour of Ecuador:
May 19 — Flight to Quito, late evening arrival
May 20 — Visit the equator monument (Mitad del Mundo), travel to the cloud-forest town of Mindo
May 21 — Activities in Mindo, return to Quito
May 22 — Concert at the Eloy Afaro Military School in Quito
May 23 — Concert on the Grand Plaza of the Cathedral of Quito
May 24 — Bus trip south the the city of Cuenca
May 25 — City tour of Cuenca and concert in the Abdon Calderon Park - the central square of Cuenca
May 26 — Visit the villages of Gualaceo and Chordeleg on return bus trip to Quito
May 27 — City tour of Quito and evening joint concert with the Choir of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador
May 28 — Bus trip to Otavalo / joint performance with the community chorus of the village of San Clemente / overnight "home stay" with residents of San Clemente
May 29 — Visit the Otavalo Indian Market, the largest indigenous market in South America
May 30 — Evening performance during Mass at the Jesuit Iglesia de la Compañia
May 31 — Cable car transport to the summit of Cruz Loma mountain at 13,000 feet
June 1 — Group activities in Quito
June 2 —Return flight from Quito to Indianapolis
