Elizabethtown College choral students sang their way across Germany, the Czech Republic, and Austria on a once-in-a-lifetime trip during the summer of 2022.
Students and professors at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic.
The choral groups – made up of 35 current Etown Music majors, non-majors, and alumni – performed at multiple venues and toured many historic churches and towns. Accompanied by Associate Professor and Director of Voice Dr. Anne Gross, Professor of Music Dr. Matthew Fritz, and Professor of Music Dr. Justin Badgerow, the students performed at venues including the Czech Museum of Music in Prague, the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, the Robert and Clara Schumann House in Leipzig, and the Konstantin Basilica in Trier.
The Department of Music provides opportunities for choir students to tour internationally every two years. Gross and Fritz work together with the students to choose each destination.
Music Education major Wyatt Henschen ’24 said exploring such beautiful cities, meeting so many amazing people, and performing in such amazing locations made this trip one of the most amazing experiences he’s been involved with at Etown.
“I’ve never felt more connected to the music I was performing or the people I was with as I did on this tour,” Henschen said.
Gross hopes that this experience abroad helped her students realize how much they have in common with people in other countries and how beautifully music connects us all.
“Any kind of travel is important to understand others,” Gross said. “When we travel overseas as a choir, we’re definitely leaving our comfort zone and experiencing a different way of life; the fact that we involve music makes it a much deeper, richer experience. Music truly is an international language.”
