KSB…officially now the Boychoir with Lattitude Attitude
At approximately 14:20, KSB touched down in Longyearbyen, Svalbard. In doing so, it made history again as the first choir to reach both the Antarctic and Arctic Circles. The wheels of the plane had hardly hit the ground when the boys broke out into the South African medley. This was a musical bookend to the outburst that occurred when we touched down in Antarctica.
Even before the plane door opened, we could feel the drop in temperature. The town of Longyearbyen is certainly more built up than Frei Base on King George Island, but a sense of other worldliness pervades. Mountains, with tops still covered with snow, surround the little valley settlement, dwarfing all that is in it. Although no longer a mining town, you get the distinct feeling of being back in time. Aesthetics is not a priority here, rather practicality and necessity in surviving the elements. Still, despite all the above ground pipes, muddy everything, and old dilapidated shacks from a time gone by, it’s a handsome little town that is maintains its frontier charm while being forward thinking in its newer, modern architecture.
We rushed into our hostel, got changed, and headed to the Kulturhuset. Just a year old, again quite contemporary in a rugged way. After rehearsal we were treated to a pizza feast with the most wonderfully imaginative toppings. Pinnapple pizza, taco pizza, curry chicken pizza. And as much as the boys wanted. Not difficult to make boys happy. Quantity a must, quality a bonus.
After dinner, they explore the little town in tour buddy pairs, busking as they went, drumming up an audience. Every person in sight was stopped and informed of the pending concert.
For such a small village, we had a great turn out and once again the boys delighted one and all. Our singing in Norwegian continues to surprise and enchant our Norwegian audiences. The boys are performing all of our repertoire so very well. And the newer singers continue to blossom musically, as well as socially. Rarely do our audiences at home get to see such polished concerts. We become a well-oiled singing machine. Fitz and I and the staff and chaps are very proud of how well they’re representing KSB, our state, and our country. With their talent and good manners (mostly!), they define, and sometimes redefine – for the better – the image of American youth. Parents, you should be proud as well.
After the concert we went for ice cream. The store had copies of the local English newspaper, which has an article about us and our visit, including a a color photo and a listing of our appearances while in Svalbard.
At the end of the evening, back at the hostel, we reminded the boys that each and everyone of them now have a college essay. It can start out something like this: “I realize now, looking back at my experience performing in the Arctic Circle -just a stone’s throw from the North Pole – that it was this moment when I began viewing myself as an explorer of sorts. One with limitless opportunities for exploration in this wonderful wide world. Now, as I look toward my college experience, I see it as yet one more exciting frontier to be explored.” Sure wish I could have written something like that for my college essay!
This sun never setting thing takes some getting used to. You can’t imagine how strange it is – broad daylight at 9pm, 10pm, 11pm, 12pm… Twenty four hours of light! We’ll see how well the boys sleep. Luckily tomorrow is a fairly easy day.
More later…
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