On the Road with Minot State Choirs
NOTE: The following is provided by Minot State Assistant Music Professor and Director of Choral Activities Emerson Eads. Eads and the Minot State Choirs are making a trip across the northern tier of Montana during Spring Break, singing in multiple locations including the Helena Cathedral in Helena, Montana.
DAY 3: Kalispell, Montana to Helena, Montana
Leaving Kalispell, Montana, the sun began to shine, and as we made our way around Kalispell Bay and Flathead Lake, we could see the majestic peaks of the Rockies jutting up into the clear blue of the sky. The nearly four hours to Helena was one breathtaking view after the next. As we wound our way through yet another mountain pass and began our descent into Helena, we were overwhelmed by this beautiful town nestled in and around the mountains.
The mighty cathedral, visible from almost everywhere in town, stood out in vast contrast to the alpine landscape. We met Dr. Jonathan Embry, the director of music at Helena Cathedral (also a friend of mine from graduate school at Notre Dame), and he took us on a tour, showing us the incredible architecture, reliefs, stained glass from Munich, Italian marble, the immense 2,400 pipe, 40 rank organ, and its rich history.
Then we rehearsed the music for the mass. I was especially proud of the choir who had only looked at the music once when we were in Scobey, they sang with confidence through tricky harmonized and chanted psalms, chants from the proper, and then the mass itself, written by Jonathan.
After rehearsal we had an hour or so to kill, so we decided to check out the downtown area a few blocks away, which was bustling with early St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
When we got back to the cathedral, we donned our choir robes and made our way to our place just to the side of the alter, under the great pipes of the organ. We were warmly introduced by Jonathan and then we began the service. Solos from sopranos, Kylee Cook and Megan Klebe were beautifully executed. Monsignor Kevin O’Neill warmly greeted us in his sermon referring to the Bishop Austin Anthony Vetter’s hometown of Linton, and how he would have been proud to hear this mass supported by such warm singing from his home state.
After mass, we went to The Silver Star Steakhouse for an afterparty with our bus driver, Darrel, and his wife Luella, (celebrating 46 years of marriage that day) and Jonathan. We toasted to beautiful music making and the joy that we felt doing it with each other and for others. We head back to North Dakota tomorrow. We are so very grateful to all those who made this trip possible:
- Kevin Harmon
- MSU Student Travel Committee
- Brenda & Leonard Cook
- Dr. DeVera Bowles
- MSU Division of Performing Arts
- Dr. Heidi Super
And all of you in Minot who generously supported us, we are truly grateful!
MSU Choirs Favorite Moments
- “My favorite moment of this week was getting to wear the choir robes and sing in the Helena Cathedral. It was one of the most ethereal moments I have ever had.” - Jasmine Rogers
- “My favorite time would have to be singing in the cathedral. The acoustics were fantastic, and the choir robes were a major plus in my book!” - Tyler Irmen
- "A real highlight from the tour in Montana has been getting to see all of the mountains. I even got to see McLeod Peak!" - Alayzia McLeod
- “My favorite parts of the trip were hiking in the snow at Glacier and eating HuHot in Kalispell.” - Katelyn Pigeon
- “The highlight of the trip was definitely the cathedral. It was not only beautiful but singing with the organ in that space was amazing.” - Christina Larsen
- “My favorite part of the trip was exploring downtown Helena and singing at the cathedral.” - Luke Anderson
- “For me, the highlight of the trip was getting the opportunity to sing in so many different and beautiful places with my friends.” - Rachel Voth
- “My highlight of this trip was meeting people from the communities we performed at.” - Trent Hunskor
- “My favorite part of this trip was walking around downtown Helena. The atmosphere was so welcoming, and all the little shops had flags and signs supporting minorities and protesting the war in Ukraine. It made my heart smile to see so much love.” - Kylee Cook
- “Our trip through Montana was very exciting. It’s hard to pinpoint what my favorite part of the trip was, because there were many moments full of gratitude and laughter. I am very thankful for this opportunity to experience new places and make music with my peers beyond the walls of MSU’s Music Division! - ReAnna Salinas
- “The choir trip to Montana was truly a memorable and uplifting experience. One of the notable parts being sharing meaningful music with the congregation of the Helena Cathedral.” - Kimberly Knutson
- “Touring with the MSU Choir was an incredibly enjoyable and meaningful experience. The opportunities to share music with diverse audiences, explore a small part the world, and spend time with peers were especially rewarding for me.” - Kevin Vandal
- “My favorite part of the choir tour was when we sang in the Helena Cathedral. It is one of the most beautiful cathedrals that I've been in here in United States. It was my first time to wear a service gown even though I am a Catholic. We don't have that in our church that I am serving for. I also had a chance to go to Helena downtown which is beautiful. It is Europe-inspired and I got to meet a saxophone player that was playing on the street named Bill. He was great and kind. I also bought some gifts on a gift store in downtown. I definitely want to go back to Montana.” - Andrea Sarmiento
- “I enjoyed being able to travel to this beautiful state, see the amazing nature, and sing for the people in Scobey and at the Helena Cathedral.” - Caleb Blaze
- “One of the highlights of this trip for me was singing at the church in Scobey. This was a small, intimate performance and it felt very meaningful. I also enjoyed singing in the beautiful cathedral in Helena as well as exploring downtown Helena.” - Danica Rumney
- “My favorite part of this trip was most definitely singing in the St. Helena Cathedral. The entire state was full of such wonderful, welcoming people. I can’t wait to visit again soon! - Megan Klebe
DAY 2: Scobey, Montana to Kalispell, Montana
After a coffee from the Jitters Coffee Hut outside our hotel, a treat provided again by the Cook family, we set out for our long haul from Scobey to Kalispell, Montana with a brief visit to Glacier National Park.
This was our break day from singing, having sung Wednesday night concert, Thursday afternoon concert at Scobey Public Schools, and then a concert Thursday night at Scobey Lutheran Church.
The landscape changes surprisingly suddenly, from plains to foothills to high plains, the topography from Havre westward is a dramatic shift to the Rocky Mountains.
The Rocky Mountains are home to the Continental Divide of the Americas designating the point at which waters flow East to the Atlantic, or West to the Pacific. Triple Divide Peak which is here in Glacier National Park, is unusual because the water that falls on it, goes not only west to the Pacific and East to the Atlantic, but North to Hudson Bay, and eventually into the Beaufort Sea of the Arctic Ocean.
Glacier is truly amazing, and while our skies were cloudy with falling snow, we still felt the immensity and timelessness of this national park. We entered the West Glacier entrance and drove as far as McDonald Lake where we set off on foot to stretch our bus-bent limbs as far as McDonald Creek the park’s 25-mile creek replenishing the watershed three ways as was forementioned.
We were gallantly driven by Daryll, our fearless bus driver for Harlow’s Charters, through roads of snow and ice that weren’t for the faint of heart.
As we headed onward to Kalispell, I was only a bit sad that the sun didn’t open up the clouds for us to see the majesty of the mountains in and around Lake McDonald as far as we could go down the Going-to-the-Sun Road. We arrived in Kalispell, had dinner, and checked into our hotel with hope for tomorrow.
DAY 1: Minot to Scobey, Montana
We left Old Main at noon and set out westward for Scobey, Montana, the hometown of soprano, Kylee Cook.
Our first stop was Scobey Public School where we entertained about 240 K-12 graders with a smattering of our choral repertoire, along with a small sing-along and lecture on canon since one of the pieces we shared was a four-voice canon. Then Kylee sang “I Am So Easily Assimilated” from Candide by Leonard Bernstein.
Rachel Dockter, soprano sax; Trent Hunskor, alto sax; Kylee Cook, tenor sax; Kimberly Knutson, baritone sax, presented one of their chamber repertoire piece, which was a perfect musical offering in that gymnasium. Christina Larsen then sang "A des Oiseaux" by Georges Hue, after explaining the French text to the students, and answered a peppering of questions from the first and second graders. For our final piece we performed Wangol by Sten Källman, an arrangement of a Haitian folk song about a country in change. The choir sang admirably under the direction of soprano and music education major, Megan Klebe, supported by percussionist, Steffen Dauwalder playing bongos and Briana Schwan playing the brake drum.
We performed for about 45 minutes, swept away to our hotel, The Smoke Creek Inn, and then to the Lutheran Church, where Kylee’s mom graciously prepared a glorious spread of pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, pasta veggie salad, and a wide array of cookies and other confectionaries.
We had a few minutes and so we started learning the music for the Mass in the Helena Cathedral on Saturday. This entailed learning the Mass parts themselves and the proper portions of the Mass, all composed by my friend, Dr. Jonathan Embry, music director and organist at the Helena Cathedral.
After a small break we returned to the church for our concert, which went beautifully. And the Scobey crowd, a very musical one, was enthusiastic and appreciative. Particular highlights were, the solos from Megan Klebe and Kylee Cook on Allen Pote’s Prayer of St. Francis, Tyler Irmen & Kylee Cook’s duet on Wongol, and of course the inimitable Steffen Dauwalder whose irrepressible joy and love of music buoyed us up. The final song was a Hebrew song, usually sung at Rosh Hashana BaShana HaBa'a" (Hebrew: בשנה הבאה, "Next Year"), a song of hope for the coming year, and gratitude for the small pleasures in life, accompanied by Briana Schwan with splendid clarinet solos from Danica Rumney.
This whole concert would have been impossible without Kevin Harmon (Minot State vice president for student affairs), who made it possible for us to travel this far westward. It was a delight to get to meet his wife Leisa’s (MSU professor) family who is from Scobey and to further deepen our connection with this small Montana hamlet whose love of music is so palpable.
After the concert there was an ice cream and cookie spread, once again provided by Brenda Cook, and the choir was able to mingle and get to know our neighbors to the west.
We went back to our hotel tired but grateful for the opportunity to spread hope for peace and music after such a long silence. Later on that evening a group of the choir went browsing the streets of Scobey to experience the night life of this small Montana town, I am told there are pictures of this mission forthcoming.
Now we set off for Kalispell. It is a good eight-hour drive. But we will drive to the front of the absolutely gorgeous Rocky Mountains, where we’ll get to see Glacier National Park prior to heading to Helena, Montana to sing in the Helena Cathedral.
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| Published: 03/11/22 |
