The event was held in the Riga Arena, where their ice hockey and basketball games are held. It has three levels, but the second level wasn't used. It's kind of like box seats that are set up for VIPs. Anyway, I got the cheapest tickets I could (still $15 - ouch!), which put us up on the third level. They were great seats, and, while we couldn't see people's faces on the stage, we could see and hear extremely well.
Can you see us? We're up in the red section. I got seats that were above an aisle, so there wasn't anyone in front of us.
They started out with introductions of all the important people, which I didn't care about at all. Then they had a parade of nations. That was pretty cool. A woman dressed in Latvian folk costume carried a big sign with the name of each country, and a man in costume followed behind, waving the country's flag. They then lined up on stage.
After the parade of nations, they carried in the World Choir Games flag.
There are over 70 choirs participating, representing five different continents. There is a large World Choir Games bell that travels from place to place that is rung for each continent represented. The WCG choir shouted the name of the continent, and the bell was rung once for each one.
After the parade of nations, there were performances from several different groups: The Latvian National Symphony Orchestra played, and a WCG choir sang (I don't know how this group was organized or who participated).
Several different groups from Latvia participated -- the ballet, an accordionist, a saxophonist, and a couple of singers. It closed with all the participants singing the World Choir Games 2014 song -- "Our Song." It was written by a Latvian composer named Eriks Esenvalds. While the crowd was singing it, the lights were low, and everyone brought out their cell phone lights. It was a pretty powerful event, and I'm really glad we went.
Since that opening concert, we have been able to attend several different things. We have attended competitions in several different categories, and we've heard some great choirs -- although some of them weren't as great as others. With Latvia being the host country, they have the highest number of choirs participating. I think there are over 100 different choirs participating from this country the size of West. Virginia. Wow.
We attended a Celebration Concert on the 10th, and it had choirs from four different countries participating -- Spain, Singapore, Canada, and South Africa. These weren't choirs that were in the competition, and I don't know how they were chosen, but they were absolutely fantastic. They were fun to listen to and exciting to watch. In my mind, that's what makes a great choir. Later that night we attended the Stars of the World Choir Games I concert. It didn't start until 9:00, and it was extremely long. I'm not sure why it was called what it was, because no one in the concert was a part of the games. It was good, but it is my least favorite one so far.
Oh, by the way, Don's birthday was on Thursday, July 10th. He turned 68 years old. He's officially an "Old Fart" now. The next time you see him, wish him a Happy Birthday!
On the 11th, we attended a concert by The Real Group, a vocal jazz group from Sweden. Boy, was I ever impressed. I love vocal jazz groups, and this one was the best I have ever heard. I just can't imagine learning the music that they sing, with all the tight harmonies and neat rhythms. They did an excellent job of picking songs that would appeal to kids. It was another great concert, and I'm planning on ordering some of their CDs.
Today we attended a Champions Concert. There were two of them to choose from, and I didn't know which one to select. The one we attended was great, as I'm sure the other one was, too. We got to hear six of the groups that won in their categories. We heard a college choir from South Africa, a men's group from Latvia, a girls' choir from Latvia, a boys' and mens' choir from Russia, a group from China, and a boys' group from South Africa. The first four performances were great. When the China group came out, it was fun seeing them, because they were decked out in really neat costumes. You can kind of get an idea from looking at these pictures.
The lady in red is actually the conductor of the group. I have a video of their performance, but I can never get them loaded onto the blog. Anyway, as you can see from the pictures, it was great.
The last group to perform was a large group of boys from South Africa. They were performing in the category of show choir (I think). I took a video of their performance, but didn't take any pictures. I apologize for that, because I would have loved for you to see them. There were around 40-50 boys in the group, and they were absolutely awesome. They got a standing ovation at the end of their performance, which I haven't seen happen for any of the other competing choirs. Their performance was the end of the concert, because no one could have followed them. I didn't think anyone could follow the Chinese performance, but if anyone could do it, this group was the one.
We were supposed to go to a big event this evening at a park in Riga, but it was pouring down rain and we decided to waste the $30 we spent on tickets and not go. Neither one of us wanted to sit at an open-air venue when it was raining. I guess you might say we are too old for that -- at least Don is, anyway. (Don't tell him I said that!)
My contact that sent me pictures of the WCG Opening Celebration also sent me pictures of the Estonian Folk Song Festival that we went to in Tallinn. I thought I would show them to you so you could get an idea of the huge event that these song festivals are.
Here is an aerial view of Tallinn along the coast of the Baltic Sea. Do you see that blob of color in the middle? That's the festival.
Here is a view that is quite a bit closer.
And here is a view that is even closer. I don't know if you can see us or not, but we're beside the triangle in the lower right side of the picture. I am wearing my floppy hat. Look real close
and you might see us.
I got to experience a folk song festival as a spectator, but I think the best way to experience one would be as a participant. These people love their folk music, and they love singing together. People of all ages come together once every five years to share in this joyous experience. There's nothing like it in the United States. While our sports events often draw huge crowds, nothing we do has over
25,000 people participate.
Well, I've written far more than you probably want to read, so it's off to bed for me. It's almost midnight here. While I hope today's post has helped you sense a little bit of the excitement that Don and I have had, there's no way to fully explain it. I just hope that someday you can experience it along with me.
Goodnight!
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