Reflections on Argentina

I'm so glad that I came on this YPC trip to Argentina and Brazil. Brazil had a beautiful scenery with their beautiful mountains and amazingly clean beaches. In one of the individual concerts in Brazil, we did the rain song which was called "Tres Cantos Nativos Dos Indios Krao." Many people knew this song in Brazil and I was touched when someone told me as we walked out of the church, "This was one of the best versions because of the rain and thunder you produced." We turned the church into a rain forest for a few moments. It was a great experience and Brazil was where we first met the other two choirs: Toronto Children's Chorus and Youth Singers of Calgary. Both choirs had a different way of expressing music and it worked great when we combined us all together. Both choirs sounded good and even danced amazingly in their concerts. I was really excited to work with them on our tutti music.

YPC performs for the Coca-Cola Company in Buenos Aires as part of their Family Day.

After almost a week of Brazil and touring together with the other choirs, we all traveled to Argentina. When we got to Argentina, YPC was extremely excited to perform a concert at the Coca-Cola Headquarters in Buenos Aires. When Francisco mentioned that YPC was in the Coca-Cola commercial that is all over South America, the crowd was even excited to hear us. We sang "Whatever" and "Oye", along with other songs. It was a fun concert because the crowd sang with us and was very entertained. Again, thank you Coca-Cola for sponsoring us!

First rehearsal with orchestra

YPC performs "Take Me to the Water" in La Plata

With the other two choirs, we mingled and rehearsed for a few days for our final concert. I'm glad that we got to collaborate with these choirs from Canada because I made a lot of new friends and learned many new things. All the rehearsals paid off. At the final concert, we all rocked the house. The crowd was cheering, and we were all feeling the music as we sang the songs together. The acoustics of the church allowed all of our voices to flow beautifully all around and the feeling was great. It felt like a huge accomplishment on how we had fun, interacted with the audience, and sounded great. 

There were many unforgettable moments in this trip.  The experience was great musically and everyone had so much fun singing and touring together.

- Christine, Concert Chorus

I’ve chaperoned many trips with the YPC but this one especially stands out in so many ways. I’ve dubbed the tour “The Schedule Subject to Change Tour” or “The Fly by the Seat of Your Pants South American Tour 2011.”  One of the things I love about every YPC Chorister is their adaptability. Whether being told “today we are doing this, wait, no, now we are doing this.” Or “get on the train no, wait, not now, take this train, no, wait, not this one, that one.” Or my favorite moment, “There was a volcanic eruption in Chile which sent an ash cloud over South America so we won’t be flying to Buenos Aires today after all, maybe tomorrow…” There is a never a sigh nor a complaint just smiles because as long as they are together they are happy. Backstage before concerts is one of my most favorite times with the YPC.   It’s an actual chorus of “can you fix my scarf, sew this button, patch, hole etc, where are my shoes, where’s the music, has anyone seen…?”  

Our first concert in Buenos Aires

It’s when the chorus takes the stage and Francisco the podium that everything comes together perfectly. Every member of the YPC is like a piece to a masterful jigsaw puzzle. As each chorister comes together on stage, a work of art is created. Francisco is so charismatic and conducts from the heart with such energy that an audience anywhere is immediately excited to see what will unfold. And what unfolds is pure musical magic.  It’s not long before the crowd is on their feet and every chorister knows that no matter what, no matter where, the music down in their souls, has reached others.  

- Carol, Chaperone