Concordia Community Choir - Vienna 2009

Lord Jesus You Shall Be My Song

It has been my joy to be the chaplain for the choir on this great trip. To see every performance through the lens of a camera or video camera has led me to appreciate so much of what makes this group special. To hear the choir grow in skill with each performance was a pleasure, as was getting to know so many people with whom we have shared a common experience. The rather late inclusion of the hymn: "Lord Jesus You Shall Be My Song as I Journey" was fortunate for in the words of the hymn are captured the essence of what was both a pilgrimage to the place were Haydn lived, worked and died as well as a pilgrimage to sing the praises of God in old and special houses of worship. It was my honor to share devotional times with the choir and to be there, in the Dom in Salzburg, as well as all the other churches, to hear the songs of praise reverberate in settings old and somewhat unfamiliar to familiar ones in Edmonton. Thanks to my collegue Joy with whom I work each day at Concordia in leading worship. Now we await where God will lead our choir to go and sing next. Garry Dombrosky, Chaplain, Concordia University College of Alberta

Sola Deo Gloria

. Exit sign...

Last Day in Innsbruck and Munich - July 15

The buses were loaded at 8:30 and then we were free to go shopping and walking around town until 12:45 when we left Innsbruck. Some hearty souls went up the mountain, others just relaxed and shopped. Shoes have been a common purchase. Bus one won the contest with 22 pairs purchased compared to 11 on Bus 2. Andy’s German word for the day is: “herz schmerz “ or heartache which describes how we will feel to leave behind such a beautiful country and experience. It started to rain just before we left. Just out of the city we stopped at the Swarovski Crystal Museum and factory where some went on a tour of the crystal museum while others just shopped at the large retail area. Back on the bus in the rain to Munich. .
In the evening we gathered at the hotel for our final meal together. Songs were sung–a very special thank you song by Joy. We officially said good bye to our friends Pascal and Andreas. Andreas was thanked for his teachings in German when Bus two spoke: Du bist ein flugzeug--proclaiming our skill with the German language. We had a great time and it was sad to end such a special time together. With a prayer for safety we ended our evening. Everyone is going their own way but 41 were up at the crack of dawn to board flights to Edmonton. The flight home was long and tiring but we arrived on time, with all our luggage, to waiting families.

Our Thanks to Joy

Shubert is my hero....

Reception in Mirabelle Palace by city representative

We are fortunate to have such a great conductor and friend in Joy Berg. She led us through the trip(and for months before). She also won the title for most pairs of shoes purchased on the tour.

Music at Haydn Hall

This was our encore piece in Vienna by Edmontonian Brendon Lord.

Canadian Composers

We took every opportunity to share music from our own area. Martin Murphy's song, arranged by Trent Worthington, expresses a lot about our choir. This is from an informal time in Haydn's hall in Eisenstadt.

In the City Square at Graz

We are a very patriotic group of Canadians. We were also the first group either Andy or Pascal had been fortunate enough to lead and they may never be the same....