A Word on Recording and The Last Concert
Back in southern Indiana, Tehillah cleansed the tour bus inside and out, packed away supplies, and dispersed for the first leisurely supper meal in around a week! Juanita Schrock, mother of Ruth Schrock, blessed us with a meal and a place to spend the evening together. Despite having no concert that evening, snippets of songs could be heard randomly.
As the ensemble gathered Saturday morning for recording, it was discovered that a number of us sounded alarmingly like bullfrogs. However, once armed with an arsenal of tissues and cough drops, we faced the challenge of recording six songs in one day! An added challenge was singing in an empty venue after performing live all week, since an audience motivates us to interpret and express our music well. However, as the day went forward, we settled into the process and were able to record all six in good time! Kendrick Layman, a former ensemble member, served as our recording engineer. At the close of the day, we enjoyed another meal and a campfire at Juanita’s house.
Sunday afternoon saw the ensemble making preparations for a final concert. It was a bittersweet time, with many anticipating a return to normal life and family, consistent sleep, and excitement for new adventures following the tour. And yet, some songs are sung for the last time; perhaps this particular assortment of people will never sing together again; some voices are still less than full strength. All of this comes together in the final concert as an offering of worship to God, who is constant and faithful!
Of course, there is the final evening together following the concert, where we discover that we’re actually not completely sick of each other after a week in close quarters. 🙂 This year’s after-party included some final Spot-It and Boggle games, a spectacular meal, a great deal of ribbing and merriment, and a sighting of the wee hours of the morning before someone works up the courage to be the first to leave.
Thank you all for following along with our adventures this week!
– Jess Wenger (with help from Tiffani and Brooke W)