Today, we departed Yeosu to travel to Suncheon and begin rehearsing for a combined concert with the Suncheon City Chorale. While I do wish we could’ve had more time in Yeosu, today’s travel was much more manageable due to Suncheon only being about 40 minutes away. We went straight to a combined rehearsal with the Suncheon City Chorale when we arrived. As is the case with many groups here, their director is a UofL Choral Conducting alum, and when we arrived he was wearing a black Cardinal Singers polo! We are singing Rheinberger’s Abendlied, “Precious Lord, Take My Hand (arr. by Sevier),” and “My Old Kentucky Home (arr. by Moore)” with them, and we also have separate repertoire sets for the concert. After our first rehearsal we had a lunch break, and Dongcheol’s parents kindly catered chicken sandwiches and fries for us from a restaurant called Mom’s Touch.
After lunch, we had another rehearsal in the main concert hall, then we traveled to our hotel for the night to check in. Every hotel here has been nice, but this one wins the award for most luxurious room so far. Jackson and I lucked out and got assigned a “presidential suite,” and while we didn’t use it because it cost money for the hotel to come fill and we didn’t have much time in the room, there was a small pool in our bathroom space! We had about 30 minutes to settle in and rest after we arrived, and then we headed to tour the Suncheon Bay National Garden.
The National Garden exceeded all of my wildest expectations. The Garden was absolutely massive, and it featured gardens representative of different countries (from Mexico to Amsterdam), tons of walking space and scenic views, and even a playground that we spent some time on. We had about an hour and a half to enjoy there, and it was the perfect way to unwind after some long rehearsals before a big concert tomorrow. Once we returned from the National Garden we had free time for the rest of the evening, and I had some delicious Korean BBQ at a spot in walking distance of the hotel. Between the warm reception of the Suncheon City Chorale, the National Garden, and the surprise of the hotel room, today was a great day, and I’m looking forward to our concert with the Suncheon City Chorale tomorrow evening!
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