Day 10: Traveling to Tallinn

This morning was an early wake up to pack and eat breakfast at the hotel before we traveled by bus to the ferry terminal. At the terminal we said “hei hei” (goodbye) and “kiitos” (thank you) to our Finland courier, Leena.

The ferry is huge, like a small cruise ship! Some singers didn’t even realize we’d left the dock at first, the ride is so smooth. The trip from Helsinki to Tallinn takes about two hours, so we divided it into a period of rest, and then time to wander in groups and eat lunch—today is not only a travel day but also a concert day so we definitely need to pace ourselves! During rest time, singers journaled, read, or napped. For lunch there was a variety of cuisines to choose from: poke bowls, sandwiches, and burgers to name a few. Land came into view again as we finished up lunch, so we went out on the upper deck (the 10th floor!) to look for the Laulupidu shell and sing Koit as we approached Tallinn.

At the ferry terminal in Tallinn we were greeted by the smiling faces of our friends and hosts from the Estonian Television Girls Choir. They sang us a song to welcome us and invite us to stand with them in a circle and sing Ringmängulaul. It was lovely to see our singers reunited with some of the ETV girls they hosted at Golden Gate Festival in 2023.

We made the 15 minute walk to the church where we’ll have our concert tonight and had the kids rest for about an hour before we started learning some new Estonian songs. We also re-staged Echoes for yet another new space! We joined ETV Children’s Choir for a yummy pre-concert snack before a combined rehearsal for the Estonian songs.

In our concert uniforms, we were ready for our first Estonian performance. This concert was shared with ETV Girls Choir as well as ETV’s Children’s Choir (similar age range as Ensemble) and “Toddler” Choir, which isn’t toddlers as we use the word in the US—these tiny but talented singers are similar ages as our T3/4 choirs.

Our final performance (for this tour) of Echoes of Eureka featured Loki kicking their shoe off in a perfect arc directly to an Estonian woman in the second row, who caught it—and handed it calmly to the youngest Estonian singers sitting in the front row, who discreetly slipped it into position next to Loki’s foot. Loki was able to get it back onto their foot without missing a beat. The smothered giggles still threatened to derail “Wipe Out the Plague Spots” but rest easy, dear readers: your children are consummate professionals and the show continued. Despite this hiccup, Echoes was once again received with tears and another standing ovation. Eric and our Ensemble singers have brought a deeply heartfelt work to life and we’re so proud of them all.

After a drawn-out, intense day, culminating in a long concert, our tired singers headed home with their homestay hosts for a late dinner and a good night’s sleep.