Day 6: Summertime Keuruu-ing

Luckily we had an opportunity to sleep in and have a slow morning after last night. Some singers went shopping with their homestays and loaded up on Moomin merch. We met with Vox Aurea at noon on the lovely campus of Jyväskylä University and each choir boarded their own bus to the small town of Keuruu for the day. Singers were in good spirits during the hour ride through the lush countryside.

Before we got to Keuruu, we stopped in Petäjävesi to take a tour of a UNESCO World Heritage church dating from 1763. This Protestant church was built with traditional construction techniques no longer used. We wore cloth covers on our shoes to protect the floor, the oldest part of the church. Singers were particularly impressed by The Bench of Shame—the worse your infraction, the higher you were seated on the bench. Eric joked, “If you miss your entrance, that’s where you will go.”

Josie said, “I liked the giant painting of the Last Supper, and the pulpit” held up by a carving of St. Christopher, patron saint of travelers. Our guide told us that the early congregation, mostly peasant farmers, would travel up to 40km by horse cart or boat to attend services each Sunday.

The remainder of the journey to Keuruu was spent in silence as singers rested their voices and their bodies. We arrived to Keuruu Church at about 2pm for a short rehearsal with Vox Aurea.

We spent some time this afternoon processing the recent news out of the US supreme court. The singers are so beautifully empathetic, and they understand well how it ties into the story we’re telling here with Echoes of Eureka. Eric and Chaperone Alice helped us understand more clearly what’s happening and how it may play out.

After a bit more rehearsal on our other repertoire, we broke for an early dinner at a nearby music school. Vegan and fish soups, and Finnish breads were served in the school cafeteria.

Tonight’s concert was quite well-attended in this little town, including students and families from the music school. PEBCC’s set, including a stunning rendition of Garden of Flowers, was on point. The singers were openly emotional during tonight’s performance of Echoes of Eureka, many with tears running down their cheeks even as they sang. Our Finnish friends cried, too. The impassioned performance was deeply felt by so many in the audience as well, with tears and a long standing ovation.

After the audience left, Vox Aurea serenaded us with their arrangement of Somewhere Over the Rainbow (we sang our own arrangement when we first arrived to meet our homestays). We returned the favor with a tearful Homeward Bound.

We were met by our buses for the ride back to Jyväskylä. We decided to mix the choirs on the two buses so we could continue building our friendships with our Vox Aurea hosts. This is our last night with our generous homestays in Jyväskylä. Tomorrow promises more adventure, as we make our way to Helsinki.