Competition Day!

The city of Cincinnati is experiencing a record heat wave, with temperatures soaring into the three digits, setting new records every day. Just a normal Summer day in Australia! But it is hot - and we have been taking precautions at all times.

After a better effort at breakfast - (they even had Raisin Bran - woo hoo!) we had some time to return to bed to rest before rehearsal from 11.30. Christie was really emphasising all the little detail to ensure a sharp and crisp performance.

At 1.00pm we went back to the International Choir Cafeteria for lunch, which again was healthy and ample. Good to be getting wholesome food! With a short amount of time to get our performance gear and assemble for the shuttle to the Competition Venue. We walked there yesterday at 9am, but it was now 2.15 and it was damn hot! Thankfully the shuttle got us there promptly and much. much cooler than walking! Our guide Janice has been super helpful - in fact, all the volunteers are terrific!

We had our own room where we could put our performance tops on, with water and air conditioning! Great way to literally "chill" and prepare. We followed a Choir from Austria, who did some "interesting" pieces including a random acoustic piece with noises and movement, plus another one about a Juvenile Vampire (with the Villain and Damsel in Distress doing some mime/acting - something we did not expect to see!)

Jenny and Greg sat in the audience with our guide (who sneakily took some photos - we'll post them on Facebook) We looked glorious and gave a really good performance - the feedback assessing ourselves at 9 out of 10 - We certainly sounded "crisper" than the Austrian Choir with our pronunciation and phrasing very sharp. The Choir had worked really hard at these finer points during rehearsal and it showed on stage.

The Choir was in great spirits after, clearly pleased with their efforts - who knows what the judges think? Tessa made a very good observation that "we are not a competition Choir, we are a performance Choir who entertain our audience". Summed it up, I feel. We'll let the cards fall as they may, as we can only control what we can control and put in a superb performance.

We went back to the Energy Centre for a workshop with the Composer of "Jonah" - on of the songs we sang in the competition. At the end of the workshop we got to sing it with him conducting!

After returning to the hotel, it was pretty much free time for the evening, with dinner at 7.00pm in the Cafeteria again. We had the chance to explore the near vicinity of the hotel in small groups, but everyone was back into the hotel by 10.00pm - still very hot. Many took the chance to swim and enjoy the efforts of today.