When the England trip was announced, I knew that my health issues would require that I not be separated from my family and nurse. Affording a trip for five people was not in the budget so I asked my doctors if they would approve of a trip to England. When they did, we applied to Make A Wish. I was assigned two Grantors, Julie and Joan who came to visit me in the fall of 2008 to begin planning. They are volunteers and work to solicit donations for the trip. The tour company in England worked with Make A Wish and Anima to plan everything out for us. We were able to do everything the chorus did while in England except for home stays.

The best part of the trip for me was singing at the festival in Wells Cathedral. I enjoyedmeeting new people from the England chorus and from the other choruses from North America. At Wells, 250 kids sang and became part of the history of one of the most famous religious settings in the world. To top it off, the concert was a fundraiser for Make A Wish in UK. It was rewarding to me to be able to use my wish to share music with others, with my chorus, with my family and to help a child in the UK make their wish come true.

I got my share of raised eyebrows from friends and family when they heard I was not only taking time off work but paying to take a trip to England with 42 teenagers. But having had the experience of chaperoning choristers on a previous trip to New Orleans, I knew I was going to get much more than I gave!

And what did I get? I watched choristers, many on their first international tour, grow and flourish as they lived the adventure of travel to a new place, saw them connect and enjoy each other's personalities in a new way, saw them take care of and show concern for one another in the new environment of a foreign country. I was impressed with the level of maturity and grace displayed on more than one occasion. I also got to hear them do what they came to do - sing in ancient and beautiful surroundings, sharing their music and passion for singing with joy and creativity and discipline with others from different places. A favorite memory is an impromptu sing on the lawn of Wells Cathedral - after a long rehearsal and with a performance still ahead of them - with members of other choruses invited to join in with them. The resulting circle was large with arms joined, and the sound was beautiful. Lastly, I got to work with a wonderful group of parents who also gave up time and resources to chaperone. The chorus has always been fortunate to have great volunteers who are willing to serve as chaperones, but I think we had a 'dream team' for England. And, just to be clear, in case you think it all work for the chaperone team, it's not - there was a LOT of laughter involved!

Will I chaperone again? You bet. Every time I'm asked!

Amazement and wonder: two states-of-being which make terrific companions on life's journey. I was recently introduced to the following: "When it's over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement. I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms." Mary Oliver

Anima's trip to England this month offered plenty of opportunities for embracing these sentiments. Wells Catheral and Sherborne Abbey in England's southwest, and St. Mary le Bow Church in London were our concert halls - gorgeous to both eye and ear, and resonant with history, awakening our imaginations. We performed a wide variety of our own repertoire, as well as introducing five other choirs at Wells Cathedral to a portion of Daniel Brewbaker's Living the Divine, with a fine British percussionist and our own Bill Buhr. The life of a new work is best when extended beyond the place of its birth, and it was a joy to help that happen so quickly.

We also sang at a concert celebrating the opening of a new wing of a high school north of London, near our homestays with Cantate, a fine British youth choir. Shortly after returning home, I received a letter from an audience member on that occasion, thanking us for a "stupendous evening....Your performers were so accomplished and alive with joy and enthusiasm...It truly was a joy and a privilege to be part of that experience." Wonderful words for our terrific singers!

Aside from the joy of making music together, the trip also afforded "wonder-full" side trips to Stonehenge, Salisbury, Cambridge (where King's College chapel is a must-see), and Windsor Castle. Memories from these experiences will stay with me forever, as I hope they will for all the choristers and chaperones. As I told the singers after the Festival Concert at Wells Cathedral, it was an honor to be a guest conductor for this event. But it was made far richer by having members of Anima along with which to share it! Well done, all.