HGC Foundation

Hello All!

Growing up on the East Coast, I thought I had seen my fair share of hot and muggy days.  The Glee Club's visit to summertime Saint Louis has dissuaded me, and many other Glee Club members, of that foolish notion.  Despite 90+ heat and air you could swim through, however, HGC's visit to Saint Louis has still been very enjoyable and calm.

Soon after emailing from the road from Ravinia, the Glee Club encountered the most impressive traffic blockage we have yet seen.  An accident in the middle of Illinois some four miles in front of us had completely stopped traffic - cars were actually just parked on the road for miles on either side.  To celebrate being delayed by a solid two hours, HGC decided to do the only thing we could.  So we watched a movie.  The Fugitive turned out to be quite appropriate both for what was going on outside the bus, but also because the climatic Chicago hotel at the conclusion of the movie was where HGC was paid to visit and sing for President Faust this past November.

In either case, we made it to Christ Church Cathedral in Saint Louis two hours late, but were fortunate to find that they (and Kevin Leong) were quite flexible in timing.  The lack of air conditioning in the space did prove to become problematic for everyone as the rehearsal and concert progressed, but that did not deter an audience from showing up or HGC from giving one of our best performances on tour. 

Following the performance the Harvard Club sponsored a very nice wine and cheese reception for the audience and the Glee Club.  With much difficulty, we managed to avoid demolishing all the food before the audience made it upstairs and even stopped eating long enough to mingle.  After the reception we all got back on the bus and headed to the University of Missouri - Saint Louis campus for our hosting in their brand new dorms.  Once the keys were distributed, I promptly fell asleep after the long day.  I'm not sure what the rest of HGC got up to - but I have heard stories about IHOP at 4am and uproarious laughter at the discovery that the campus is supposed to be alcohol-free...

11:00am the next morning found a very-groggy Glee Club on the bus to go and perform at the opening of the new Big Brother/Big Sister Building in downtown Saint Louis.  After a brief tour of the new facilities and discussion of BBBS's mission, the Glee Club had the treat of performing to 25 Little Brothers from nearby Loyola School.  It was an absolute pleasure to sing for them and to meet them at a brief reception following the event.  We were so moved and impressed by them we decided to give each a free CD to remember our visit by - here is to hoping that we see one of them auditioning for HGC eight years down the road.

The rest of the day after our performance was given to free time and we all made excellent use of Saint Louis's extensive light rail system.  Some went to the zoo, some to the art museum, some to a Barnes and Noble to relax, and a surprising number to a jungle gym.  It certainly was a day in the life of the Harvard Glee Club - we even welcomed the quick super-cell that came through at dinner time and ushered in cooler air.

After a nice and late 12:30pm departure time this morning, I am a very popular tour manager.  Unless we hit very rough traffic again, though, we should make it to our next stop without a problem.  We have one night and one concert in Effingham, IL - the home of HGC President Quentin Sedlacek - and hope to leave a lasting impression on the town.  Correction, we hope to leave a lasting *positive* impression on the town - we're already going to increase its population by 10%!

In Glee,
Kelby