Fulminant Finale for COTS in Caldiero - Standing ovations in a very packed church

The Choir of the Sound ended its 2007 Performance Tour to Italy with a brilliant concert in the Duomo di Caldiero. With 500 people tightly seated in the pews and at least another 100 people standing in the back and even outside, the church was packed.

Singing as part of a local choir festival was quite an experience, especially after the Canadian Children’s Choir who was supposed to be featured third, showed up late. “It was an adventure singing with the Italian choirs”, director Judy Filibeck said afterwards. “They sang with great enthusiasm and welcomed us warmly.” Their voices filled the church several times over, and rumor has it that they could even be heard all over town. However, COTS showed how Italian they had become over the last few days and the audience truly appreciated being introduced to a truly fine choir. Again, the 52 singers from Seattle, WA moved the locals by singing beautiful music and ending with spirituals. The fulminant finale was a joined performance of “Signore alle Cime” with all 190 chorists surrounding the audience and many Italians singing along. The priest was not the only one with tears in his eyes, and once again a lot of the guests came up to thank Judy and the singers personally and complimented them on their concert. Local officials, including the Lord Mayor of Caldiero, presented COTS with several awards, repeatedly congratulated them for their performance and expressed their appreciation for the quality of the choir.

The long night – it was almost midnight then - concluded with an unexpected farewell snack in the parish hall consisting of pasta, panini and local wine. After saying goodbye to the kind local hosts who were thrilled to have a group come all the way from the US to their small town, the group gave a last impromptu concert for their tour managers Angelica and Ruah, the bus drivers Adriano and Graziano and Sandra from Incantato Concert Management.

While 30 singers continue their journey to Rome for a few more days on an extension tour, the majority of the group headed back to the US on July 4. Sleep deprived, but “molto contento”
“Our tour was a magnificent experience we will all remember for the rest of their lives”, said Judy Filibeck. “It will be hard going back to our American performance venues after singing in these amazing cathedrals.”

We hope you enjoy the following video clips (as they become available) from the COTS concert in Caldiero:
"Daniel"
"Signore"
"City of Heaven"
"Nata Lux"