Paris Day 3, June 8, 2026

Today began before 7 am.  I did not sleep well, and due to the time differences and jet lag, I woke up twice in the middle (2:30am and 4:30am) of the night and much too early (4:30am). Patrise was awakened by me the second time, and the two of us decided to go to the early breakfast seating around 7:15 a.m. prior to my 8:30 a.m. rehearsal.

Rehearsals are the theme of this trip to Paris.  Everything is scheduled around a rehearsal. The rehearsals run 2.5 to 4 hours each.  Today we have two rehearsals: this morning from 8:30am until 12:30pm, and this evening 7:30pm until 10:00pm. Here are a few photos from our first rehearsal. We are being led and conducted by Jose-Daniel Flores-Caraballo, a Puerto Rican American musician who now resides and teaches in Albany, New York. He has a small contingent of his choir, Albany Pro Musica (APM), singing with the Trey Clegg Singers. We will be complimented by local Parisian singers; and for our second major piece, the Faure Requiem, we will be joined by a Parisian youth choir. Faure was a French composer and his Requiem is such a staple of French musical tradition that most people who sing in professional, community, or even youth choirs have performed all or part of it before.

(Jose-Daniel Flores-Caraballo)

(Sonja John, Tour Operations Coordinator, Eli Manos at keyboard [center], practice pianist, and Jose-Daniel with Matthew Harden, (Performance Operations Coordinator)

In between, we have breaks for lunch, a tour of Paris and then dinner.  I am beginning to feel very sick and weak.  I think that I have a sinus infection, but I am giving it every over-the-counter medicine that I can think of:  Sudafed, Afrin, Dayquil and Nyquil, orange juice and plenty of water. I have a great nurse (Nurse Perkins-Hooker), and hopefully I will get a jump on this, before it consumes me.  However, resting is difficult, because I can’t breathe well.

Today, we both went on the tour to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur. Montmatre is the tallest point in Paris, and when you are on top of the hill you get a beautiful, broad view of much of the city. Sacre Coeur is a beautiful cathedral, as are many others in this part of Europe. Here are some photos of those two sites.

Rather than continue for the remainder of the tour, we opted to return to the hotel by taxi, so that I could take a nap, before the evening rehearsal. I woke up with just enough time for us to get a quick dinner at 6:30pm, at the little café next to the hotel, before the start of the 7:30pm rehearsal. I only had time to eat most of a hamburger and some French fries. I am really beginning to fade, but I am committed to struggle through.  To make matters worse, it has turned chilly and begun to rain.

After rehearsal, I decided to take my medicines and crash. Patrise suggested that I consider going to an Urgent Care facility to get some antibiotics to add to the mix.  I am reluctant, but we will see. Tomorrow is going to be another day.