Paris, Day 6, 2026 The Day of the Big First Performance

Today is a better day!  I was able to go to breakfast to Patrise’s favorite little bistro and we brought one of our choir colleagues with us who is also a member of our church, Velda North.  Today, the practice rehearsal starts at 9:30 a.m.  and it goes until 11:30 a.m.  As a result, I was able to get more rest, and we had a more leisurely breakfast.

(Doug, Patrise, and Velda North having lunch at Le Centennaire.)

After breakfast we walked back to the hotel We are free after the morning rehearsal, until this evening at 7:15 p.m. when we head to the church for the performance.

I went back to the room and rested.  Patrise is determined that I get up and walk around our area so that I can see some of Paris.  We both took a nap and left the hotel around 2 to get lunch and see some real-life sites. around the Marrais neighborhood, in which our hotel is located. We walked up the main street in our area Blvd. Beaumarchais and saw shops, bakeries and various restaurants.  We walked all the way to the major intersection in this area which is the Plaza de Bastille. On our way there, I noted a place that advertised French Onion soup. On the way back, we stopped and shared a meal of French Onion Soup (2), salad, cabbage stuffed with beef. We ended the meal with a scoop of homemade ice cream and cappuccinos.  The meal was delicious and it was light. We walked back to the hotel and were able to rest an hour and a half or so before we had to get dressed for the event tonight.

(Scenes from our afternoon walk and lunch at Bistro de Vosges.)

At 7:15 tonight, we loaded up our bus and headed for the cathedral. This church, Cathedral La Madeleine, is the very church where the composer, Gabriel Faure, served as the organist and music director. It is also where he premiered his Requiem. The Requiem is one of the two pieces we would perform tonight, along with the Lux Aeterna by American composer Morton Lauridsen. Here are images of the church and some of us before the performances began.

(Images of Cathedral La Madeleine)

(Program cover, bass-baritones befoer performance, inside cover of program.)

All of our hard work and preparation paid off. We did not have the value of having our own director, Trey, to lead us. Trey had an emergency medical situtation that prevented him from coming to Paris with us. We were under the baton of Jose-Daniel Flores-Caraballo, the director of Albany Pro Musica (APM). The total ensemble consisted of The Trey Clegg Singers, APM chorus members, local Parisian singers, a local youth (teen) choir, and a chamber orchestra of French instrumentalists.

The performances were wonderful, and we received standing ovations and rave reviews from the 600-700 attendees (my estimate). Jose-Daniel and James Redcay, the CEO of the production company) were also excited about how well the performances had gone.

It is hard to explain to non-musicians, the feelings that arise from being a part of an ensemble that makes great music together. Whether it is classical, jazz, latin, rock, reggae, instrumental, choral, or some other type: a great musical performances stirs the soul and conveys emotions and thoughts that words alone cannot do. It has been said that the emotional high of a great musical performance is greater than that of sex. I don't know that I am ready to go quite that far (LOL), but it is certainly one of life's greatest emotional moments.

After the concert, we waited for everyone to board the bus and then headed back to the hotel, passing the Louve and Paris night life along the way.

It was around midnight when we returned hungry and sleepy.  Patrise and I visited the local sandwicherie and creperiere, from which Patrise had purchased some panini sandwiches for us a day or so ago.  We shared one ham sandwich and one cherry stuffed crepe.  The food hit the spot, we headed to the room to hit the bed, and we were soon out like a light.

Tomorrow is another concert day, the day for our "spotlight concert" in which TCS will perform some of our traditional music alone. We also plan to go to Notre Dame in the morning to see it in its renovated state.  We are looking forward to this sightseeing trip!