Paris, Day 7, June 13, 2026, Day of the Spotlight Conference

This was the day for our last performance in the evening. However, before then, the group had the opportunity to visit Notre Dame, to glimpse the inside of the newly-restored sanctuary. Admission is free, but we got an early start, so as to get in before the large crowds inevitably arrived. The group traveled in three subgroups. One of the three walked from the hotel to Notre Dame, a trip of about 30 minutes. A second of the groups were carreid by van, leaving the hotel at 7:30. It also took them about 30 minutes. The third group was also carried by van, leaving the hotel at 8:30, and again taking about 30 minutes for the journey. Patrise and I were in the third group.

I don't know what to say about the visit, other than it was/is a spiritual experience. The building is iconic in so many ways, which is why the fire that destroyed much of the church years ago caused so much hurt and trauma around the world, regardless of whether one was Catholic or even religious. Patrise and seen the inside before the fire, as had a few of our other TCS members. I had never seen the inside, so it was a very novel moment for me. Rather than trying to put words to what I saw, I've decided to just leave it to pictures (and please know that my pictures do not begin to do justice to the beauty of the church!)

After the visit, Tim Peek and Helen Ingebritsen (husband and wife) and Patrise and I took a long stroll back to the hotel. Along the way, we bought some souvenirs, gelato, water, and stopped for a long enjoyable lunch -- absorbing so many other wonderful views of the people, the sights, the smells, and the sounds of Paris.

We arrived at the hotel with enough time to rest for about an hour and one-half, before I had to get dressed to head to the bus for the second concert. The TCS did our dress rehearsal at Eglise Saint-Francois-de-Sales. We did the dress rehearsal in performance attire, because we would not have time to return to the hotel to change. Patrise stayed at the hotel, planning to meet me at St. Francois about about 6pm for us to go to dinner before the concert began at 8pm.

When Patrise arrived, a group of us went to find dinner. The group consisted of Velda North, Kendra Mitchell, Michelle Vereen, Wendell Johnson, Patrise and me. First we went to a restaurant named Jouffroy, however, they did not begin serving dinner meals until 7pm. We then went to another restaurant two blocks away, recommended by Jouffroy.. We made our way there and eat good food, while having wonderful conversations. At 7:30pm, we departed the restaurant to return to the church in time for our warm-ups and concert.

When we arrived in the warm-up room, our director, Nicosia "CoCo" Garrison was in prayer with her mother, Geri, who had joined us for the trip. CoCo was having to step in in Trey's place on short notice. Needless to say, she was more than a bit nervous about the upcoming performance. She is a trained musician and has directed the TCS on a song or two in past concerts, but not previously directed us in an entire concert. After we did our vocal warm-up exercise, CoCo asked each of us to take a moment to publicly express which of our colleagues we were most thankful for and why. This was a heartwarming exercise and I believe it deepened our appreciation for one another..

For this concert, we were preceeded by a children's choir, and these were truly adolescents, not teens. Led by their 81-year old director, Francis Bardot, they sing beautifully. Naturally, they were singing in French, so we could not understand what was being said. Still, they were singing songs from some great composers -- Ravel, Debussy, and others. (My favorite piece -- this one was in English, although that' is not the reason it was my favorite; I just love the Estonian composer, Arvo Pärt -- the song is titled "The Deer's Cry." I hope that TCS will perform it someday.)

This concert also went well, although honestly, we drifted flat on the second song, "When We Love." We sang with heart and with our secret ingredient, TCE (Trey Clegg Energy). The crowd was significantly smaller in size, about 250-300 (again my estimate), Yet, their reaction was wildly enthusiastic. Our last two selections in particular are a core part of the African American musical repertoire: the spritiual "Hold On" by Moses Hogan and the gospel "For Every Mountain" by Kurt Carr. This was an audience that was not used to hearing sacred music from the Black American perspective -- it's richness, it's soulfulness. Clearly, they were moved by it. Even the young kids were over-the-moon excited.

And so we ended our concert tour on another high note. The CEO of MidAm (the production company) was very impressed. So much so, that I am willing to place a wager that he will ensure they find another opportunity soon, to invite the Trey Clegg Singers to perform abroad again.

After the concert, we were bussed to the hotel, preparing for our last day in Paris. Tomorrow would be a free day -- except those going on the tour of Versailles -- and the closing gala dinner. We have enjoyed Parise, but we are looking forward to closing out this journey and returning home.