As a faculty member in Music Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, and as an advisor to the organization (and on-site tour support), I also had the opportunity to witness, first-hand, the exponential musical growth and personal development of our choristers. I saw pure joy radiate from their faces as they sang on a public bus with their new friends from Namibia, while trading Canadian pins with the boys from the UK, when having their pictures taken with the women of one of the Chinese choirs, when they exploded with unfettered cheers after witnessing an incredible competition performance by a young men's choir from South Africa, after spontaneously singing Dobbin's Flowery Vale for our hotel reception staff, and when surprised with an arranged private meeting with their new idols, The Real Group, whom they had just heard in concert at Arena Rīga the night before. What has been gained socially, musically, and emotionally can hardly be quantified.
The most significant moment, perhaps not to be realized by our youth for some years, was in the participation of the YVT choristers in the week one finale concert at MežaParks. It was an incredibly powerful and emotionally moving event for Allegria (and the audience), not only for having spent a month of rehearsals dedicated to learning 90 minutes of music primarily in Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian, or experiencing the sheer logistical improbability of joining 15,000 other choristers from around the world on a single stage, or even having survived rehearsing all day on the open air stage under alternating torrential downpours and scorching sun, but by participating in a significant cultural event that mirrors the very Song Festivals of these Baltic states - events that are at the very root of these peoples' identity, and, in fact, their very existence and survival. The intrinsic power and aesthetic fulfillment that comes through the sharing of song and music could not be more evident than on this night for our choristers. I can't help beam with joy at the the thought of it.
It is an honour and privilege to be associated with this choir, its administrative team, and the remarkable artistic staff led by Zimfira Poloz.
Leslie Stewart Rose, EdD
Faculty, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.