· Mt. Vernon
· Rome
· Montepulciano
· Montecatini
· Montecarlo
· Lucca
· Pisa
· Sienna
· Florence
· Mediterranean
· Marostica
· Bagnoreggio
· Venice
· Bolsena
· Vatican City
· Return to Rome

Moving this many people is challenge enough, but there are also the instruments. Small instruments traveled across the Atlantic with their players. The big stuff—drums and bass—were rented from the University of Vienna in Austria and trucked to Italy by the Austrian driver, Eddie, and tour guide, Andreas—two fellows the students quickly came to know on a first-name basis.

The Hearnes could not imagine the 2005 tour without them: Eddie for his unparalleled driving ability – he can squeeze a 60-foot bus through streets intended for medieval foot and horse traffic – and Andreas for a cool head whenever the tour was detoured. Like when the group was directed to the wrong restaurant in the mountainous Italian countryside a few hours prior to a concert. Herding 54 dressed-up people on and off a bus takes more than a New York minute. All was well when we reached the right establishment though—a grapevine-covered veranda perched above a beautiful valley and just below a mountaintop with a thousand-year-old castle.

The choir and orchestra were scheduled to perform six concerts together; the choir had one appearance alone in Venice. An outdoor concert in the town square at San Gimignano was cancelled due to rain. (Already dressed for the concert, men and women students took turns changing back to street clothes in the bus. Ah, the glamour of a road tour.)

The choir sang spontaneously – but with permission – in the Pantheon, arguably the best known antiquity in Rome. Built between AD 118-125, it’s described as a marvel of Roman engineering with its huge dome—and acoustics to die for. Occurring on the second day of the tour, this was among the most moving music moments of the trip.

All the performance venues were distinctive. Tied for first: The spa in Montecatini and the cathedral in Marostica. The choir would argue that the San Marco Basilica in Venice was best, but the orchestra had to sit that one out. We lacked the courage to haul instruments in boats up the Grand Canal.

The spa, developed in the 18 th century in the Neoclassical architectural style, is filled with marble columns, statuary, and fountains. The church in Marostica is like thousands of others in Italy—beautifully appointed with great acoustics. Stunning settings that cannot be replicated in the U.S.

Marostica will be remembered, too, for the festive reception arranged by the director of the local music program – an energetic woman who organizes the annual festival in which Cornell participated this year. Students were served Prosecco and pizza. What’s not to like?

The Hearnes, who have taught at Cornell for 14 years, have been working on their Italian steadily since the 2001 tour. They were pleased when the Morostica music director noted the improvement. She recalled their struggle with the language from the 2001 tour.

In between concerts was a mix of free time (shopping), tours led by Italian guides, and, of course, eating. Students seemingly were in competition for amounts of gelato consumed. Erin Prall ’06 and Ashley Andres ’06 claim to have eaten a quart each in one sitting.

We heard before our departure that Italy is the No. 1 destination for Iowans traveling abroad. This was confirmed when flutist Meaghan Hubert ’06 ran into a high school classmate in the middle of Florence among thousands of tourists. She had no idea he was there, and even if she had, what were the chances?

Nothing is cheap in Italy, and with the U.S. dollar down, everyone was visiting the bancomat more than planned. Euros have the look and feel of Monopoly money so they were easy to part with, especially the $1 and $2 coins. After all, it’s just small change!

Like all good tourists in Italy, students purchased leather in Florence, glass in Venice, olive oil in Tuscan, and wine pretty much everywhere. For some, wine was for the parents; for others, for immediate consumption. Well, when in Rome…

But back to the music. The program changed according to the venue. The Catholic Mass in the Basilica di San Marco obviously different than the community center in Montepulciano. Jesu dulcis memoria by Leo Nestor versus the Beatles “ When I’m 64.” Audiences always responded enthusiastically to the American music – jazz and spirituals – clapping and cheering for encores.

As in the U.S., the majority of the audiences consisted of older folks—the exception was Marostica where schoolchildren and their parents, involved in the music festival, were in attendance.

The oddest venues? A sort of mini opera house in Monte Carlo (the students refer to it as “that puppet theater”) and a 13 th century building in Bagnoregio converted into a civic center. With the latter, the problem was that the audience was cut off from the stage area blocking their view of about half the performers. Dr. Hearne joked to her choir, “There’s nothing like singing to a wall!”

Tour guide Andreas told the group that it’s impossible to visit Italy without getting lost. High school music teacher Storm Ziegler ’94 and elementary schoolteacher Kathy Keegan-Ziegler ’94, would probably agree. They took a 20-minute bus ride from Venice to the hotel in Mestre late one night. When the hotel was in sight, they got off the bus only to discover there was no direct walking route to the hotel. After two hours, they finally gave up and hiked through the woods, down a ditch, and across a field – Storm in his performance tux and Kathy in her new Italian black leather jacket.

Tjett Gerdom ’01, a veteran of the Hearnes’ 2001 European Tour and 2002 Nice, France, engagement, took two weeks of vacation from his job at West Music in Cedar Rapids to sing with the choir and play trumpet with the orchestra. He also helped shepherd instruments in and out of the concert halls.

A concert on the road is only 50 percent performance. The other 50 percent consists of dressing (women in long, black dresses; men in tuxedos) as well as carting and setting up instruments, music stands, and chairs. Hosts, usually community volunteers, stood by in awe while the student musicians set the stage (and sometimes audience seating). After taking their bows and listening – but not understanding – the thanks offered by their Italian hosts, they went into reverse, deconstructing it all and putting the instruments back on the truck.

Following the 2001 tour, the Hearnes made sure the truck was allowed to drive up to the performance hall – even if the bus could not. Hauling instruments more than a block uphill on narrow, cobblestone streets may be charming for the locals but hard on musicians, instruments, and high heels.

The group had a taste of all that Italy has to offer: Medieval villages; country sides defined by vineyards and olive groves; Roman ruins; Venice gondola rides; great works of art; the Mediterranean Sea; churches, cathedrals, and basilicas; gelato; pizza; and Smart cars.

The romance of the trip was different for each student. For Brian McMillin ’05 and Amanda Box ’06 the romance was tangible. They became engaged in Montecatini following a ride up the side of a mountain in a funiculare. There’s a good chance they’ll return to Italy, say in 25 or 50 years.

After reading student journals, it sounds like many others will, too.

Marie DeVries, along with her husband, Steve, physical education professor at Cornell, accompanied the students and their next-door neighbors, Drs. Martin and Lisa Hearne, to Italy. Marie was employed in the Office of College Communications from 1984-1993.