Greetings everyone! My name is Joey Richelsen and I am a Freshman in the Notre Dame
Men’s Glee Club. As a naive rookie, (I joined the club this semester), I went into tour experience
with vague expectations. To say that those expectations were blow away is still an
understatement! My experience on this spring tour was incredible, and it gave me insights into
the true brotherhood and kinship of the club. So, without further ado, let me serve as a tour
guide on this wonderful journey!
To start off the tour, we performed the opening concert in Chicago. Because many of
the Glee club members’ families live around the Chicago area, this concert really hit home for
us. Personally, my mom, cousin, and sister attended this concert. The gift of sharing music live
and in front of them was surely a blessing. Our next stop was St. Louis, Missouri. At this
juncture, we were welcomed with warm hospitality from our hosts Jim and Paul Crowe. The
Crowe brothers accepted us into the MAC (Missouri Athletic Club) hotel. Equipped with steam
rooms and other pleasantries, the glee club was afforded time to rest our voices and relax.
Later that evening, we sang a lovely concert in front of the Archbishop of St. Louis. This moment
really showed me the impact and status of the Glee club along with its strong-standing tradition
of excellence.
Next, we journeyed to Memphis, Tennessee. Before the concert that night, we visited
the famous Bass Pro Shop pyramid. This was for sure a Glee club favorite. The Memphis concert
was the first concert on tour that we performed within a high school. This served as a unique
experience. Our next two stops were Little Rock and Fort Smith in Arkansas. These tour days
were jam packed with amazing concerts and activities. These activities include hiking Pinnacle
Mountain, playing ultimate frisbee, and visiting the unfinished U.S. Marshall Museum.
Our second to last destination was Kansas City, Missouri. The club had an awesome time
exploring Union station and downtown Kansas City. Our performance was in the beautiful
Redemptorist Catholic Church. Finally, our last stop was back in Bloomington, Illinois. The tour
ended with a great concert filled with an amazing audience.
On a concluding note, I want to express my gratitude to all those who made this tour
possible. I not only grew in my musical capabilities, but I also grew to know my fellow brothers.
Thank you for tuning in and have a great summer!
Joey Richelsen is a freshman from Chastka, Minnesota studying Business Analytics and Applied Computational Mathematics & Statistics.