Washington and Lee’s University Singers spent their spring break performing in Croatia and Slovenia from April 18 to 27. The singers said they grew closer through their ten days together and learned more about the culture of these countries.
The group visited historic towns such as Dubrovnik, Zagreb and Split in Croatia and Ljubljana, Slovenia. Many mornings began with free time for the singers to explore the towns and were followed by afternoons of having some kind of group activity or performance.They started their performances at a Franciscan Monastery in Croatia.
“The first performance day was just a magical experience,” said University Singer Tour Liaison Morgan Stoudt, ’27. “It had this great acoustic space for an audience that didn’t know us yet, but still came to hear our music anyway.”
The choir, led by Director of Choral Activities Shane Lynch, began to prepare music for these performances during orientation week in late August. They cycled through songs from various languages, including ones native to where they were performing, Stoudt said. University Singers also had the opportunity to workshop their music with Slovenian composer Ambrož Čopi and the KGBL Chamber Choir, the top choir from the National Slovenian Music Conservatory.
“We had a music exchange planned with them [KGBL] way in advance where we would share a workshop on pieces each group was familiar with,” said University Singer Co-President Kristina Ayers, ’25. “Combining with them was really fantastic because most of them are going into music professionally or they’ve been in the group for a while, so it was a really good time to be able to share music and build that camaraderie with them.”
Along with performing across Croatia and Slovenia, the singers enjoyed many of the natural sights that the countries had to offer. Several of the cities the singers visited were on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. A fan favorite location was the Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia, said multiple choir members.
“We stayed in a lot of beautiful places but seeing that national park was such a cool experience,” said University Singer Student Manager Adelaide Loving, ’25. “We started out on the coast which was very Mediterranean, rocky, warm and sunny. Then the national park was very different and a great contrast.”
Through their time together, the singers got to bond through exciting experiences such as cliff jumping, exploring islands and performing impromptu concerts whenever they felt the time was right.
“We found a church that had printed ‘Ave Maria Grazia,’ which is one of the lines in our song ‘Ave Maria,’ so of course we now have to sing in front of it,” said Stoudt.
This trip was the swan song for the 17 seniors who were giving their final performances with the group. The culminating performance was emotional for all, Loving said.
“Our final concert was really special because we sang in a circle, so I could see everyone’s face in the choir,” said Loving. “It wasn’t our biggest performance, as it was in a small town, sort of like a Slovenian Lexington if you will, but that’s what made it so special.”
For many students, the trip will go down as a defining moment in their college career.
“These sorts of opportunities are so rare. This program is by far the most important thing that I did in college,” said Ayers. “I can’t imagine people going through college and not finding something like this. So really I encourage people to continue to support the arts at W&L because it’s changed my life.”
