After the trip, we chatted with some of the students about their experience!
Here’s what Logan Reilly ’26 said:
What surprised you the most?
I think everyone was in this new environment and out of their comfort zone already. And at least for me, that kind of gave me the go ahead to be like, if I’m already out of my comfort zone, is it really going to be so hard to try to talk to a new person? I’m in a completely new country and a completely new culture. I might as well try to form some connections here.
When I joined, I was obviously very well accepted into the community, but it was kind of hard to make some of those connections with people because you only see them in these performance environments or in a rehearsal. And so it was just funny talking to people who I had seen consistently every week for two years and I had never really had a real conversation with before and being like, “Wow, we actually have a lot in common. How have we never spoken to each other before?” I think it was really surprising to see how many potential friendships I had in this group and I’m thankful that I got to experience them before I left.
Do you feel that Dr. Calvar prepared you well for singing internationally?
Dr. C talks about this choir like it is his child and I think all of us feel that love. He cares about us and cares about our performances and our music so deeply and it was really, really special to see that vision that he had for us come to fruition because I know he put so much time and effort into it.
What advice would you give future and continuing Hendricks Chapel Choir members?
Have those conversations, make those friendships. You don’t need to travel 16 hours to another country to make friends with the person singing next to you. HCC is always going to be a family. It certainly has always felt like a family to me, but get out of your comfort zone more often. If you’re a bass, go over and stand next to the Altos and be like, “Hi, my name is so- and-so. What’s your name?” We don’t have a lot of opportunities to do that, so I think it’s important to make the effort. We’re all there to sing. We all love to sing. We wouldn’t be there otherwise. So I think we have more in common than we think.
Logan graduated in 2026 with a Political Science degree from the Maxwell School.
Here’s what Sydney Kincaid ’27 said:
What surprised you the most?
Music education in South Africa seems to be very important, especially with elementary school kids. If they were standing, they were singing. If they were walking, they were singing. They were singing all the time. From my understanding, it’s really not about them singing to perform. It’s about them singing to just make sure that they’re all still together and that they’ve got something to do.
It kind of keeps their behavior in check because they’re doing something and thinking about something at the same time. It’s a type of behavior management system to have them singing and interacting with each other so that they stay close and so that their energy is kind of taken up a little bit there. I thought that was really cool.
Our music education systems here are much more like you do music in this one room and that’s it. And if you’re singing elsewhere, you’re being disruptive, but they’ve embraced music like it’s part of their lives and they’re always singing.
Sydney is a Music Education major in the School of Arts and Sciences.
Here’s what Alie Fitt ’26 G’27 said:
What surprised you the most?
I encountered animals up close that I never thought I’d see outside of an enclosure at a zoo. We were lucky enough to go on a safari and see giraffes, zebras, rhinos, elephants and so many more African animals out in their own environment. After one of our concerts, we all came outside to see a zebra just standing next to our bus. We got to visit a penguin sanctuary and watch as the penguins hung out on the beach! Having lunch with friends was interrupted by a monkey jumping on the table and finishing our leftover pizza and fries. One of the hotel workers had even warned us to leave our balcony doors locked, or else the monkeys could break in and trash our rooms. I thought he was joking! He was not.
Did you feel that Dr. C prepared you for singing internationally?
Yes! Dr. C did an amazing job preparing us to sing internationally. We had a long set of music, but many of our pieces were introduced two semesters before the tour, so we had plenty of time to learn and prepare.
Dr. C programmed three South African songs in our set, and they were a HIT with every choir we worked with. It was really fun seeing each group light up the minute we started singing a song they were familiar with. They would sing and dance along with us, and it made every concert even more enjoyable. Dr. C told us this would happen, and he was right!
What advice would you give future and continuing Hendricks Chapel Choir members?
Appreciate every moment you have with this group! Looking back on my time singing at SU, I recognize how much choir has meant to me throughout my college career. Choir is my happy place. No matter how tough my week could be, I always look forward to singing.
Working with Dr. Calvar has been incredible. He’s passionate, kind, and makes rehearsing and performing so much fun. It’s clear how much he values this choir, his students, and the music that we make together.
If you have a chance to sing in the Hendricks Chapel Choir, take it! If you are given the opportunity to go on tour, go! Enjoy every second of it all!
Alie is a Music Industry major. She graduated in 2026 and will return to do her MBA in Music Industry in the fall.
Here’s what Aurelia Harp ’28 said:
What experiences or memories will you carry with you?
An experience I will carry with me is definitely getting to sing with the Rietondale High School choir. Each and every student in that choir carries a true passion for music and everyone wanted to sing. The students have such a positive energy and it made me feel very welcome in their community and excited to singwith such a positive and uplifting group of singers.
What did you learn from watching and listening to the other choirs? How will/did that change you or your performance/choir skills?
I learned how to listen deeper to choral music from the other choirs. Specifically, listening to the University of Johannesburg Choir helped me to work on my blending skills within a choir, as their blend and tone was so crisp and clear and truly made the listening experience one of the best.
How did singing for and with others on this trip change the way you think about the world, singing, traveling, service, etc.?
Singing for other groups on this trip made me realize how music is universal. No matter what we were singing, the people in the audience were so happy that we were there with them sharing our voices. Even though most of our songs were from the US, the love for music translates across the globe.
Aurelia is a Music Education & Classical Voice student. She will graduate in 2028.