Collegedale Academy’s premier choir Opus performs in churches around the community to spread their talents and God’s message locally. However, this musical group recently crossed the Atlantic Ocean, reaching audiences in several European countries. Opus spent 10 days on tour where they visited four countries, went sightseeing, and sang at cathedrals in every city. “This trip was my favorite in all of high school,” commented senior George Shrode. Overall, this trip was an exciting experience for all who attended.

The trip began early in the morning as Opus departed from the Atlanta International Airport for their long flight. They landed in Munich, Germany and immediately began their action-packed trip, walking around the city and visiting cathedrals. Frauenkirche, or the Church of Our Lady was an especially impressive church, standing at 103 ft tall and acoustics that lasted around 5.5 seconds.

After Munich, Opus traveled to Dachau Concentration camp to learn about the history of the Holocaust and honor those who lost their lives through a concert there.

Next, Opus visited Adventist University Bogenhofen Seminary in Austria. Here, they performed a concert for Bogenhofen including the majority of their repertoire. Austria was filled with incredible sights, such as the longest castle in the world, Berghausen. Students were also able to see the house and cathedral from the Sound of Music movies. They also went to Saltzburg and saw the sights of the beautiful city.

The next day, they traveled to Czech Republic, where they went to a medieval town called Cesky Krumlov. There, they tried singing in every cathedral they could walk into. Senior Bradley Peterson conducted them when Mr.Galera wasn’t around. That evening, they took a night tour to see all the art that was lit up when it got dark.

Next, they headed to Prague to go sing in any church, because in Europe you can just walk into the churches and start singing. Senior Gracie Mattox says “It was interesting to see, because a lot of people were in the church, and they were sad. Although, when we started singing people were super happy and sometimes people even cried when we were singing so it was very touching.” While they were in Prague, Mr.Galera surprised all the students with a visit to the Czech opera version of the Little Mermaid, which lasted 3 hours at a beautiful opera house.
One memory all the students will never forget is when their bus driver complimented them on being the best group he has ever driven for. They explained to him how they were Adventist, and shared the Adventist message with him. As with all things, God blessed the trip, leading the group to powerful witnessing opportunities and incredible experiences they will never forget.

Opus performs at Bogenhofen seminary.