'All Saints Choir' members take trip of lifetime

(l to r) Sarah Musselman, Katelyn Hirtle and Ellen Hirtle Shrewsbury - On Aug. 5, 50 members of the All Saints Choir, associated with All Saints Church in Worcester, departed for a series of historic performances in some of the most famous cathedrals in England. The talented singers, which consist of children and adults, will make stops at the Worcester, Gloucester and Hereford cathedrals. Three of the choir members are Shrewsbury natives: Sarah Musselman, 12, Katelyn Hirtle, 16, and Ellen Hirtle, 13. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime trip for them.

"I've noticed in the last week I've gotten even more excited," Katelyn said. "There's been a lot of planning to get ready for. It's been so challenging to wrap everything up and now everything's almost finished and it's so exciting to be reaching for [the] goal."

The trip has garnered a lot of publicity in England. With the first set of shows starting Saturday Aug. 9 at Worcester Cathedral, Worcester Mayor Konstantina Lukes proclaimed it "Worcesterto Worcester Day."

The group had a lot of work to do to raise the money for the trip.

"We really started planning [the trip] last year," Ellen said. "We've had bake sales, sold a lot of chocolate bars and [held] a lot of concerts. We've also had book drives and 'hymnathons.'"

The community has responded to the choir's effort by getting involved. It's something that the whole group appreciates.

"The community has been really helpful," Sarah said. "A lot of people have been donating money. It's nice to know that they are there to support us."

The young members of the All Saints Choir enjoy

" the challenge of meeting the respected choir's demanding schedule.

"It's a lot of work," Katelyn said. "You can sense that this is a professional choir and you don't forget that. It's a lot of fun. We learn so many different things about life and about music in choir. It's just a wonderful opportunity to have."

The parents of these young singers also play an important role.

"It's a big commitment for our parents, too, because they have to drive us to the practices," Ellen said.

According to the girls, the choir has put a tremendous eff ort into its performances to fully prepare for the overseas shows. And, they said, the group is cohesive.

"Everyone knows a lot of each other," Sarah said. "The music is fun to sing, but it's also more than just music. Everyone has been together for a while and we're all there for each other."

The singers expect to learn a lot from this trip.

"I think that it's going to be a great growing experience for some of us," Katelyn said. "I think it's a wonderful time in our lives to just have this experience and to do what we do best: to sing, to work hard and get a lot out of it."

"I think it's going to be a great musical experience going to all these cathedrals and singing in diff erent environments," Ellen said. "It's going to help us all musically."

"We're all close already, but this is really going to bring us more [close]," Sarah added. "We are going to look back on this and say, 'Wow, we went to England together and had a lot of fun.'"