1. September, Day 8 - Chico University & Paradise

Today we can sleep a little longer, although most of us are still woken up by the sun hitting the tents and heating them up.

At about quarter to nine, the choir chants are played again to wake up the last person before we have a hearty breakfast and leave for Chico University around 11 o'clock.

There we will rehearse with a brass ensemble from the university. We take turns playing a piece from us and one from them and have a good time, so the hour goes by pretty quickly.

After the rehearsal, we have some time to explore the campus. The grounds resemble a classic campus from American movies. There are many green areas, trees, and flowers between the buildings, and it looks quite beautiful overall - especially compared to some German universities.

At 3 o'clock, we drive back to the campsite. There, everyone quickly gets a wrap for a snack before we change into our traditional costumes and set off for Pete and Shelly's house, which is only a few minutes away from the campsite. Today, we are invited to a pool party there and, of course, we will also perform for two hours.

First, however, we help set up tables and chairs and quickly jump into the pool. By the time we start playing, the other guests have already arrived and gathered in front of the orchestra.

We feel even more musically on point, the general mood is good, and everyone visibly feels comfortable.

After the performance, we hurry to the canyon behind the house. There, we have a small photo session, with Pete and Shelly joining us in the picture.

Then, someone starts playing Hey Jude down the canyon, and gradually more and more of us join in. The feeling of playing into the vast valley against the sunset is overwhelming. This will probably be the most beautiful and impressive moment of the entire concert tour!

Then, we quickly load the trailer again and can help ourselves at the buffet. Although it is now so dark that we can't even see our food anymore, nobody is bothered by it.
Afterwards, we jump into the pool again and, of course, have a lot of fun. In the end, we help with the cleanup - many hands make light work - and drive back to the campsite around 12 o'clock, where most of us go straight to bed, because tomorrow we want to leave for Chico High School at 7 o'clock.