Italian Choral Programme - Rome

23rd July 2025 | Written by Devin (Tenor 1)

Greetings from Roma! My name is Devin and I am a tenor with Addamus. Come with me on our journey through Rome.

Our Roman Adventure began with a morning trip to the Vatican City. If simply experiencing the awe and beauty within the walls of Vatican City, we surely received our fill upon entering St. Peter’s Basilica. We hastily made our way to the chancel to prepare for our noon mass, making especially sure that we did not get distracted by the grand and exquisite sights surrounding us. Singing in mass at the Vatican was truly a cathartic experience for each of us. It was difficult to not get chills as we sang next to the high alter, surrounded by the vibrant black and gold marble statues.

Following the service conducted by Caius, Bob, and James, the choir had some free time to explore. I chose to explore St. Peter’s Basilica some more. I saw statues of various religious figures, and even took a trip down to the crypt. I lit a candle for goodness to surround our choir in our travels.

After exploring the Vatican, we headed to a workshop with Bob Chilcott at St. Paul’s Within the Walls.

The intimacy and beauty of this church was a perfect setting for a wonderful rehearsal. Three moments in particular stood out to me. The first was Bob Chilcott taking us through his “Shepherd’s Carol.” There is something about the brilliant writing in combination with modality and lilt of this piece that makes me have full-body chills when we sing it. Another memorable moment from that rehearsal was reading through Jaako Mäntyjärvi’s “Pulchra Es” for the first time with James Jordan. He gave the choir some great insights into the phrasing and harmonic intimacy of this piece. We capped off rehearsal with a change of pace by reading through Bob Chilcott’s exciting mixed-meter setting of “Queen of the May.” I am speaking for the choir when I say that we have been having loads of fun every time that we sing this piece.

After the concert, we headed straight for the Flan O’Brian Pub as we awaited dinner time. Though it is difficult to beat the visual and spiritual feast that was the Vatican City, after the concert, we walked to our lovely pasta dinner. I had a stunning Penne Arabiatta that left me wanting more!

After dinner, we briefly explored Rome some more before departing to our hotel for a much-needed sleep.

After a lovely breakfast together at our hotel, we had a brief rehearsal. My standout memory of this rehearsal was reading through William Byrd’s Renaissance Motet, “Vigilate” with Caius Lee conducting. This is hands down my absolute favorite choral motet from the Renaissance and it has been a dream of mine for many years to sing this piece with a choir. It is a true “tour de force.”

After some break time, we made our way to the Catacombs of St. Callixtus. Upon our arrival, we sat and enjoyed the gardens; it was very green with beautiful trees. We were then led down 15 meters to the first level of the catacombs. It was explained to us that the oldest tomb was from the 3rd century, but the catacombs were used up until the Victorian era. As we wandered through, we saw a room containing 6 popes and also the original resting place of St. Celicila. As we went further down, we started finding particular rooms that were for families. At the lowest level, down almost 30 meters, were the noble family rooms. We also had the chance to sing in a chapel in the oldest part of the catacombs. It was quite a thrilling and intriguing experience.

After exploring the catacombs, we had some free time around Rome as well as lunch. I had a lovely bruschetta and mozzarella sandwich.

Following lunch, we walked to the famous Trevi Fountain and stood in the beauty of the architecture (while trying to avoid a splash!)

After basking in glory of the Trevi Fountain, we then made our way to The Pantheon. After a short rehearsal, we then sang a full program of choral music in an audience-filled concert! A highlight of the concert was performing Debra Pritchard’s piece, “Heaven’s King,” in which she was in attendance at the concert. She also gave us some insights into her compositional process as we prepared her piece. In many ways, the concert was very bitter-sweet as it would be our final time singing with Bob Chilcott on the Interrail. We sent the audience away with an encore of his “Queen of the May.”

Following our concert, we walked to our dinner spot which was called Tonerello Scala. This restaurant was quite unique as they serve their pasta straight from the pan. At dinner, I tried Carbonara Pasta for this first time, and it was absolutely unbelievable how delicious it was. Though the other choristers might disagree, this was personally the best pasta I have ever had in my life (other than my Mimi’s, of course!)

After a wonderful dinner accompanied by delicious wine, we headed back to our hotel for some rest and relaxation.

Good morning from Rome and welcome to day 3! Today once again began with lovely breakfast at our hotel before we departed for The Colosseum. We were first taken to the parapet that overlooks the arena floor, which shows the ruins and labyrinth beneath. It truly was awe-inspiring. We then traveled upstairs, in which they had exhibits about the colosseum, including its construction and consecration and how that has influenced architecture in other places around the world. After freely exploring the Colosseum, we explored the Roman Forum, which was the center or Roman political and religious life during the classical age.

After being left in extreme awe from The Colosseum, we made our way to the Basilica of San Clemente. Similarly to St. Paul’s Within the Walls, this Basilica felt extremely intimate to both explore and sing in. We had a wonderful concert in which my dream of performing William Byrd’s “Vigilate” came true! It was truly magical and very spiritually rewarding.

After yet another fantastic concert, we all knew that we had a fun evening in store for us! We headed to Roma Termini to hop on a train to the gorgeous town of Frascati, located about 20 kilometers southeast of Rome.

Upon arrival, we were led through some parts of the town, and we made our way to “From Scratch,” which is a pasta-making experience, in which the family that owns it also has their own Vineyard down the road in Frascati. As we were lead through the red and white wine tasting and pairings, we prepared to make our very own pasta. I was aiming to make a fettuccine carbonara, and besides a slight mishap with the cracking of my egg, my pasta came out pretty good, if I do say so myself! About halfway through the experience, our guide led us down to the cave beneath the restaurant that used to be used as a working wine cellar. It was explained to us that the cave was made from volcanic rock that is quite cool in temperature, which was perfect for storing wine.

After another delicious dinner, which felt particularly satisfying due to the fact that we made it ourselves. We made our way back to Roma Termini—not without a quick stop for gelato, of course!

As our adventure in Rome came to a close, we reminisced on the many great things that we experienced together. It was truly a special time both musically, and personally.

Thank you for coming on this journey with me! Onward to Verona.

Devin (Tenor 1)