From Menin Gate to Paris, Men & Boys’ Choir Inspires
The Men & Boys’ Choir recently returned from their biennial European tour, where this year they had the privilege of performing at some of the world’s most meaningful sites of remembrance in Belgium and France. The group was composed of 60 choir members and 70 supporters, including performers’ families and Crescent faculty. The trip took place from November 5 to 15, led by artistic director Dr. Sandra Boyes.
At the Menin Gate in Belgium, the choir performed songs like “The Journey” and “Abide with Me”, a prayer for God to stay with the speaker throughout life and in death, for the Last Post Association. The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing commemorates British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I with no known graves. The Last Post Association, founded in 1928, continues to oversee the daily remembrance ceremony featuring the symbolic wartime bugle call.
While in France, Crescent boys and staff paid their respects at the burial site of Crescent alumnus Cpt. Anthony Larratt Smith at the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery. Performances followed at Vimy Ridge, in the town of Courseulles-sur-Mer, and at the official Juno Beach Remembrance Day Celebration. The journey concluded with a moving performance at Église de la Madeleine in Paris, featuring “Homeward Bound” and “Band of Brothers”.
“ Music is such a healing power,” says Boyes. “During one of our concerts in Paris, a young man shared that he was so moved by the music and had never heard anything so beautiful.” Later, during a visit to the Louvre, a stranger approached the Crescent group, recognizing their red jackets. He explained he had seen them perform at Normandy and wanted to congratulate them on a job well done.
Students learn about the locales they visit through cultural and historical lenses. In some cases, Crescent families on the trip—students and their parents who chaperone—also have personal connections to the places being explored. For the performers, the trip was more than a tour; it was an opportunity to connect, learn, and touch hearts through music.
