Spring Pause is what they are calling it here

On Friday we had the first day of what is a three-class day Spring Break for Coker College. Hard to call it spring with the cooler temperatures we have been enjoying this winter. It is up to 55 today and that would be a good Spring day for upstate NY but a bit on the cool side for Hartsville, SC. We got Friday off, will get Monday off and Tuesday with classes resuming again on Wednesday. Will it be enough time to catch up; that is my big question? One good thing is that we finished phone interviews with potential new communication professors last week and will be able to do reference checks during this short break.

But, not everyone gets a break. The baseball team had a three game series with Pieffer College this weekend. Both the basketball teams finished the regular season on Saturday afternoon. The golf team is readying for a tournament this weekend and the beginning of the week. The Coker Chamber Singers were performing in NYC over this break. Professor Jean Grosser took a number of art students and art-interested students to NYC for immersion in art. But this is our Spring Break, so let's ENJOY!

Coker College Chamber Singers in NYC snow

Will Carswell, director of choral activities at Coker College, sent back a quick update on the trip, which was mentioned in this blog on Thursday. Here is his note so you can see what is happening. Do you think the students will be talking about the Carnegie Deli performance for pretty much the rest of their lives -- talk about a college memory:

FROM WILL CARSWELL: We arrived in the city with over a foot of new snow (adding to the foot from the day before!). We have since seen about 18" fall --but it has not slowed us down! Yesterday we sang at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church and an impromptu concert at Carnegie Deli, of all places. The owner came out and talked with the students then pretty much stopped the business in order that all the customers listen to us sing. It was pretty amazing. We are going to have a 8 X 10 photo of the choir with the owner (Sandy Levine) placed on the wall with all the other 'famous' people. We have toured Carnegie Hall where the students were treated to surprise rehearsal by composer Philip Glass (who performed a concert at Carnegie last night as a fundraiser for the Tibet House here in NY). We are heading to the former World Trade Center site and Chinatown this morning. Tonight we have a 3 hour dinner cruise (singing involved) around the harbor with dinner, dancing, and entertainment. Tomorrow we sing at the 11:00 am service at The Riverside Church (church of the Rockafellers) on the upper east side followed by a private reception/concert at the home of Jack and Anne Linville (great supporters of the college) who have a beautiful home on Central Park West. Okay, got to run.

Coker Chamber Singers heading to NYC

There was quite a bit of unusual activity on the Coker campus this morning (2-25-10) as lots of students were heading toward the parking lot with good size suit cases and heavy coats and jackets. Today is the day before the beginning of a very abbreviated Spring Break at Coker but it is still unusual for students to be moving quite that quickly before 8 a.m.

The students were all members of the Coker Chamber Singers who are heading to an action-packed Spring Break in New York City where they will be performing at several churches and in a couple of more private Chamber events. The students are excited and their flight leaves Charlotte later today. As I wished Will Carswell, the Director of Choral Activities, a great break he mentioned that NYC is getting some more winter so he knows there is an adventure in store. Adam Johnson, a senior communication major, said he would be blogging about the trip so maybe we can share some of the adventure with the Coker Chamber Singers.

And, the Singers will not be the only Coker students in NYC for the next few days. Jean Grosser, chair of the Coker Art Department, is taking a group of students on what is almost an annual tour of art museums and other venues in the city where she grew up. And, last night at the Coker Basketball game Dr. Robert Wyatt, Coker's president, said he was going to be attending at least one of the performances in New York at the home of one of the college's great supporters.