Michael Najar

If you do enough of these tours, you will find that you hear the word century a lot. Because the United States is relatively new as a country, we tend not to refer to things in centuries. Travel to Europe or other places and you will hear time expressed in…

This one might be best told through photos and videos. It’s hard to capture the moving events of last night. Words will fail. Another packed house, another ovation, but/and we were joined by a local community choir who made our experience truly memorable. After the concert our host choir invited…

We had a little contest today. On our way to Oviedo we stopped in a small, beautiful fishing village. The hillside facing the ocean is dotted with colorful houses, and there were cute shops and some restaurants with lovely views. Not sure exactly what it would be like I decided…

14 years ago, my wife joined me with our one-year-old son Holden on a choir tour of Budapest Prague and Bratislava. I’m not sure she totally understood that I would be working the whole time. By the end of that tour, she understood that it’s a demanding schedule with traveling…

I am not sure I can successfully retell the story of how St. James head or body or spirit arrived in Santiago de Compostela but it is safe to say there is a good amount of industry around that lore. One version of the story is that St. James’ body…

It is always a challenge to decide what song goes first, what song goes next and what song goes last. A concert program should feel like a story. It should have a beginning a middle and an end and leave the audience satisfied. We were caught off guard on our…

When I was a kid, I was told that the soul was a sort of combination of heart, spirit and mind that was a gateway to the next in life. But I also thought it was something physical like your spleen or your kidneys. It’s true. I actually thought it…

We hate to say we told you so but… Ms. Kerby and I often tell stories of our past choir journeys abroad. We tell our students and parents that when we take the choir touring in Europe there will be a packed house and we will receive a standing ovation.…

The choir that has traveled all the way from Palo Alto California will sing tomorrow in front of a foreign audience and it will be their first time making music together. It would be a lie to say that they are unprepared. They have been preparing since August 2023. But…

It’s the hardest part of the trip. Actually getting ready to go. All bags, tuxedo, passport check! Through security, through the gate and seated. Whew! We have arrived! It is a glorious day in Lisbon. Students are already exploring. Finding food, finding photo spots! Downtown Lisbon is on a bay.…