College Calls Off Music Tour to Greece

Author: Andrea Gissing

As the chill of winter retreats before the advance of spring sunshine, the thoughts of most Middlebury students turn to one thing: Spring Break. Even as early as January, students pause from their studies to search online for the best travel deals to Baja for surfing or Miami for clubbing. Athletes look forward to spring training trips and clubs await the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in a variety of ways, including building houses and debating.
The Middlebury College Chamber Singers are no exception. The ensemble, which sings a variety of traditional choral music ranging from Baroque to contemporary, has diligently been preparing for a College-sponsored trip to Greece, where they planned to perform at a number of venues.
However, as a result of the rapidly escalating tensions in the region, the College has decided to cancel the trip. "Provost Ron Liebowitz and I made the decision to cancel the trip last Friday [March 14]," said Robert Schine, dean of faculty and Curt C. & Else Silberman Professor in Jewish Studies. "We did not think it wise for the College to sponsor a choir trip to Greece, one border removed from what was a likely war zone, in which an American choral group would be performing in public, at a time when Americans abroad are well-advised not to draw attention to themselves.
"When the College sponsors a trip, as in the case of the Chamber Singers' tour," he continued, "the trip is the College's responsibility. The College would have been responsible for the well-being and safety of the participants and for any eventualities along the way."
"We were surprised by the College's decision," said Dixie Dillon '05, "which seemed sudden at the time [of announcement], since we had been told not two days before that we would still be able to go. However, we understand that this was a difficult decision for the college officials to make, and that they certainly made it out of concern for our safety."
The decision to cancel the trip was not entirely unexpected to the Chamber Singers. Jeff Rehbach, Special Projects Manager for DLIS and director of the group said, "We had talked during the past month about safety concerns, but indications remained that travel to Europe, including Greece, appeared safe."
After looking over State Department recommendations for student travel abroad and consulting the embassy in Greece, Rehbach told the students that it would be up to individual families to decide whether or not they should travel.
The reactions of the students were expected, ranging from disbelief to disappointment.
"I was crushed," said Jason Siegel '06. "We had put forth so much effort in rehersal and dedicated so much time outside of rehersal to be ready for this trip, that to see it all disappear in a single moment was heartbreaking."
"From the start of my choir experience," remarked Scott Guenther '06.5, "there was the possibility that the trip could be cancelled due to security concerns.
"Even up to last week," he continued, "I felt that the likelihood of such an occurrence was slim to none. So when Rehbach delivered the news on Friday that the trip had been canceled I was shocked."
While the College's decision to cancel the trip was accepted by the students as being a prudent move, many expressed frustration that a descision could not have been made earlier.
Nora Williams '06 said that "We don't blame the College at all, in light of the likely war, it is totally reasonable that they should cancel our trip, but we wished that there could have been some indication of their decision before Saturday. This has left us all scrambling for plans. This is a particularity sad cancellation for those of our members for whom this would be a first trip abroad, but, as disappointing as it is, I'm more angry at Bush than the College."
Many of the singers have been able to make alternate plans at the last minute, visiting family and friends, skiing in Montana or jumping in on the Ultimate Frisbee team's trip to Georgia for example.
However, the short-notice cancellation of the trip has created difficulties for many others. The Chamber Singers were planning on performing at several venues, including the Anglican Cathedral, the University of La Verne and the University of Indianapolis in Athens.
The ensemble was to be hosted by the American Women of Greece, who planned on housing the group at no expense. Thorin Schriber '04.5 had contacted his grandmother, Eleni Steves, who helped make many of the arrangements in Greece. As well, the College was going to fund 75 percent of the trip's costs, only a portion of which would be recovered, according to Schine.
"We do wish that [the College] had made the decision earlier, so they would not have lost their money and we would not have lost our opportunity," commented Dillon. "But it is our fault as well - although we were surprised by the decision, we always knew that there was concern. If we had planned for this, we still wouldn't have gotten to eat any baklava, but maybe we could have had some ice cream in Florida."
While the College did decide to cancel the trip to Greece, the Parliamentary Debate Club's trip to Dublin, Ireland, to participate in a tournament is still scheduled.
"There are no plans to cancel that trip," asserted Schine. "The destination, unlike Greece, is far from the theater of imminent Iraq war."
Schine concluded by saying, "I would only comment that the decision to call off the trip was not easy. May the cancelled tour be the only victim of the approaching war."