Libera to tour USA - Summer 2017

Talks and reviews about Libera concerts or public appearances

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Surpinto
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Re: Libera to tour USA

Post by Surpinto »

fan_de_LoK wrote: <span title="Sun Aug 20, 2017 7:19 pm">7 years ago</span> The 1st blog about the USA tour is now online on the official site :)

https://libera.org.uk/blog/libera-in-am ... 17-part-1/
Thanks for the link, it was fun to read. Cinnamon Pepsi? I'm an American and I have never seen or heard of such a thing. It sounds awful! :lol:

I found this amusing:
As usual before a concert we dress in our robes with our coats on backwards to protect the pristine white fabric from the splattering of food and drink, the hoods acting as nose-bags.
We knew they did that, but calling them "nosebags"? :lol: Are we dealing with a group of young boys or a herd of horses? :lol: Very clever and funny. Neigh.

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Last edited by Surpinto on Sun Aug 20, 2017 9:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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maartendas
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Re: Libera to tour USA

Post by maartendas »

What an extensive gallery!

Let's vote for the laser tag picture to be the next album cover :lol:

I love that picture of Peter wearing a bandana around his mouth and posing like a bandit :lol:

As someone who enjoys photography as a hobby, it's nice to see some of the boys taking a liking to it as well. Especially Alex G, who manages to hold his camera even in a pile of hooded boys :)

It was also nice to see some examples of the lighting that has been discussed. It really looks like a beautiful addition to the overall experience.
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Surpinto
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Re: Libera to tour USA

Post by Surpinto »

maartendas wrote: <span title="Mon Aug 21, 2017 11:13 am">7 years ago</span> What an extensive gallery!

Let's vote for the laser tag picture to be the next album cover :lol:

I love that picture of Peter wearing a bandana around his mouth and posing like a bandit :lol:

As someone who enjoys photography as a hobby, it's nice to see some of the boys taking a liking to it as well. Especially Alex G, who manages to hold his camera even in a pile of hooded boys :)

It was also nice to see some examples of the lighting that has been discussed. It really looks like a beautiful addition to the overall experience.
Yes, some of those photos are hilarious! :lol:

And now part 2 of the blog is up. :D

https://libera.org.uk/blog/libera-in-america-2017-part-2/
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tom413
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Re: Libera to tour USA

Post by tom413 »

Thanks, I just read it now.
Looks like we might get an installment for every concert. :mrgreen:
andmar
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Re: Libera to tour USA

Post by andmar »

The 3rd part of the blog is online:
https://libera.org.uk/blog/libera-in-am ... 17-part-3/
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Al17
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Re: Libera to tour USA

Post by Al17 »

Great pictures !
Looks like a lot of fun !
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Re: Libera to tour USA

Post by bachmahlerfan »

This is technically off-topic, but since Libera was just in Houston during their recent tour, I should mention that the greater Houston area is dealing with an extremely serious flood event tonight. There are numerous reports of people going up to their attics to escape the floodwaters. We should certainly keep them in our thoughts and prayers.
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Re: Libera to tour USA

Post by frankstuart »

I truly hope all of our friends and the church that sponsored Libera's performance are OK and safe. There is so much damage in that area and there will be more in the near future. It is amazing what water can do. We must have it to live but too much can ruin or kill. Let's pray that everyone in the area will be safe and able to quickly recover from this disaster.
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filiarheni
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Re: Libera to tour USA

Post by filiarheni »

"But in the dark and cold of things there always, always something sings"
andmar
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Re: Libera to tour USA

Post by andmar »

The fourth part of the blog is so much fun to read.

It's just amazing:

" Coach journeys are actually great for us as a group. They are usually quite fun filled and it only takes the right tune on the radio to start us singing – it’s amazing how many harmony parts we can manage to make. As many of you know, as the choir we sing songs with many different voice parts so it’s great fun to take a tune and give it a Libera spin."

and funny:

"I agree that I should not have caused the piece of melon to fly from one side of the pool to the other, even if the receiving person had caught it"

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Good job, whoever wrote it!
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filiarheni
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Re: Libera to tour USA

Post by filiarheni »

andmar wrote: <span title="Tue Aug 29, 2017 8:55 pm">7 years ago</span> "it only takes the right tune on the radio to start us singing – it’s amazing how many harmony parts we can manage to make. As many of you know, as the choir we sing songs with many different voice parts so it’s great fun to take a tune and give it a Libera spin."
Apart from Libera's rehearsals, I've never wished as deeply as in this moment to be a fly on their wall when they do that! :!: :D :!:
"But in the dark and cold of things there always, always something sings"
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Re: Libera to tour USA

Post by kinda_k00l »

I think I want to listen to a song about that melon piece flying across the pool they would come up with, with harmony parts and stuff :idea: (or... maybe Alex M would turn that into a Melon Opera :lol: )
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andmar
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Re: Libera to tour USA

Post by andmar »

Look, what I found yesterday in my mail box :D :D :D :D
It definitely made my evening. :D :D :D
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Jay_S
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Re: Libera to tour USA

Post by Jay_S »

Finally, my review of the St Louis Concert. This is the first review I have ever written about anything so please be kind 😊


For me, it was a more than 2 year 'Pilgrimage' to finally see Libera live. I had tickets to concerts in Washington DC and Pittsburgh, Pa that were both cancelled. When this tour was announced, and I saw that the St Louis concert would be the closest one to me (about 900 miles), I was determined to go and see that concert! I still had concerns about whether the tour or the St Louis concert would really take place and didn't make travel arrangements until I had seen a post about the boys getting their travel visas.


I joined this forum shortly after that. I received a lot of support and encouragement from the members here and that made my level of excitement grow and grow! Everybody who has attended a Libera concert remembers their first one. I sure will not forget mine!


A special note of thanks to Surpinto who agreed to meet me before the concert. This made my entire experience so much better. I'm sure that I would not have had such an amazing time if not for his help and friendship. Through him I was able to meet and interact with several other fans and members of this forum which was really great because I don't make friends with strangers that easily.


The Cathedral Basilica of St Louis is a beautiful place of worship. It's mainly Byzantine styled interior is adorned with approximately 83,000 square feet of Mosaics which are comprised of 41.5 million individual pieces of glass and ceramic. It is truly an amazing interior.
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The day of the concert I was able to meet many more fans and was given the opportunity to upgrade my ticket to a premium seat! What a stroke of luck! My seat was in the 3rd row right on the center aisle. What a view! Thank you John!


As the 8 o'clock hour approached and the lights began to dim in the Cathedral I was practically shaking with excitement! There was a buzz in the crowd behind me and the musicians were playing some soft notes as the boys with their hoods covering their heads came onto the stage from the right and left bathed in a mysterious blue light. When they were in place Mr Prizeman held up his baton and the first vocals of San Damiano rang out strong and clear as white spotlights shone upon the Choir. Wow! I had goosebumps and I couldn't stop smiling for the entire song. The sound was better than I imagined it could be. I had hoped for it to be good but I was blown away at how clear and well mixed the sound was!


Sanctus was next and it sounded as good as I have ever heard it. I was happy to experience this song in person as it was the first Libera song that I had ever heard.


The next three songs were from the new CD and were nice to hear one after the other. The unfortunate technical issues aside, the songs were really enjoyable. Camden's silky smooth voice on Dreaming of Home was really a pleasure to hear. Merlin did a fantastic job on From a Distance in spite of his microphone failure which prompted Robert Prizeman to come up on stage and direct him to stand near a floor microphone. I felt a little bad for Merlin who was stooped over to be close enough for the microphone to pick up his voice. He was a good sport and Matthias came over at the end of the song and gave him a nice pat on the back in recognition of his efforts. So good to see the support the boys have for each other 😊 Rocco's strong solo on Angele Dei was wonderfully sung!


The song I was most looking forward to was Sacris Solemnis. Something about that song really gets to me. I hadn't seen any videos of this song so I wasn't sure of what to expect. The lighting (mostly reds and yellows) really added drama to the performance. I just loved it!


Wonderful World with nice lead vocals by Gabe, and 'Libera' ended the first half of the concert.


It went by so fast!! Some people told me that this would happen. I was so pumped up and excited about being there that I know I missed a lot of details and nuances of what had just transpired. No doubt at my Next Libera concert I'll be calmer and able to take in more of the music and lights and not be in such awe as I was this first time.


The second half of the concert started out with some nice drum beats as Dies Irea got the adrenaline flowing again. Joyful Joyful continued with the upbeat theme. Camden did a good job on Angel. It's not one of my favorite songs but it was really well performed by the Choir.


Taichi did the descants on Salve Me. He was back behind and to the right of the Choir up on a higher level. Blue light shone on him from the left and his hood was up covering his face giving a nice mysterious appearance. I had a clear view of him and I could see him tapping his foot in time with the music as he sang his descants. He did a fine job!


Amazing Grace followed. Rocco's voice was well suited for this song. I think we will hear him doing more solos in the future.


Alex Gula did solos on How Great thou Art and Wayfaring Stranger. He has this nice soft but husky voice that I really like. Both songs were beautifully performed.


Smile was next in this group of mellow songs. Gabe and Alessandro doing very nice work.


The last song was Exultate. It hasn't been a favorite of mine but wow did the choir and the instrumentalists nail this one! The boys really seemed to be enjoying themselves! The crowd stood in applause in appreciation. America The Beautiful was the encore and received a similar but longer standing ovation.


It was just an awe inspiring performance! I really think I smiled the entire concert! 😃


Much credit must be given to the lighting engineers. I felt so many different moods and emotions just from the lighting. There must be a creative mind behind that light display. Is it Luke Avery or Robert Prizeman? That is one thing that unfortunately I was unable to memorize from the concert. How the lights were during certain songs. A concert video would be so nice so we could be able to re-experience the lighting show again.


I wasn't sure what to expect at the meet and greet. I admit I was a little nervous. The boys quickly put me at ease however. Isaac and Alessandro were first in line and both asked me how I liked the concert. I told them it was my first and they both said that was great. I mentioned to Isaac that I really enjoyed Stabat Mater on the Hope Cd and he told me it was one of his favorite songs. I told Alex M that I like his songs on Hope and he thanked me. I asked him if he still hit some of the high notes as I saw he was singing the last notes of 'Libera' while Ale and Isaac didn't sing. He shrugged his shoulders and Alessandro nudged him and said: 'you hit that b flat' They both laughed. I thought it was a nice moment to share with them.


I bought one of the Libera hoodies and asked the boys to sign it as large as they wanted. Some of them really took me literally. Oliver's initials were the largest of all! He was pretty quiet. He said thank you when I told him I was happy that they had come to sing for us. The line in front of the tables stalled at that point so I asked him if he had a favorite football team. He didn't seem to know what to say. He told me he really didn't follow football. I just kind of left it there. A few seconds later while I was trying to think of something else to say, he said " if I had a favorite team, it would be Manchester". I said thank you and moved on. I know nothing about soccer! lol


Most of the younger boys didn't have much to say except for polite thank you's. Camden and Gregor both asked if I liked the concert. Camden was impressed that I had come so far to see them. Taichi was pretty quiet and concentrated on his artwork on my hoodie which included his name in Japanese!


Tadgh has quite the personality. He was the most elaborate with his signature. He was trying to make sure I knew that his was 'the best'. What a hoot!


Leo and Peter seem to be good friends and they enjoyed being together. This was also evident when they were next to each other on stage. Such great fun it must be to be in Libera!
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! think this might have been one of the most pleasurable things I have ever done. Everything about the entire experience was better than I expected it would be. Thanks again for the help and support of those both here on the forum and in St Louis. You know who you are! :D I definitely will be seeing Libera live in concert again!
Last edited by Jay_S on Wed Aug 30, 2017 8:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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