LZHS Choir Brings Smiles to Italy, Vatican

Spring break for 110 Lake Zurich High School choir students was spent singing for the recently appointed Pope Francis in the Vatican as well as at other sites in Italy and Ireland.

Parents and friends kept up with the adventure via the Lake Zurich High School Choir Facebook page and through Choir Director Nick Juknelis’ blog.

Juknelis shared his top four highlights of the trip with Lake Zurich Patch this week.

1. Singing in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. “It was stressful because you had the Vatican music staff literally watching over your shoulder . . . There was a language barrier and it was challenging communicating. Being at the Vatican was really neat,” Juknelis said.
2. After each performance in Italy, the LZHS choir sang a piece that is like an unofficial anthem, that would make the audience member’s faces light up. “My back was to the audience, but the students can see the audience.  Four  seconds later, you can see the faces of the kids light up. It was awesome,” Juknelis said.
3. The cultural experience for the students was something they might not ever get again, he said. The students visited the Roman Coliseum and were able to walk around the Roman Forum and the Vatican.
4. “I managed the trip completely on my iPad. I didn’t carry anything but my iPad,” Juknelis said. His iPad had all the passports, medication release forms, hotel and airline information, and even concert music. He posted videos and photos on Facebook and on the blog from his iPad. A video from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin got over 13,000 views, Juknelis said. “Two or three years ago, we wouldn’t have had those connections,” he said.