After two years of strategic planning, 20-hour plane issues in the Philadelphia airport due to the aircraft being struck by lightning, and 24 hours of waiting, the Singing Panthers, Assistant Professor of Music Jennifer Ayers-Bernard and English Professor Lana Whited, finally reached their destination–an excursion across the Pond to perform and sightsee.

Due to the plane issues, the group missed the city of Winchester and its cathedral, but the group still made its performances at both the Cavendish Hotel in Brighton Beach and the Millennium & Copthorne Hotel in Chelsea.

“Because I am an English teacher, I was pretty upset with that because that is where Jane Austen had gotten started, and Professor Bernard and I love Jane Austen,” Whited said.   

On day one of the England trip, the group went straight from the airport to Salisbury to view Stonehenge. A week before the visit, an environmental activist had spray-painted Stonehenge. Later that same day, the group headed to Oxford and spent two days there. They had gone to Oxford University and had gone to Christchurch.

“One of my favorite times of the trip had been when we were in Oxford and attended a 6 o’clock evening service called Vespers. It was one of the best evenings, and I think all the students enjoyed it,” said Whited. 

One major thing happening at the time was the protests. The group viewed an encampment of protesters trying to represent the war between Israel and the Palestinians, which was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for everyone in the group. Gage Shelton, senior, was a witness to many of these protests on the trip. 

“Students were camped outside one of the more public buildings, with signs showing the death toll of civilians caught in between the violence. We did receive an alert from the U.S. Embassy about the protests ahead of time, urging us to steer clear of affected areas,” Shelton said.

Later, the group traveled, spent several hours at Warner Brother’s Studio, and visited Harry Potter hotspots. 

“Many of the students were avid Harry Potter fans, but possibly none as eager to take the tour as Dr. Whited.  She not only includes Harry Potter topics in one of her classes but has authored several publications on the topic,” said Ayers-Bernard. 

The group then traveled to Eastbourne; this was the first time the choir students had gotten to sing that evening in their hotel. Sophomore, Sarah Gallagher was one of many students from the singing Panthers Choir. She had most enjoyed being able to see beautiful sights while also singing with her best friends. 

“The trip was such an amazing learning experience on the educational and musical standpoints. We learned so much about music and about England’s history,” said Gallagher.

“I have performed, as a singer myself, with choirs in Europe several times, and it has always been a life-changing experience. I wanted my students to have that opportunity,” said Ayers-Bernard.

Later on, the students sang while the group was in London. 

“The group had been well received and was a great experience. I was very proud of all the students and their performance,” said Whited.

The group had multiple opportunities to sing in London and experience the similarities and differences. 

“I chose England in particular for several reasons.  First of all, there isn’t a language barrier since English is the local language, of course. Although the differences in our accents were quite entertaining to compare,” said Ayers-Bernard.