This January, the Rice Memorial High School Choir had the opportunity to perform at an international concert in Kobe, Japan. They spent eight days in Japan, learning about Japanese culture, language, and music.
They also had the chance to visit Hiroshima and visit the Holocaust Museum. Ginter commented that the experience was “really impactful… in a completely different way.”
At the actual competition, they sang four songs, two in Latin–“Aquamadio” and “Omnus Onus”–and two in English–“A Gaelic Blessing” and “Hear My Prayer.”
The trip was an opportunity for students to make new connections as well. Kevin Ginter, the director of the Rice choir, says that “seeing the interaction between the different choirs” was one of the things he’ll remember about the trip.
Teacher Maureen Bauchan, who was a chaperone on the choir’s trip and accompanied them on piano for “A Gaelic Blessing”, said that “performing in front of an international audience” was one of her favorite things about the trip, in addition to the food and culture.
Over the course of the trip, Maureen Bauchan saw the connections forming between Rice students as they bonded over the experience as well as “the impact that they had on [their] tour guide.”
The choir was recorded last week by WCAX, and Kevin Ginter was interviewed about the trip. (see WCAX coverage here: https://www.wcax.com/2026/02/02/rice-memorial-high-school-choir-competes-japan/)
Over the course of their trip, they met several different choirs from Indonesia, Canada, and Hong Kong, among other countries.
Some of the Japanese choirs were very interested and impressed by the Rice Memorial choir, and Kevin Ginter reported that “some of those students want to come and visit here now, or potentially even go to school here now.”
Addie Lawson, a Rice sophomore, went to Japan, and she said that her favorite part was the competition and meeting new people. She added that it was really interesting to “[get] to see all of the different cultures and [see] how they performed their traditions and incorporated that into their songs.”
The choir was recognized at the competition with a Silver level 10 award. The competition awards Bronze 1-10, Silver 1-10, and Gold 1-10 awards, which means that the Rice Memorial High School choir was just one step away from receiving a gold level of award.
Although the trip was an exhausting whirlwind, Ginter couldn’t be happier with the experience.
“They really did a fantastic job. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Here are Kevin Ginter’s notes that he sent as daily updates for parents of students on the trip:
Travel Day(s)
Travel Tuesday into Wednesday went remarkably smooth. Everything was on time, security and customs went quickly, and all of our luggage arrived! Most students slept at least a little on the airplane. The long day caught up to us on the bullet train. I remember looking behind me and every person looked asleep except for Marian Raval. We finally checked into our hotel and went to sleep. Our Japanese guides have been enormously helpful leading us from place to place, teaching us about Kobe, and keeping us on track with our schedule.
Thursday, 1/15
Today was another very busy day. We started with an amazing hotel breakfast. It had loads of options. Some were very familiar and many new things to try as well. It really puts our “continental breakfast” to shame.
After breakfast we took a gondola up the mountain to see the falls and the herb garden. Once we reached the top we hiked down. Even in January it was very beautiful. Half of the group did make one wrong turn on the way to the falls, requiring some to hike back up the trail to rejoin the rest of the group. Although tiring, there were a few students very grateful for the cardio, especially Sergio.
Next we had lunch in our chaperone groups near the hotel. There are tons of restaurants everywhere and all of the food has been great so far.
Following lunch we went to a rehearsal studio for our one and only rehearsal in preparation for the competition. Considering how tired they all are they truly sounded fantastic. Their focus is good and their voices sound fresh and full.
Next the group had a few minutes to relax while I got to take a ride on the subway to do the directors check in/ registration for the competition.
We then had dinner and headed to the opening ceremony. At this event they acknowledged all of the countries participating, and had a few choirs perform as well. The competing choirs we heard sound great but we feel like we can hold our own. I am excited for our kids to share with the world what we can do.
Friday, 1/16
In the morning we got on the Shinkansen [bullet train] and went to Hiroshima. We walked through the park, and saw what’s left of the dome, and the memorial followed by the Museum. The whole experience was very emotional, but such an important place to see. Similarly to when we went to the Holocaust Museum in D.C. a few years back I was so impressed with how mature and respectful our students were. They took their time reading each part of the museum, even if it was hard to look at. They comforted each other, and helped each other process their experiences.
Afterwards we had to rush back to Kobe and go straight to our first performance at the Friendship Concert. We made friends with choirs from Hong Kong, Canada, and the Czech Republic. And realized that we could hold our own on the stage. The other choirs were incredibly talented, but our kids also sang great. Immediately after the concert the choir from Hong Kong wanted to take a picture with us and gave us CD’s of their group. They would go on to win the Grand Prize Competition today.
Saturday, 1/17
Yesterday was all about the competition. Well, that and some shopping in between. We started the day going to the main Kobe Bunka Hall and had our acoustic rehearsal(sound check basically). We had ten minutes on stage to practice walking off and on and sing some of our songs. We then had some time for much desired shopping. They were especially excited for the Ghibli store. We then went back to the hotel to get into uniform and prepare for the competition. The competition was intense, but these kids put on their game face and gave one of their best performances ever. I could not be more proud of them. We were competing against four other choirs, all of whom have done multiple competitions and some have won other competitions. For a non auditioned high school group from a school of 400 kids to be legitimate competition to these groups is outstanding. Although we did not win our category, we received the highest silver rating you can achieve, and were just one point away from a gold rating(highest). We were also only 3.5 points below the winning choir in our category from the Czech Republic.
Sunday, 1/18
We started our day with a lovely mass at the Catholic Kobe Central Church. Mass was in english and they gave us a warm welcome. We found an amazing bakery nearby afterwards for lunch and then headed to the Pray From Kobe Concert. This concert is in honor of the earthquake that hit near Kobe in 1995. We had a short break before returning to Bunka Hall for the Grand Prize Competition and award ceremony. The winners of each category competed for the grand prize. We heard choirs from Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Czech Republic, and Hong Kong. Our friends from Hong Kong won. Following the awards ceremony each conductor got five minutes with the judges to receive feedback. They were very complimentary of our group especially considering our circumstances. We have already been invited to compete in Indonesia and the Philippines. We will likely need a bit of a break after this but it feels good to make friends all over the world, where we can open new doors.
Monday, 1/19
We started our morning learning a Japanese children’s song about a Frog on the bus ride to Kyoto. I taught them the notes using solfege and our guide Saiko helped teach us the words. Needless to say it was a lot of fun and the kids couldn’t stop singing the rest of the ride. We eventually arrived at the beautiful Heian Jingu Shrine followed by a traditional Japanese lunch at the Syozan Resort. We then visited the Kinakuji Temple, and Ryoanji Temple. We learned a lot about Japanese history and religion. Mrs. Bauchan is getting some first hand experience with some of her World Religions material!
Tuesday, 1/20
This was a travel day back to Tokyo. We took the bullet train, this time during the day so we could see Mt. Fuji. It was really spectacular and we were able to get some good photos from the train. After checking into our hotel we had dinner and then went to a private concert of traditional Japanese music. This was a major highlight for many on the trip.
Wednesday, 1/21
Yesterday we started our day at the Tsukiji Outer Market. Fresh Sushi, Mochi, shopping. It had all of our favorite things. The Sushi was so fresh. We did need to leave though so we could go to our all you can eat Wagamama Shabu Shabu where Nick stole the show eating 16, yes 16 plates of beef. (very thinly cut slices of beef I should add). We then went to the Asakusa Temple, Senso Ji followed by the Samurai Ninja Museum. The museum ended with a Ninja Star competition in which Skylar and Jim Howrigan won in the two groups.
Thursday, 1/22
Today we ended our trip with a visit to the Imperial Palace in the morning. Later in the day was another highlight of the trip when we went to visit the Gyosei International School. They were so welcoming and excited to see us. They had a couple hundred students in their chapel waiting for us. They had a student representative that welcomed us, and Laural also gave a great speech informing them about our experiences in Japan and our Rice community. We then sang four songs for them, and then I was able to convince them to sing with us the Frog song in Japanese that we had learned on the bus to Kyoto. They had a choir that sang a sweet song for us as well. Then there was time for the students to meet each other and make connections. They were very impressed with our singing and they all want to come to Vermont. The students made instant connections and I think they all have new friends on their Instagram accounts. Then we ended by exchanging gifts and then they lined up outside escorting us to our bus. Students were literally running after our bus to keep waving to us as we left. It was truly special for all involved. Tonight kids tried finishing up their wish lists with shopping, karaoke, and the Shibuya Crossing.
