It’s been almost two years, but TKC finally made it out of the UK and got to spread a little love, hope and inspiration overseas! We had the privilege of being invited, by none other than Albert ll, Prince of Monaco, to support an amazing event in the benefit of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. The foundation was initially created in 2006 by Prince Albert II of Monaco and it concentrates on environmental protection, sustainable development, climate change and the promotion of renewable energies as well as biodiversity, and also projects which develop water resource management or desertification control technologies.
Over the course of 6 weeks we focussed on getting ourselves performance ready. There were 39 singers in the Monaco ensemble and it’s been a while since so many of us were all going to be at the same event. As expected it was exciting; we were learning new songs with interesting arrangements and harmonies, and we were pushing ourselves in new ways. Special mention to choir member Kim Samuels, who got to work scoring the music, stretching our skills in both listening and reading. Little by little we got ourselves ready to take the stage.
As you can imagine, flying out with 39+ people is a massive undertaking, but eventually we made it to sunny Nice and onwards to the palace, which was a short drive away. Between the sun, the views and the jokes, the energy was high and we were ready to get stuck in.
Once we arrived, it was time to get straight to business. Our hard work early on paid off and little by little, we saw the different aspects of our performance come together. We were surrounded by creatives from all different disciplines – dancers, an orchestra, and even a painter. It was almost hard to focus during our rehearsal as there was so much going on, we wanted to look at everything!
The night itself was a whirlwind of hair, makeup, wardrobe and secrecy. There was so much to do, we could have never done it without our amazing team of stylists, hairstylists and makeup artists that were working tirelessly before, during, and after the festivities to make sure we put our best foot forward. We were a surprise for the guests of the event, and it added that extra layer of intrigue before we were able to emerge onto the stage from a secret door at the top of the main staircase. Our soloists, Clinton Jordan, Josh Lavaly, Stephanie Notice, and Gemma Risden made us extremely proud and brought our special brand of TKC excellence to the Prince and all of his guests.
Although we always put 100% into what we do, we are definitely not all work and no play. Our hotel in Menton was right on the beach and we were treated to views of the sea and a jaw dropping sunrise. In our down time we made sure we took a little time to dip in the sea, as well as making time to travel into Monte Carlo Monaco and enjoying some time in the town.
It was brief, but our time in Monaco was impactful and full of fun, friendship, and a lot of laughter. We can’t wait to have the opportunity to do something like this again.