There were many teary eyes as the students from Puget Sound Christian Youth Chorale (PSCYC) sang their last concert in the Koln, Germany’s magnificent cathedral, on July 4. This was the last performance of a very busy 16-day European cathedral music tour, sponsored by Puget Sound Adventist Academy (PSAA).

PSCYC, directed and nurtured by Estyn Goss, consisted of 27 students, mostly from PSAA, and several from Auburn Adventist Academy and homeschool. This group, originally started as PSAA’s “Impact,” had performed more than 25 concerts in area church services over the past two years in order to raise money for the tour. In addition to putting on whole church services, the group produced and performed the opera “Amahl and the Night Visitors” and several other benefit concerts.

The tour started on June 20 with a group of 27 students and 13 adults flying from Seattle to London’s Heathrow Airport. The first stop was at Newbold College, which generously hosted the group for three nights. From there, PSCYC made day trips to various sights in England and performed in the Wells and Salisbury cathedrals.

The second stop was in Paris. The American Church of Paris, a non-denominational Christian church, generously allowed PSCYC to stay in the church’s basement gym and "catacomb" youth room. After experiencing a late night thunder and lightning storm on top of the Eiffel Tower, the students performed the Sunday service for a packed audience.

The best part of the trip was the opportunity to perform in the cathedrals, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! The director, Estyn Goss, had an unexpected illness the second day of the tour and was unable to accompany the students most of the trip. He was proud of how magnificently the group performed as a team under difficult circumstances. Juliette Church, who held the group together during Goss’ absence, said, “Each day was an adventure. The students did a fantastic job and showed Europe what Adventist youth are all about!”