Friends Who Sing Together

We're a 16-person ensemble of Christian vocalists who tour in the summer. Our goal is to offer the time we share and the music we make together to God as a canticle — a song of praise.

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Our July 23 - August 3, 2025 across the upper midwest, includes stops in Indiana, Illinois, and beyond. Spring Rehearsal, April 24 & 25, is in Holmes Co, Ohio.

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We're a 16-person ensemble of Christian vocalists who completed an inaugural tour to Ohio, PA, and Canada in August 2023. Our goal is to offer the time we share and the music we make together to God as a canticle — a song of praise.

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Tour Blog

August 1, 2023 - Tuesday

Tuesday was the first day of Canticle rehearsal! We arrived at Messiah around 9:00 and gathered ourselves, music, and water bottles in the front of the sanctuary. Maestro Yutzy led us in a vigorous warmups. (VvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvVVVVAAHHHHHHHH) and then we hit the repertoire.At one point in the morning we got to serenade the Messiah sewing circle, who smiled at us graciously over their quilts and wanted to know our parents’ names.Jotham, our wonderful manager, provided us richly all things to enjoy at break times (“There’s coffee tea and donuts out there!”) which, added to the delicious lunch provided by Holmes County locals, kept us energized all day long.Finally at 5:00 we were done and nearly spent, so we did a little cleanup and headed to East Main for dinner. The conversation was lively and the food did not disappoint. We headed home to listen to some recordings from the day and fall into our soft soft beds.– Annalisa Byler [Soprano]

August 2, 2023 - Wednesday

The events of the day had drained nearly every ounce of energy from the Canticle singers as they gathered at Justin Schrock’s residence for supper. Quiet lapses in conversation and attempted laughter and joviality after a joke evidenced the atmosphere at this gathering was tinged with tiredness. It had been a long day of active singing that resulted in promising progress. This particular Wednesday was jam-packed, tiring, yet productive and fruitful, whether it was being in a workshop with a Malone University professor, or having a tour of Behalt, or recording music for future videos.The day began by meeting at Messiah Amish Mennonite Church at 9:00 a.m. After some introductory notes from Dan, Canticle commenced with the first rehearsal period, an hour in length. The next three rehearsal periods ran from forenoon to early afternoon. They were held as a kind of workshop with Dr. Marin Jacobson, Dan’s professor at Malone University. With her wealth of knowledge and expertise, she efficiently, pointedly and graciously critiqued several songs, helping the ensemble to proficiently progress in some of their harder repertoire. She helped them tune and pace “Alleluia,” and also gave them suggestions on how they could make sections of “Exultate Justi” be more pronounced and musical. The three hours spent with her were significantly helpful in better mastering and musically understanding those songs.After their time with Dr. Jacobson, the group practiced for another forty minutes before taking a half hour break. Around 3:45 in the afternoon, the ensemble began recording some of their songs. It consisted mainly of singing through a song and then re-singing any section of the song that could be better performed. Having accomplished that in little over an hour, the group headed to Behalt, a small museum in Berlin that explores the history of the Anabaptists’ heritage. There, Canticle was given a tour of Behalt’s mural room. This mural room is a painted cyclorama, a circular room whose walls are entirely covered with one continuous painting. This painting, done by German artist Heinz Gaugel, portrays a history of the Anabaptists, from the time of Jesus, to the Protestant Reformation, to current day Anabaptists.After a half hour guided tour, Canticle was given the honor to do some video recording of the songs which they had audio recorded at Messiah. This also took about a half hour to forty minutes to complete, and, when it was finished, the group headed out for supper.Although there were intense moments of singing, being critiqued, and recording, the day was one in which much progress was made in making the songs more musical. The powerful beauty of the painting in Behalt was awesome and remarkable to behold. The supper at Justin’s place was fantastic, and there was a great time to wind down. The day was full and fruitful and fun.– Brevon [Baritone]

August 3, 2023 - Thursday

Hello again from Canticle! We got to sleep in this morning after having long day of rehearsing on Wednesday. I think 10 am start time for rehearsal should be mandatory! After warm-ups, we worked on some problem spots from the previous day and ran through a few of the songs that we hadn’t hit yet. There was one particular spot in “Now is the Hour of Darkness Past” that is quite challenging for the tenors. After laboring through it roughly 17 times with limited results, Jeron let out the squeak of defeat.At lunch, we were blessed with delicious white chicken chilli from Kyle and Shelly’s mom.
The afternoon was uneventful. Rehearsal ended around 3 and everyone had the afternoon off to relax and practice on their own. We had a quick scrumptious supper of burgers from Kate’s mom, before heading to our very first concert.
Afterward, we enjoyed good conversations with audience. I went outside to sit in the car to get some alone time and relax. I noticed a few sheriffs in their SUV’s circling through the parking lot. Hmmm that’s kinda weird I thought. We decided to get ice cream and food at Wallhouse Coffee Company which was about a 10 minutes drive. One the way to Wallhouse, we saw the sheriffs and the fella they were chasing. It wasn’t a good day for him. Hopefully he’ll have better days in the future.
That’s all for now.– Steven Byler [Tenor]

August 4, 2023 - Friday

Wow, what a week. Today was our last day rehearsing in the beautiful Holmes County country side.  We started the day out at the quaint little Messiah church house in Charm, Ohio. Because of the concert the evening before, we were allowed a few extra hours of sleep, and arrived at the church by 9:00 A.M. Surprisingly, our conductor Dan was the last one to arrive. Apparently he had a very eventful morning and was stung by a bee while mowing his lawn.After we all arrived, we silently reminisced about the program we gave the night before. We spoke of things we thought went well and of the things that didn't. After we were all satisfied with our reminiscing, we continued to our warm up. This involved physical exercises, vocal movement and back rubs. After the much needed warmup, we began to rehearse. We sang until 12:30. This time was filled with laughter, jokes, focused minds, and some frustration. But we were rewarded with a delicious meal which consisted of hamburgers, soup, macaronis and cheese, and ice cream!From there we continued to rehearse again until our brains and voices could no longer continue. Again we were rewarded, but this time with coffee, which Sophia so kindly brought us. After rehearsal we quickly cleaned up and skedaddled out of the building to get some rest before the concert that evening.Our concert that evening was held at Legacy Christian School which is located in Sugarcreek Ohio. We arrived there around 5:00 P.M. and ate supper which was very scrumptious. After we were all satisfied and full, we went up to the beautiful auditorium and rehearsed our songs until our audience started to arrive.The concert that evening was very fun and enjoyable. The space we sang in was beautifully made with acoustics that any musician would dream to sing in. The first half of the concert was very smooth. The audience seemed to enjoy our music, especially the song "I Am the True Vine". Some of them actually commented on it saying that the bass section seemed to be stuck because of how long they held out one note. (Hats off to the basses.)After we were done with our first set of songs we exited out of the auditorium to grab a quick breather and refresh our voices. After a fairly lengthy intermission, a small group of us went on stage and sang "Sing Joyfully" which was followed by many other beautiful songs sung by the whole ensemble.Some of these songs included a piano accompaniment, but unfortunately our pianist was not feeling well so we had the opportunity to sing them without. Surprisingly they went really well. The concert ended around 8:30, after which we enjoyed mingling with the audience and catching up with friends. Once everything had settled down, we said our goodbyes and departed for the evening in order to get sleep for the next day.– Kate Miller [Soprano]

August 5, 2023 - Saturday

We definitely got a late start. Steven and I picked up a van at the van rental place, and got to watch them shuffle around trying to wrap up the paper work. You’d think it was their first day on the job.The trip to Detroit went swimmingly! At 1:15, we arrived at Awake Cafe for food and drink. Delicious!I had the honors of driving for the next shift. Shelly started questioning my driving skills before I even hit the gas; thanks Shelly. Nerves were on edge as we approached the border crossing, but we got through just fine! The border agent mocked my pronunciation of Comber, but he was pretty nice.Our first stop was Point Pelee, the southern most point of mainland Canada. We drove until we couldn’t. Then we rode a shuttle until we couldn’t. Then we walked until we couldn’t. By that time, we were at ‘La Tip’, as they say in French. We spent a wonderful time taking in the breeze coming off of Lake Erie.Dinner was first rate! Jotham discovered Firdous Lebanese Grill, and we were treated with spectacular food and service. We sang ‘God Is Seen’ after the meal. Also, did I mention just how exquisite the tenderloin was?We meet our hosts at Pilgrim Church around 8:30, and headed to our respective places for the night.What a great day!Justin Schrock [Bass]

August 6, 2023 - Sunday

Thanks to Jotham’s intentionally vague briefings, Sunday morning found Canticle members with very little idea of what to expect from the morning’s activities. A quick van ride revealed the instructions for women to wear black veils had not been in vain, as we would be spending the morning at an Old Colony Mennonite church!The service consisted of roughly an hour and a half of German sermons and singing, little of which any of the members could understand. Just to liven things up a bit, the entire congregation would sporadically kneel for a quick prayer, the perfect antidote to anyone trying to catch a few z’s during the service.At the end, we were all impressed by the expedient exit of attendees. While we had thought to chat with a few people after, we were shocked to find that the entire parking lot emptied within ten minutes of the close of the meeting. At least Jotham managed to [legally] snag one of the German songbooks! All in all, it was an interesting cultural experience, even if the guys did manage to sit in a reserved bench.Afterwards, we went to a park where we had a picnic lunch, and then everyone dispersed to their various host homes for an afternoon siesta before the evening’s practice and concert.Pilgrim Mennonite Church hosted us for the evening, giving us a chance to sing for the people who had graciously provided our lodging thus far. After a few hours of rep rehearsal, we settled in for a quick haystacks supper and then the concert itself. This particular performance was notable in that we achieved a milestone previously thought unattainable; we sharped our songs! Not that we particularly wanted to, but at least we proved our versatility after all the flatting in previous concerts.Afterwards, we spent some time chatting with the locals before returning to our respective lodging for some well-earned chow and snoozing. Hopefully no schmoozing, though.The end.– Jeron Mullet [Tenor]

August 7, 2023 - Monday

Monday August 7th Canticle met at Pilgrim Church at 9:00 and headed east towards Milverton, Ontario. Along the way, we made a stop in London to attend to various human needs by visiting washrooms, coffee shops, and a burger joint. About half of the group ate at The Works which gave us an opportunity to try the Canadian national dish known as poutine. This dish is primarily French fries, cheese curds, and brown gravy with numerous delicious variations available. In my opinion, poutine is, good.
Ivey Park in London also provided us with a space to walk along the Thames River. This experience wasn’t necessarily charming since the water was brown and the park was littered with goose droppings. Speaking of geese, before stuffing ourselves back into our respective Chevy Express passenger vans, Jonny and Grace engaged in a challenge to touch a goose. Jonny accomplished the challenge with ease, but Grace’s attempt simply ended as a wild goose chase.
While in London, we also stopped at Western University and strolled through the campus enjoying conversation, architecture, grand black walnut trees, and a light misty rain. Before completing our drive to Milverton, we made one more stop for washrooms and coffee. Tim Hortons seemed like a good fit for that, but unfortunately it was inside a mall. Some people thought that was a bonus, because what could be better than shopping with a Tim Hortons in one hand?
I’m not sure what all items were bought on that shopping spree, but James bought some Skullcandy earbuds. Others bought some hostess gifts, bless their kind hearts. Jotham, our choir tour coordinator, did become a bit antsy when the stop for coffee and washrooms morphed into a shopping spree. Justin the peacemaker bought fifty Timbits for ten dollars and shared them with those of us who were waiting in the vans for the shoppers. The leftovers were given to the others after they arrived.
We arrived at Philip and Rosemary Lebold’s house around 6 PM and enjoyed a pleasant evening of conversation, food, looking at ancient Oasis Chorale year books, and listening to James read I Love My Tutu kid’s book. A lovely evening indeed.– Larry Kurtz [Tenor]

August 8, 2023 - Tuesday

Our day began by meeting at 9:30 and driving to the beautiful small town of Elora, Ontario. We had about an hour to get coffee and peek into a few of the small shops along the street.We met back at the vans and to go exploring together as a group. We began what we thought was a leisurely stroll to a quarry but it ended up being a slight jog behind Jotham to what felt to be the middle of nowhere. We thought we would be able to enter the quarry free of charge because we did not have cars to park but it ended up still being a fee to enter. After looking up photos online we decided the sight was not worthy of our $10 so we once again trekked back into town. We then spent some time looking at a gorge before splitting up for lunch around town.We starting practice around 2 at Martin Luther Church where our evening concert was held. We enjoyed a delicious super made by our hosts from Oasis church before we changed into our uniforms and gave our evening concert at 7. Overall the concert went well and we were all duly exhausted and ready to get some rest.– Shelly Troyer [Alto]

August 9, 2023 - Wednesday

Day dawned. We met at our Airbnb at 9:30, as per the yuzh, loaded up in our large kidnapper vans, and drove to Stratford. I attached myself to some people and we went to a cool cafe whose name I forget. I had a lovely flat white with maple syrup and Shelly had a golden latte full of turmeric which turned your tongue yellow after one swallow.
Later we all joined up and went to a chocolate shop. Most of us bought chocolate in copious or token amounts according to individual preference, hunger and obsession levels. Our choir kids, Jasper and Annika, were pleased with foil wrapped chocolate butterflies.We sang “Lord Jesus Christ, Your Light Shines” in the chocolate shop—as our obligatory flash mob for the tour. After this, we split up for the rest of the morning. I and my groupies meandered through many cute shops—Stratford is full of them. I saw amazing beeswax tapers. I coveted hard. I yielded not to temptation.We went to Fanfare Books, a rather Shakespeare obsessed book store. I emerged with the desire to play Zounds! A Shakespearean Card Game, and an itching compulsion to buy a 2024 calendar of Shakespearean Insults. Somewhere, Larry bought a mug inscribed with Shakespearean insults (I’m so jealous). Kate emerged with a photo of a book title: Menno Nightcaps: Cocktails Inspired by that Odd Ethno-Religious Group You Keep Mistaking for the Amish, Quakers or Mormons. A case in point: Jeron overheard a passerby say “Oh look! An Amish vacation!” Well yes. Yes indeed, that would be us.For lunch, we hit up the Bowl Bar. It was actually the best thing ever.We met at our concert venue at 2ish. First we did some rehearsing—during which time we hurriedly brought in Sophia’s keyboard after determining that the church’s ancient piano was unfit for concert use. After rehearsing we shot some footage for a music video in our pretty cool venue. I can’t say I love doing that but hopefully the results are nice.After that we ate supper and then it was concert time. Our venue was not air conditioned, so it was a rather warm concert.
After our concert we had ice cream down by the riverside. Twas great, Stratford is cool and Rosemary is cooler for bringing us ice cream.QOTD: “Grace is not in charge. She chases geese.” – Jotham– Abigail Heatwole [Soprano]

August 10, 2023 - Thursday

Thursday morning dawned hot and muggy. After varying types of breakfasts prepared by our various amazing hosts, we met at the girls’ Airbnb at 10 am. Once everyone had found their seats, the vans headed to the Kitchener/Waterloo area for another morning of exploring and eating. Some determined souls launched straight into a 45 minute walk to a particular coffee shop (Smile Tiger, if anyone is curious), while those of us with less ambition settled for a 10 minute walk to Pilot coffee roasters. I am told by at least one member of the Tiger gang that the walk was worth it; I remain skeptical.At about lunchtime we realized that a storm was imminent, so most of us found shelter while eating. Thankfully, once lunch was over the rain had stopped, and we found our ways either back to our vans or to Historic St. Paul’s Church, our lovely venue for the evening. We started rehearsing around 2:30 and, apart from several water breaks, rehearsed until 5, which was when Jotham informed us that we would be doing some more videography. Once that was finished we ate a delicious supper provided by our new friends at St. Paul’s, reconvened on stage for a bit, and then quietly and individually prepped for the concert.As far as I know, the concert went well; it’s hard to judge these things when you’re in the midst of them. It was my favorite so far, and was warmly received by the audience. We were told many times to come again, and were given many kind words of blessing.After our final sweep of the building to make sure nothing was left behind, we piled into our vans and headed back to our hosts for our last night in Canada!– Lois Lambright [Alto]

August 11, 2023 - Friday

Members of Canticle made and shared some good memories while in Canada. From meeting “superfans” who made it to multiple concerts to eating supper at a “super patron’s” place, Canada offered many opportunities to build friendships with new people and experience new things. On Friday, however, Canticle started pushing onward towards the final part of the tour back into the States. Whether traveling, sightseeing, or resting, the day flourished with opportunities for making new memories.The day began with everyone piling into the vans and heading towards Niagara Falls. Kyle and Larry’s host had kindly given them some butter tarts to snack on the way. The passengers in the grey van decided to wait to eat them until a coffee stop later. The journey unfolded smoothly except for a few traffic slowdowns and included several breathtaking views of Lake Ontario. A quick stop at Tim Horton’s informed the choir that they were still in Canada as the door handles were shaped like hockey sticks. With stomachs full of tarts, doughnuts, and coffee, the choir drove the rest of the way, arriving at Niagara Falls ready to do some sightseeing.Upon arrival at Niagara Falls, people embarked on various missions to find the best views of the falls, to eat good-tasting food, and to enjoy the touristy amusements around the falls. Steven and Kari kindly helped Sheri retrieve her stroller from the grey van that had parked at a different location from the black one. Some people made the trek to the food shops to eat some lunch. The food was expensive, even for Canadian dollars. A walking path along the side of the Niagara offered splendid views and photo ops for both the Canadian Horseshoe falls and the American part of the falls. Some people adventured to the top of Skylon Tower for an aerial view of the falls.Jeron and Brevon were hoping for a great time riding some go-karts. However, once they got in line, they learned that it was going to take longer than they had realized to accomplish this goal. While the rest of the choir waited close to the visitor’s center, Jotham and Kyle hatched a plan to provide a ride for everyone across the border to the USA. After some stress and coffee, Shelly and Abigail sacrificed their spots in the grey van to make room for Jeron and Brevon. Jotham hurried to switch their passports and backpacks. And, in the end, everyone had a spot for the ride to the US.The border crossing was fairly uneventful. Except for a man on a bike passing from one lane to the other to try to get ahead, traffic proceeded through the border without a problem. The border guard took our passports while asking a few questions about our business coming back into the USA. He took one look at Annalisa’s passport cover and asked “Who is this person? Is she okay?” This was funny because her cover said “Take Me Away” on it. With a quick check in the passenger doors of the van, the officer waved us on through.Once across the border, everyone made their way to the food court close to the motel where we were staying that night. Jotham’s van stopped by the motel to check-in. It was not long before Jotham came out to the van to inform us that we had one room reserved for us when there were supposed to be plenty enough. Despite all the stress he had already navigated that day, our fearless Jotham sent everyone else after food while he worked things out with the motel. At the food court, people sat down to eat Philly cheesesteaks, rice and beans, or Cheesecake Factory. Several of us were late getting back to the motel but everyone managed to get their luggage and find their rooms okay.Jotham’s birthday party consisted of whispering Happy Birthday outside of his motel room. When Jotham did not come to the door despite Jonny and Grace’s persistent knocking, we settled for filming ourselves and sending that to him.From driving in the vans to looking at the falls to winding down the evening with various activities, the day was filled with many memories. Jotham did not make us take any group photos. We will be sad when we are sixty.– James Miller [Bass]

August 12, 2023 - Saturday

Today’s travels took us from Buffalo, NY to the small town of Guys Mills, PA.Shelly suggested a greenhouse and food stop in Erie. I’m sad to report we did not stop at the greenhouse, but we did go to Flagship City Food Hall for lunch. I quickly ate my tacos and ventured out to find some coffee before we had to meet at the vans again. It is a welcome relief to me that we are no longer making Tim Hortons stops. Sorry Canada.We skipped Presque Isle State Park due to tornado warnings.After we arrived at Shalom Mennonite, we spent some time rehearsing our music while it thundered and rained outside.The food committee, which consists of Shelly, Annalisa, Rose, and Abigail, showed up with soft pretzels and soft serve ice cream during afternoon rehearsal. I would like to say that it was a delicious snack. Kyle has vastly different feelings about the soft pretzels. He failed to hear the announcement when the pretzels arrived and completely missed them. He now has FOMP (fear of missing pretzels).Jeron informed me at supper that he is feeling melancholy about tour ending soon.The rest of the evening was just like many other evenings on tour. We sang. The audience clapped and said nice things about our performance. We asked said audience what their favorite song was. We went home with our hosts.It is worth mentioning though that Steven and I had friends in the area that hosted us and made fresh sourdough bread for us…along with many other very delicious snacky foods.And that concludes my report on Canticle’s Saturday.– Kari Byler [Alto]

August 13, 2023 - Sunday

Our choir tour has come to an end. It was an incredible journey of music, ministry, and fellowship. In this blog post, I will share with you our final day of this remarkable adventure.We departed from Guys Mills, PA around 8 am and drove to Zion Christian Fellowship in Middlefield, Ohio. The drive was scenic and relaxing, and we enjoyed the views and the conversations, and containment. We were greeted by the pastor and the congregation, who were eager to listen to us sing.We gave our program for the morning service and sang with enthusiasm, delight, and harmony. The audience was very engaged and grateful, and we gave our only encore(s) of the trip. During the sharing time afterwards one gentleman shared that, "I'm not a wise man, but if I was, I'd say 'Take that, bluegrass lovers!'" We all had a good chuckle at that.After the concert, we were treated to a delicious meal of meat, potatoes, and dessert by the church members. They were very generous and hospitable, and we expressed our appreciation for their kindness.We then packed up our belongings and bid farewell to our new friends. We then drove back to Legacy Christian School, where we had started the road portion of our trip a little over a week ago. It was a poignant moment, as we realized that this was the end of our journey together. Some of us left from there, while the rest of us went to Dan's place for an after party. We celebrated our successful tour with food, stories, and laughter. We also reminisced about our memories and shared our thankfulness for each other.It was a wonderful day, a wonderful tour, a wonderful experience. I will never forget it and will always treasure the moments we shared.– Kyle Troyer [Tenor]

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