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A connection with Italy
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
The Youngstown Connection has made a lot of amazing trips over its 28 years of existence, including a few visits to Europe.
But its recent trip to Italy topped them all, said Carol Baird, the founder and director of the city schools’ song and dance troupe.
The 14 high-school age members, plus Baird and three chaperones, returned from a one-week visit to Italy on June 19. They traveled to four cities – Florence, Montecini, Pisa and Rome – to give performances.
But the highlight undoubtedly was singing at a Mass at the Vatican, where they later had an audience with Pope Francis.
“It was fantastic,” said Baird, of the trip to Italy. “Everything was so wonderful. It went beyond my expectations. We’ve had a lot of great trips, but this one tops them all.”
The student-performers also loved it.
“They were so interested in the museums, the art, the culture,” said Baird. “They soaked up the history. A guide showed us old Rome, and the art museum in Florence, and the kids loved all of that. They could not get over the beauty of everything. The buildings were very ornate, there were statues everywhere, the streets were lovely ... everywhere you look there is beauty. They talked about that nonstop – and they noted the contrast [to Youngstown].”
The troupe sang the opening, offering and closing hymns for a Wednesday Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Two days later, they had an audience with the pope.
“How many inner-city kids get to sing in the Vatican and have an audience with the pope?,” said Baird. “We kept pinching ourselves.”
Sister Teresina, a nun at the Oblate Order in Youngstown, set up the papal audience for Baird’s group.
“It was lovely,” said Baird. “We were a few feet away from him, and we were announced as a group and stood and were introduced to him. The other people in the audience thought we were celebrities.”
The trip got started in December, when a representative of the Vatican notified Baird that the Youngstown Connection was brought to her attention, and suggested it apply to perform.
Baird had to send audio and video of the troupe, as well as photos, bios and other information, as part of the audition process. After the Connection was accepted, it set about to raise money.
“We had fundraisers, but most of the money came from foundations, community organizations and clubs, and many, many individuals,” said Baird.
The troupe gave its standard one-hour performance in Florence, Rome, Pisa and Montecini – the latter a picturesque small town that provided a glimpse of what life is like in the non-commercialized regions of Italy.
In Rome, the troupe sang at St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is often used for performances. In Florence, they sang at an outdoor cafe at a time when a big soccer match had brought throngs into the streets.
“I asked my contact in Italy what American songs the Italians are familiar with,” said Baird, “and the list I sent them of songs we do were the ones they liked best. We did ‘Singing in the Rain,’ ‘Bridge Over Troubled Waters,’ ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo,’ to name a few. These songs I call classic pop, because everyone in the world knows them. We were tickled, because [the audience] would sing along.”
While the Youngstown Connection impressed all who heard them, its highest praise came from the monsignor at the Vatican who is in charge of music.
“He was the top monsignor at the Vatican, and he praised us to the heavens,” said Baird. “He kept saying ‘fantastic,’ ‘magnificent,’ ‘beautiful.’ When we ended, he went on and on about how much we added to the Mass. Our contact said she never heard him praise a group so much.”
The student members of the Youngstown Connection are: Emily Booth, Johnea Butler, Sarah Booth, Leigh Carabbia, Bryanna Landers, Kailynn Anderson, Mikayla Moore, Marckese Williams, Cameron Lewis, Garfield Johnson II, Nicholas Royal, Jacob Ruscitti-Smith, Tatum Johnson and Brandon Starcher.