Connections between Addison and Italy are not new. We have a sizable Italian-American population, and we also enjoy a “Sister Cities” relationship with the Italian city of Triggiano. Now, another Addison-Italy connection is about to be forged — a musical one.

The choir of the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 1213 W. Army Trail Road, will be participating in a choral competition festival in Verona, Italy. The organization coordinating the event is Music Contact International, which invites high school, college and church choirs from around the world to participate in international choral festivals and exchanges in places such as Austria, Germany, England, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United States.

Music Contact International sent a letter to Prince of Peace church, inviting them to participate in this festival.

“My first thought when I read the letter was, ‘You have to be kidding,’” said Rosalind Wirtz, who has been the choir director and organist at the church for nine years. “They don’t know how big our choir is or what we can do. At the same time, I had wanted to grow the choir musically and in numbers, and this was a vehicle to do that.”

The members of the choir, eight women and four men, agreed and immediately voiced their desire to embark on the journey.

One of the challenges of the competition is that it requires a capella performances, meaning that there can be no instrumental accompaniment. The choir members had limited acapella performance experience.

“You really have to be able to read music. Many of the members were used to hearing their parts played and then singing them back. Some could read music and some couldn’t,” said Wirtz. “I started teaching a music theory class on Saturday mornings so they could learn to truly read music and sight-sing. The class really took off and made a huge difference. They have made tremendous progress.”

Addison resident Mary Lou Larson, a member of the church for 39 years, acknowledged the choir’s efforts and how they are paying off.

“It is amazing that they are tackling this. They have all put so much work into this, and they sound great,” she said.

The choir has received other positive feedback from their congregation, including an e-mail sent to Wirtz stating that they have “improved unbelievably.”

“The congregation has been very supportive. They have made this extremely worthwhile for us,” said Wirtz.

Each group in the festival is allotted 15 minutes for their performance. The Prince of Peace choir will be performing a mixed program of six pieces in styles including American, contemporary, Spanish, German and even 14th-century Latin. While the festival is a competition, victory is not the primary goal of the group’s trip, according to Wirtz.

“This is a great way for us to get some truly objective listening, not just our congregation who loves us dearly. This is also a valuable experience for some people to be on stage for the first time in their lives,” she said. “We’re also anxious to hear some of the other groups. (We are) anticipating a huge variety of skill levels.”

Another valuable experience of this trip will be the grand finale of the festival, which will be a joint performance by all the participating choirs from around the world. The closing pieces will be performed in an ancient coliseum, the third largest in Italy.

In addition to the 12-member choir and Wirtz, some of the choir’s congregation “groupies” are accompanying them on the trip. The Prince of Peace delegation to Italy will number around 20 people. For some of the choir members, this will not only be their first true stage performance experience, but also their first trip to Italy.

“The most fun thing has been watching them get so excited about this trip. They’re like 60-year old seventh-graders with ADD (attention deficit disorder) going on a field trip,” said Wirtz. “This is the experience of a lifetime for all of us.”

Best wishes to the choir for a stellar performance and wonderful adventure in Italy. We will catch up with Wirtz and company upon their return to get a report on their experience.