The Daily Bailey

Following the Boys' Choir of Tallahassee

The Boys' Choir of Tallahassee were invited to perform at the inauguration by Michelle Obama personally when she visited then on the campaign trail.

News

Watch Bob Dole commenting on the choir.

The choir performs for the soldiers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The choir was invited to perform at the Civil Rights Presidential inaugural gala.

Talking to Earle Lee, Jr about the inauguration.

CNN just published our first teaser clip.

Choir Director Earle Lee, Jr's diary can now be found online!

The choir performed at the Florida Sunshine and Stars inaugural ball.

Brad Bailey spoke at a press conference for the choir's upcoming trip to Washington. The footage aired on WCTV, ABC, and NBC, it can also be found on YouTube.

About the Choir

The choir of Tallahassee is a community based outreach program for males, ages eight to eighteen, enrolled in schools throughout the Tallahassee area. Its mission is to foster academic excellence, build character and self esteem, develop interpersonal skills, and help young men realize their fullest potential while acquiring life skills.

Please visit the website of the Boys' Choir of Tallahassee for more information.

Choir Director's Diary

Day 1 January 16, 2009

9:30am We arrived at our rehearsal hall (2001 Drayton Drive) and were greeted by a number of media personnel (WCTV-CBS, WTXL-ABC, WFSU, Tallahassee Democrat and our documentary filmmakers). We spent about an hour making sure every choir member had his tuxedo and were dressed in their Obama shirt and hat. We departed Tallahassee, Florida bound for Greensboro, North Carolina with rest stops and a dinner stop in Atlanta, Georgia. We arrived at the Fairfield Inn and Suites around midnight, checked into the hotel and went straight to bed. The first day of our Barack Obama Victory Celebration Journey was fantastic.

Day 2 January 17, 2009

9:00am We departed Greensboro, North Carolina bound for Baltimore, Maryland. We stopped for lunch in Richmond, Virginia only to be greeted by the coldest temperature we faced thus far (15 degrees). After lunch and getting my Starbucks coffee, we continued our ride to Maryland. We arrived at the Courtyard Marriott in Baltimore around 5:00pm, checked in and prepared for dinner at the mall. After dinner, we had rehearsal at the hotel and it turned into a mini performance. Everywhere we went people are amazed at the discipline and musicality of the choir. They continue to comment on how good the choir is making Florida look. We went to bed around 11:30pm. Day two went very well.

Day 3 January 18, 2009

We departed the hotel at 8:30am and stopped at McDonald's for breakfast. Then we went to worship service at Empowerment Temple Church in Baltimore, Maryland. We were greeted by the Governor of Maryland's secretary and church officials. As we got off the buses people were so amazed to see so many young men dressed in tuxedo's going to church that they began taking pictures of the choir and filming them with their movie cameras. We then went inside the church, warmed up, prayed and entered the sanctuary which was electrifying. Around forty choir members went to the alter and gave their life to Christ. The choir performed during the service and congregation was simply AMAZED as they gave the choir a standing ovation. We departed the church at 4:00pm, checked into the Renaissance Hotel, and then I took the boys' out for dinner and to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers verses the Baltimore Ravens Football Game. We returned to the hotel at 10:30pm, had our evening prayer and went to our rooms.

Day 4 January 19, 2009

This has to be the most trying day thus far as it relates to our performance. We scheduled to leave our hotel in Baltimore, Maryland at 2:30pm for our performance at the Florida Inaugural Ball which we were scheduled to go on at 7:30pm. At 10:30pm the logistics supervisor asked me to come to Washington without the choir to go over the set up for the performance which meant I had to take the train to DC that took 1½ hours both ways. By the time I returned to the hotel it was 4:30pm which meant we left the hotel at 5:15pm instead of 2:30 pm and that's when it got interesting. Every street we went down we ran into Washington police either diverting traffic or putting up barricades and after going around the same block about twenty times and realizing that it was 8:30pm, we decided to jump off the buses in tuxedo and walk the remaining ten blocks to the Corcoran Museum. We arrived at 9:15pm went straight in the ball room and the guys performed so well that they received two standing ovations and were the hit of the ball.

I guess having discipline and our motto No Excuses paid off. We arrived back at the hotel at 1:30am; the boys' had dinner at 2:00am and went to bed at 3:30am. Stay tuned tomorrow should be interesting.

Day 5 January 20, 2009

We woke up around 9:00am after having had only five hours of sleep. I turned on the television to see a sea of about two million people in the Washington Mall. I became concerned about the safety of have seventy boy's among the crowd, so I made a decision to have a private viewing of the swearing in ceremony for the boy's. It meant the world to me and it was a blessing for me to share that moment with my boy's for, us to be together during one of the most important times in our nation's history.

After the swearing in ceremony, we took the train to Capitol Hill for some sight-seeing and to take in and be a part of history. We visited the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument. During our tour I received a call from the NAACP President who said that they were currently having their Inaugural Ball and heard that we were in the neighborhood. He requested our presence to perform. I told him that were not in our tuxedo uniform and he said it didn't matter they just wanted to hear the boy's perform. We walked one mile to the ball and performed in front of a capacity crowd. I was never so proud of the choir, they once again showed that at a moment notice when an opportunity presents itself, you must seize the opportunity and make the most of it. The crowd was over whelmed and again the boy's received several standing ovations. At this time I'm thanking God for giving me an opportunity to play a small part in the development of some of the most talented, disciplined young men in the world. What an experience we are having.

Day 6, January 21, 2009

It is 12:45am and we are fifteen minutes away from our hotel in Greensboro, North Carolina. The boys' are asleep so it gives me an opportunity to share with you a very special day we had at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. We arrived at the hospital around 12:30pm where we were greeted by two majors and their secretaries. As we entered the hospital, our hearts and patriotism grew by leaps and bounds. Just to be among such brave soldiers was truly the highlight of our trip. We opened our concert by paying special tribute to the victims of 911 and our brave men and women who serve in our military branches and those fallen in the war. What a joy it was to receive a standing ovation from our heroes. After the concert we were invited to have lunch with the soldiers. It was great to see the boys' eyes light up as the soldiers shared their testimony with them. Several soldiers told us that they were honored that we would take time out of our schedule to come and personally tell them thank you for keeping us safe. As we began to leave Walter Reed, we received another treat, we ran into Senator Bob Dole would took time out to congratulate the boys' on their success. This performance made all of the headaches we went through worth it.

Blessings,
Earle Lee, Jr

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