Carnegie Hall

According to a member of our choir, 1 in 73,000 people can say they have performed at Carnegie Hall. It truly was an honor, especially when you think of all the musicians that have appeared on stage. The debut performance in 1891 included an appearance by Tchaikovsky; the evening before our concert, the Emerson String Quartet played. In between, there were performances by artists such as Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Leonard Bernstein, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra, and The Beatles, to name a few.

“It is probable that this hall will intertwine itself with the history of our country,” said Andrew Carnegie in 1890, when he laid the cornerstone of the building that would become Carnegie Hall. The [Isaac Stern] auditorium's renowned acoustics have made it a favorite of audiences and performers alike. "It has been said that the hall itself is an instrument," said the late Isaac Stern. "It takes what you do and makes it larger than life."

The twenty-five members of our chorale joined up with about 225 others from high schools, colleges, and churches to sing Franz Schubert’s Mass in G. Of the four performing groups in the concert, ours was said to be the best of the evening. We also received a standing ovation—and not because of the family members that attended.

I attribute that to the skills of the director of our local chorale, and the conductor of our entire choir and orchestra.

Our chorale has been meeting several times a month for almost a year, learning our parts and to pronounce the Latin words properly. In New York, we spent four hours Saturday, four hours Sunday, and about an hour for dress rehearsal Monday with the conductor. Most of the things the conductor emphasized were things that our director had emphasized, so our little chorale was pretty well prepared. And it was actually fun! The conductor had a great sense of humor.

I really didn’t know what to expect from the conductor when we all got together in New York. It’s pretty amazing to think 250 people from different parts of the country got together, and after nine hours of practice, could put on a professional performance. And the only time we worked together with the soloists and orchestra was at the dress rehearsal.

All in all, it was a totally awesome and inspirational experience.

Here’s a picture of MFD and me in concert attire standing next to “our” playbill in front of Carnegie Hall. David Thye, our conductor, is the top photo.

Flo