How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
As the old joke goes … practice, practice, practice.
Which is exactly what around 58 members of the CSB and SJU Chamber Choir, the SJU Men’s Chorus and the CSB Women’s Choir have been doing regularly as they prepare for their performance at the storied Midtown Manhattan concert venue on April 6.
That performance is part of a program in which the celebrated New England Symphonic Ensemble will play with a wide range of participating choruses from around the U.S.
Dr. Bradley Miller, an associate professor of music at CSB and SJU who oversees and leads the choral program, was invited to conduct a portion of the performance which will feature the CSB and SJU ensemble performing Antonio Vivaldi’s Magnificat, RV 610 and J.S. Bach’s Sanctus in C major, BWC 237.
They will be joined in their segment by Cal Poly Polyphonics, the First United Methodist Church Sanctuary Choir from Appleton, Wisconsin, the Jouyssance Early Music Ensemble from Los Angeles, the St. Philip the Apostle Church Choir from Pasadena, California and the Paso Robles High School Choir (Forte) from Paso Robles, California.
“MidAmerica Productions, Inc. produces many of these concerts at Carnegie Hall each season, and they often invite collegiate choir instructors to serve as guest conductors,” Miller said. “It is a high honor to be invited, and I am so excited that – along with the invitation – (comes) the opportunity to bring our own singers from CSB+SJU.”
“On a personal and program level, this is a bucket-list opportunity,” he continued. “For me and our singers to be able to make music at such a notable venue will be a phenomenal experience. This is the first time any CSB+SJU ensembles have had the chance to do this. It increases the visibility of our program and adds a very impressive performance to our resume.”
The CSB and SJU Chamber Choir will make the trip in almost its entirety. Auditions were held this past fall to add 20 additional singers drawn from the SJU Men’s Chorus and CSB Women’s Choir.
The combined group has been holding rehearsals every Wednesday afternoon since the start of the second semester.
“So far, it’s been going pretty well,” said CSB sophomore Abby Robinson, the president of the chamber choir. “Classical music is never easy, and this repertoire is really challenging. But I feel good about the way it’s coming together.”
The group will provide a sneak peek of the repertoire during a performance on March 28 in the Great Hall at SJU. The concert is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. and is free to students, faculty and staff. Members of the general public can purchase tickets for $13 ($10 for those 60-and-over) on the CSB and SJU Fine Arts Programming website and at the Benedicta Arts Center box office at CSB.
“This is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us,” said SJU senior Ryan Conzemius, the president of the men’s choir. “To perform this material with an orchestra of the caliber of the New England Symphonic Ensemble on-stage at a place as revered as Carnegie Hall is an opportunity I don’t think many of us will get ever again.”
The group will depart for New York on Thursday, April 3. A four-hour choral rehearsal is scheduled for the following day, then a three-hour rehearsal is planned on April 5. A dress rehearsal will be held on the morning of April 6, followed by the performance itself at 1 p.m. (EDT).
A celebratory dinner cruise around the Statue of Liberty will follow the concert before the choir returns to Minnesota on April 7. The schedule will also allow plenty of time for the students to explore New York City on their own.
“I’m very excited to get out there,” CSB junior Sarah Barkley said. “It’s a big deal for college students to be able to learn this type of music and perform it at such a prestigious venue. I’m so grateful I get to be part of it all.
“This whole trip is going to be such a dream for me,” SJU senior Nick Brey added. “I’ve never been to New York, and I’ve only left the state a handful of times.
“So to have a chance to perform on one of the most prestigious stages in the world is a really special thing.”
