The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Students go to NYC for choir performance at Carnegie Hall
Wellington High School Choir seniors Gabrielle Dobbins, 18, and Seth Bates, 17, had the opportunity Feb. 10 to perform in a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City. “It was a great experience going there,” Dobbins said. “It was a whole big experience from the building to the lights; it was breathtaking at times. I also got to meet a lot of new people.” Dobbins said she and Bates were nominated to be in the concert. “Our choir teacher (Sherry Arcuri) nominated us, and we sent in a tape of us singing, and we got selected by the conductor,” she said. Dobbins said she got some help financially for the trip. “It was about $2,000 for the trip,” she said. “So, I set up a GoFundMe, but that didn’t get me enough. “It helped, but it took some help from my church, United Methodist Church in Wellington, to come up with the funds. I want to thank everyone that helped to support the trip for me.” Dobbins said it was a thrill to perform at Carnegie Hall. “I got a chance to perform for conductor Andre Thomas, which is something I always wanted to do,” she said. “It was also a beautiful place to perform.” Dobbins said she liked working with the other students for the concert. “I had peers there from schools across the nation and some international,” she said. “I learned how to sing with them. “They brought a lot of different accents to the table, so it was a bit of a learning curve at first, but it made for a great production from all involved.” Bates said the city experience was eye-opening.
“It was such a drastic change coming from a small town, like Wellington,” he said. “You go from being the top dog to just another fish in a big pond. “It took some getting used to, but it made for a memorable experience.” Bates said he learned more about his singing while preparing for the show. “We focused on the semantics,” he said. “We spent time on breaking and how it can impact a performance. “You learn to respect what the director does and how to best follow their lead.” Bates said choir is an escape for him. “Choir is the one thing that is always peaceful, no matter what is going on,” he said. “You come to choir and focus on only that. “It provides a break from everything else for awhile, which is why I like it.”