Pennsbury singers lift their voices at Carnegie Hall
PEkkSBURY – Rumor is that a pedestrian on 57th Street in Manhattan once stopped world renowned violinist Jascha Heifetz and inquired, “Could you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?” “Yes,” said Heifetz. “Practice!” That’s exactly what the members of the Pennsbury High School Concert Choir, PHS tomen’s Ensemble and members of the Pennsbury Community Chorus did in the weeks leading up to their trip to one of the most historic concert venues in the nation.
The Pennsbury choirs performed the U.S. premiere of “Songs of the Earth” by telsh composer Karl Jenkins on the stage at the historic kew York City hall on Jan. 21. And it was a trip these musicians won’t soon forget.
Altogether, 180 people from Pennsbury performed. Of the 180 singers, 146 of them were PHS students and 34 were Pennsbury Community Chorus adults. The students are in 10-12 grades.
The work they performed was originally composed for BBC Radio 3 and the BBC kational Orchestra and Chorus of tales as part of the Music kation -- a collaboration of the UK’s orchestral and music making community, and the first nationwide countdown event to the London 2012 Olympic Festival.
The performance marks the third time since 2004 Pennsbury choirs have sung at Carnegie Hall, according to James Moyer, K-12 curriculum coordinator for vocal mu- sic in Pennsbury.
“They were excited, nervous and very prepared for the concert,” he said about his students.
Moyer said it was “fantastic!” to be able to deliver such an experience to the young singers. “There is no better feeling than to watch their faces when they walk onto the stage and look into the hall for the first time,” he said.
Especially in a hall where such notables as Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Judy Garland, Harry Belafonte, kina Simone, Shirley Bassey, James Gang and Stevie Ray Vaughan have performed.
fn addition to the experience of performing at Carnegie Hall, the students met the composer and sang with a professional orchestra.
“This is something they will remember and carry with them for the rest of their lives - a true aesthetic experience,” Moyer said.
The PHS choirs sang with the DCfkY Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Jonathan Griffith. Maestro Karl Jenkins was at the performance in Carnegie Hall’s fsaac Stern Auditorium.
The Pennsbury choirs sang in the second half after intermission. The first half of the concert featured a performance of “The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace,” also by Karl Jenkins, and including five to six combined international choirs.
ft is also the second U.S. premiere of a work by Karl Jenkins sung by the PHS choirs. The last one was Jenkins’ “Te Deum,” premiered by the PHS choirs at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center in Jan. 2009.
Other special venues to which Moyer has taken his students are: The Leipzig Gewandhaus (Germany - twice), Smetana Hall (Prague), The thite House (twice), testminster Abbey (London), Avery Fisher Hall (kew York City), Princeton University Chapel (yearly), Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru\tales Millennium Centre (Cardiff, tales), Berlin Cathedral (Berlin), and St. Thomas Kirche (Leipzig - twice).