Carnegie Hall

February 22, 2005 will forever be remembered by me as the day I played Carnegie Hall. I didn't have a solo and my name was not mentioned in the playbill, but I was there - front row, leading the bass section. As some may know, I sing (sang) in the Middletown City Chorale. Last season we rehearsed and performed twice Beethoven's Mass in C. We did well performing it on our own with a small orchestra, but that's not the point.

This past Sunday and Monday, I rehearsed in New York City (at the Grand Hyatt New York) as a member of a larger choir, New England Symphonic Ensemble. The choir isn't really a choir as much as an aggregate of several choirs. We were actually few to be from New England. People came from Arkansas, Alabama, and South Carolina to sing as well. I made some new friends and we all talked about our varied experiences.

Tuesday was the big day. We had a stage rehearsal which went well and a lot of time in the city before call. Mom and I walked for a few hours and listened to the stage rehearsals of the two other performing groups that evening. We ate at this place called Cafe Europa just around the corner which was very clean and nice. With dinner finished, we came back and changed into concert gear - not combat gear.

In all the performance went well. I'm sure many readers probably would have fallen asleep during the performance (it's 40 minutes all in Latin), but it still sounded excellent. I'd like to go back in the next year or so if given the opportunity. It was definitely worth all of the preparation.