Chancel Choir Sings at Carnegie Hall

Sounds of the Season
Directed by Mark Hayes
Carnegie Hall
December 2, 2019 at 7pm

Before we say anything, let's give a huge THANK YOU to everyone, the congregation, our community, and the VIP Supporters for their generous support of this Carnegie Hall experience, including those who attended the fundraisers ("Just Desserts to Broadway" on October 20th and "An Evening with Burns & Eiler & Friends" on July 12th). And a very big THANK YOU to Dennis Eiler for handling all the rehearsal accompaniment duties in AG!

It all began in the Fall of 2018 when our Chancel Choir director, Julie Burns, was contacted by Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) asking if our choir might be interested in joining a larger choir for a Mark Hayes-directed Christmas concert at Carnegie Hall in December of 2019. After getting over the shock, doing a little checking up, testing the waters with the choir, and the like, Julie said yes and the wheels were set in motion.

Mark Hayes is a composer and arranger of, among other things, choral music that our choir loves. We've got over 40 pieces of his in our church choir's music library.

The group of 14 singers and four VIPs in support headed for New York City on or around Thanksgiving Day of 2019. Our first rehearsal with the roughly 225-voice choir and Mr. Hayes was Saturday, November 30, 2019 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The next day we rehearsed at the Central Park Hotel. Then on Monday, December 2nd, we rehearsed in the afternoon with the orchestra at Carnegie Hall and gave our performance there that evening at 7pm.

It's hard to describe the feelings rushing through your mind when you walk onto a stage at Carnegie Hall with nearly a full house audience. And the rush at the end when the final echos of the last song fade away and the audience erupts into a standing ovation. To say it's a thrill is the biggest understatement of all time. For a review of the concert by New York Concert Reviews, Inc., click here.

Singers

Alice Addison
David Andersen
Ed Avila
Julie Burns
Carolyn Eaton
Jamie Foster
Lynn Foster
Carol Gray
Irene Klisch
BG Perriguey
Barbara Reineke
Nancy St. Laurent
Sandy Underwood
Cristy Van Hook

VIP Supporters

Dave Andersen, Jr.
Rebeca Avila
Kerren Brown
Craig Ford















Most of the group had lunch at Patsy's Italian Restaurant after rehearsal on Saturday.