DHS senior Sarah Hirschi was nominated by her vocal instructor to audition for a select choir that would perform at Carnegie Hall. For the audition, Hirschi had to send in a biography with past choir and vocal experience along with two recorded songs that show off her vocal capabilities.
“They get about 10,000 applications every year from all 50 states and some international countries,” Hirschi said. “And they chose 300 kids to be in the choir and then 100 for the band and orchestra each. So you send in your application and then you find out [if you get in] when it goes through a panel of judges.”
Once they are selected, the sheet music is sent to the participants for them to memorize and work on.
“They send it about three months before we went to perform and so you’re supposed to know your part, have your part memorized, so that when you’re there to perform you’re not focusing on the notes, rather you’re focusing on the little details and the conductor’s stylistic things,” Hirschi said.
After much time and preparation, Hirschi left for New York City on Feb. 19. This provided the opportunity to have a couple practice days with the choir before their performance on Feb. 22. After all her hard work, the performance was everything she expected.
“We were just all super excited and happy,” Hirschi said. “It was just incredible to look out and see pretty much a full house and to see all those people standing up and cheering for us after we finished. It just felt really incredible. And I got to see “Phantom of the Opera” on Broadway so that was a plus.”
For information on Carnegie Hall, click here
By: Brinli Leonhardt
