Marlborough’s Chamber Choir will be performing at Carnegie Hall on April 17 along with other choir programs. In the build up to their performance (a feat that only happens once every three years), the Chamber Choir is rigorously rehearsing.
Choral Program Head Angela Lin will accompany Chamber Choir to New York and provide guidance during intense practices. The preparation for the concert at Carnegie Hall will be much different for the members, as they will be singing for longer periods of time and performing in front of a larger audience than usual.
“We will have a two to three-day intensive where we are singing for four hours a day and rehearsing with conductors before dress rehearsals the day before the concert,” Lin said.
Chamber Choir will be performing two pieces. The first piece is titled “Proud Music of the Storm” and the second is titled “Into the Light.” Both pieces are composed by Jake Runestad and are 30 minutes long. Chamber Choir has been rehearsing both pieces since the beginning of January and will continue until their concert in April.
Rehearsing the Carnegie Hall pieces on top of Chamber Choir’s rehearsals for school performances has proved tough but not impossible. Members of Chamber Choir have been practicing an extra hour after school on Tuesdays (this practice time is called sectionals). Maisie ‘22 has been working hard and just like the rest of Chamber Choir, is using these added practice times as a way to be best prepared for the concert.
“Ms. Lin has a solid schedule in place to make sure we are ready to go for the concert,” Maisie said. “Sopranos and altos rehearse separately at sectionals to be able to receive detailed feedback on their performance.”
Although the trip to New York is centered around their performance at Carnegie Hall, Chamber Choir will also get the opportunity to explore New York. In past years, Chamber Choir has toured around New York, visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Members of all choirs participating in the Carnegie Hall concert will go on a post-concert cruise around the Hudson River and enjoy the views and dinner.
“In the past, we have gone to see Broadway shows or gone ice skating,” Lin says. “New York has so much to offer historically, artistically and musically.”
