Apple Valley High School Singers to Showcase Talents at Carnegie Hall

A group of singers will soon get the opportunity to do what many professional musicians never will during their careers—perform at New York's Carnegie Hall.

Thirty sophomores, junior and senior choral students will travel to New York from Friday through Tuesday, to combine voices with nine other choirs on stage at the famous venue, which "has been the place where distinctive artists of all stripes have come to make their names in New York City," for the past 100 years, according to the hall's website.

"I still just can't even believe it," sophomore Maddie Saice said.

The groups will perform composer John Rutter's "Magnificat." Making the experience even more exciting is that Rutter himself will conduct the number, which consists of more than 80 pages of music and takes about 45 minutes to perform.

"It's definitely not an easy piece," Saice said.

Sophomore Olivia Schiffman said she and many of the other students are excited, but the excitement might turn to nervousness once it's time to perform. She's also never been to New York.

"I have a countdown in my planner, even," Schiffman said.

Apple Valley Choral Director Joel Beyer and the choirs have known for about a year that they'd be performing at Carnegie Hall. Beyer said he was looking for geographic location as well as venue when choosing a trip for the students.

"It has a mystique to it," he said of the hall. The trips also help draw students to the choral program, he said.

Apple Valley's choral department has been taking students on a trip about once every three years recently, he said. Combining students from Apple Valley choirs with other student groups makes trips possible; inevitably, not every student in a single choir could go, which would leave holes in a single choir's sound, Beyer said.

Since learning about the trip, students have had separate Sunday rehearsals to work on the piece they'll perform. They've also done a lot of fundraising to help finance their travels, which include much more than singing.

In New York, they'll tour Radio City Music Hall, see the Broadway musical Newsies and take a boat tour of the Hudson River, Beyer said. They'll also have a few rehearsals for their performance.

Because of venue and copyright rules, there won't be a recording or photos of the students performing at Carnegie Hall, Beyer. But students still will take away the value of the experience—learning the music, seeing the city and getting to know each other better.

"You learn something new," he said.