Stories
The Choir Steps Out
BSUMC took NYC by storm when the Chancel Choir, family, and friends arrived in the Big Apple on February 15. Our delegation was over 50 people in total with 28 singers on the stage at Carnegie Hall for the February 18 concert. 45 of us traveled together from GSP through ATL before arriving at LGA, and perhaps the greatest miracle of all is that nobody’s luggage was lost! Over the course of five days, hundreds of thousands of steps were taken, thousands of calories were consumed, and millions of notes were sung.
We arrived at the Hotel Edison early afternoon on Friday, stored our luggage, and then everyone struck out on their own to explore Midtown and beyond. Lots of people had theatre or opera tickets that evening, and of course, dinners were enjoyed as well. Saturday and Sunday each contained four-hour rehearsals in the ballroom of the Park Central Hotel under the inspirational direction of Dr. Jamie Meaders as we worked with over 200 other singers from 14 different choirs … some as far away as Australia and New Zealand. Dan Forrest, the composer of our music (LUX: The Dawn From On High), came to the last hour of the Sunday rehearsal and accompanied us on the piano.
When we weren’t in rehearsal, our time was ours to customize. Monday afternoon was dress rehearsal on stage at Carnegie Hall, and we heard the orchestra for the first time. Concert time was 7:00 PM, and the party after lasted late into the evening. Other than a case of food poisoning, an injured knee that required surgery after we got home, and two cases of the flu, everything went off without a hitch!
We are grateful to those friends and family who traveled with us and attended the concert, and we are so thankful that we had the opportunity to sing such beautiful music again.
by Rosemary Hughes, Director of Music and Arts