Choir Flashbacks

{via playbill.com}

My first audition home from Maine was for the Essential Voices USA choir, which is the resident chorus with the NY Pops. I was so incredibly nervous because the choir was scheduled to sing at Carnegie Hall in October - and I wanted to make my "debut" so badly!

Nothing is a better ego boost than auditioning and getting the position. I started rehearsals with the choir just a few days after my audition. It turns out to be a busy season for this group; not only are they preparing for a Rodgers and Hammerstein tribute in the fall and a Schwartz tribute in the spring, a few extra projects have been thrown my way.

The director was friends with Marvin Hamlisch, and I found myself involved with his memorial concert at Julliard, which was inspired by an idea from Barbara Streisand and featured a seriously star-studded program. (Including me!)

We sang "Anatomy of Peace," a lesser known choral work by Hamlisch for children's choir and boy soprano soloist. Working with two area school choirs and a few members of the adult choir, we presented this piece that has such a beautiful message.

"Some fear the world. They hear the dissonance and say it always will be. I see the world as one community that must be joined by one law. One law for me, one law for all of us, that will unite us, someday. And I believe its not impossible for we are able to change."

After we opened the concert/ceremony, I was able to sneak into the back of the house to watch the rest of the program. I passed Liza Minnelli in the hallway and she smiled at the girl in front of me - I'm just going to pretend that it was directed at me.

I can now say that I've not only seen Aretha Franklin, Yitzhak Perlman, and Barbara Streisand perform live, but I've been on the same stage as them! When I worked at a performing arts venue in Maryland, Mr. Perlman's concerts would sell out in 1-2 days! Aretha and Barbara are legends and personal idols!

What I learned from these magical performers is that the notes don't matter - its how you express the words and the story. After Aretha sang her first note, the house was mesmerized. Her voice is so moving, she could have started a riot. Barbara is the queen of the ballad and she finessed each note. No two words sounded the same. Her musicality is genius.

Now that the Hamlisch memorial is over, we are working towards the first tribute concert which features Kelli O'Hara as the soprano soloist. I am buzzing with excitement at the thought of sharing a stage with her. I'm gonna learn her solos just in case they need someone to stand in for tech....

It seems appropriate that I'm working with a choir just as my acting program is starting. Work with one group informs the other and I keep having undergrad flashbacks of having classes all morning and choir rehearsals at night.