As an old joke goes, a tourist stops a New Yorker on the street and asks, “How to I get to Carnegie Hall?” In a manner typical of New York, the New Yorker replies, “Practice, practice practice.”
Students at Bayonne High School last month appeared to have taken this advice to heart since – for the second time – Bayonne High School vocalists, under the direction of Lydia Megale and Vasyl Hrechynsky, were invited to perform at the National Choral Festival in Carnegie Hall. Fifty-three students performed on March 8. John Carlos Arcos and Ronald Onion were featured for solo roles.
In this annual event, choirs from across the country come together for this prestigious yearlong educational program. The festival offers the unique opportunity to perform a piece of major choral repertory in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, under the baton of a renowned choral maestro and accompanied by a professional orchestra and soloists.
Joan Rosen, director of arts for the Bayonne school district, said the epic journey from high school to one of the most prestigious performance spaces in the county started in the summer of 2007.
“My vocal music teachers, Lydia Megale and Vasyl Hrechynsky, members of the American Choral Director’s Association, attended a conference for choral teachers here in New Jersey, as they usually do,” Rosen said. “The conference leader was the conductor, Jeffrey Redding from Florida State University. Through this professional development workshop, the choral teachers from Bayonne High School learned of the opportunity for our students to audition for the National Festival Chorus program at Carnegie Hall.”
Through an audition process, the Bayonne students were able to participate in a combined choral situation with other high school students from throughout the United States.
“After two days of rehearsal, the high schools melted together under the leadership of Mr. Redding,” Rosen said. “They performed in April of 2008 in Stern Hall at Carnegie Hall. It was the thrill of a lifetime for the students, their teachers and those of us in the audience. This year, based on the success of their initial performance and the recognized quality of the vocal music program at Bayonne High School, our students were this time invited to perform.”
The students rehearsed on March 6 and 7 and performed on the afternoon of March 8.
Present at the concert, again under the baton of Mr. Redding, were the 53 students from Bayonne, as well as students from Boerne, Texas; Dallas, Texas; and students from Torrington, Conn.
The performance numbers were: Haydn, “Awake the Harp;” Maurice Durufle, “Ubi Caritas;” Jeffrey Ames, “For the Sake of Our Children” (this piece featured solo vocalist John Carlos Arcos and narrator Ronald Onion – both Bayonne High School seniors who were selected by Redding); C.A. Pinto Fonseca, “Muie Rendera;” David Childs, “I Want to Be Where Your Bare Floor Walks;” and William Dawson, “Ain’t That Good News.”
“To sing from your heart is truly how to fall in love with music.” – Stephanie Rios
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The students received certificates of participation and a photograph of their performance. Each choral director received a recorded CD and a plaque for the school’s music room.
“To sing on the stage where other famous artists performed was such a humbling experience,” said Bayonne High School senior Moira Harden.
Sophomore Stephanie Rios said it was a matter of loving music.
“My Carnegie Hall concert experience taught me one of the most important things I could’ve ever learned – to sing from your heart is truly how to fall in love with music,” she said.