There wasn't a fat lady singing on June 1st, as the Sea to Sky Singers entered the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City. It was more like 170 singers of varying ages, most of them young adolescents. It had taken months of preparation, but the nine members of the Sea to Sky Singers were there at last, performing in front of their largest audience ever. They were led by conductor David Thye, the Principal Conductor-in-Residence with MidAmerica Productions, who has over 30 years of leadership experience in music. With both a master's and doctoral degree in choral conducting, Thye is an expert on directing large choral groups, and has taught at both the University of Montana and the University of Sioux Falls, winning an award from the latter for his choral work throughout the United States."You just wanted to make sure you did absolutely everything Dr. Thye told you to do," said choral member Dorte Froslev, as she recalled the experience. In September 2007, the Sea to Sky Singers received an invitation from MidAmerica Productions, an independent producer of classical concerts that presents soloists, choral and instrumental groups from around the world at Carnegie Hall. Instantly the group decided they would perform a classical piece. They selected Mozart's Vesperae solennes de confessore (K.339)."If you're singing at Carnegie Hall, you have to sing something classical and formal," said the group's music director Veronica McPhee, who also teaches at Myrtle Philip Community School. McPhee is in her fifth year of directing the Sea to Sky Singers, and was excited to receive the invitation.The invitation was open to all members of the Sea to Sky Singers, but only nine of them were able to attend the Carnegie Hall performance. The visit to New York City would take four days, and many of the members were unable to take the time off work.The nine began to meet once a week as a group for two hours. They would break off into sectionals, and come together at the end of the two hours "to see what it would sound like", said McPhee.As the date of the performance loomed closer, the rehearsals became more intense, with the group often meeting three times a week.At home, though, the members would practice on their own, working hard to learn their parts.The most challenging aspect of the performance was learning how to pronounce the Latin words. The group had performed John Rutter's Magnificat a few years before, where they had been introduced to a little Latin, but nothing compared to this piece. "You had to remember not to pronounce the vowels in the English way, and make sure your consonants were crisp," said Froslev. The nine members arrived in New York City on May 29th late in the evening, and were accompanied by Eliza Carter, who was paramount in the group's performance.Carter had worked with the group for many hours, opening her house to extra practice sessions for each section - altos, tenors, sopranos, and basses - and even one-on-one tutorials."She was a music coach, soccer mom, and tour guide, all in one - and seven weeks from delivering her baby," said Froslev. "She didn't want to miss a thing."The Sea to Sky Singers then spent the following two days in intense five-hour rehearsals, under the direction of Dr. Thye. This was the group's first meeting with Dr. Thye, but it was not their first time communicating with him. "He sent us 12 pages of director's notes," said Froslev, "telling us where to breathe, how to do our S's."He whipped us into shape."On the day of the performance the group was joined by approximately 170 other choir members from various states - most of them, surprisingly, from high schools."It was so inspiring," said McPhee, whose teaching position at Myrtle Philip prevented her from attending the New York rehearsals.But she was there to witness the performance. "To know that kids that age are interested in this type of music is very inspiring."And the performance itself?"The sound was so amazing," said Froslev. "It was a very bright, choral sound," said McPhee."The power and the sound was quite thrilling," said Carter. "It was nice to have all those people in the audience." Carnegie Hall seats close to 4,000 people and the hall was nearly full. Carter said the emotional impact of the applause was incredible.Although the performance lasted only forty-five minutes, the excitement continued on. The group was then whisked off for a two-hour evening boat cruise around the Statue of Liberty. They spent the next day exploring New York City. Shopping, museum and art gallery tours, and a bike ride around Central Park were on the list of things to do to unwind after such an intense experience. They boarded the plane back to Vancouver late Monday (June 2) night.It wasn't a red carpet that greeted them upon their arrival. In fact, it was a long wait on the Sea to Sky highway, as the group was literally the first in line at the evening highway closures. Instead of celebrating their performance, they reclined their seats and slept in their cars, with the notes of Mozart still running through their minds. "Learning [the piece] was the best experience. Singing it at Carnegie Hall was just the icing on the cake," said Froslev. The group hopes to return with their full ensemble in a few years.
