Middle School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall

November 20, 2015 9:35 AM

Does anyone have experience or knowledge (first-hand or otherwise) of the Middle School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall? My kid has been nominated to audition, and while it sounds like a great experience, it's also costly. I guess I'm partly wondering if this is a legitimate and competitive audition or something more like a Who's Who publication where the main criterion is whether you are willing and able to pay for it.
posted by oakroom to Grab Bag (3 answers total)

I attended a performance of a family friend who has actually won this series before. It seems very competitive and I get the sense that the kids and families take it very seriously.
posted by incolorinred at 12:02 PM on November 20, 2015

As an adult I sang with a choir that sang in Carnegie Hall as part of an adult event involving other choirs. It, too, was pricey. On the one hand I had the experience of singing at Carnegie Hall. But it was decidedly not magical. There was a huge number of people participating and this necessitated back stage herding, not only of our group, but of the huge group of school kids who would be singing after us, and I also remember the green room that resembled a garage. It was clearly a money maker for Carnegie Hall and for the company that organized it. Would I do it again? No. But I'm also not sorry I did it once.
posted by Prayless at 8:06 PM on November 20, 2015

Response by poster: Thanks for the information! Lacking any input from someone who's actually participated in the program, at least these answers are reassuring that it's not a complete boondoggle. We'll carry on with the audition and see how it goes!
posted by oakroom at 9:05 AM on December 1, 2015