"We're playing Carnegie Hall!"
December 21, 2009 5:31 PM Subscribe
If your small-town choir tells you that they want to perform at Carnegie Hall as part of the MidAmerica Concert Series - how good (polish, presentation, musical standards etc.) do they need to be to get the gig?
As good as a very good high-school choir.
Also, it's expensive. That's probably a more significant barrier to entry than expertise for most groups that want to participate.
posted by Sidhedevil at 5:57 PM on December 21, 2009 [1 favorite]
Also, it's expensive. That's probably a more significant barrier to entry than expertise for most groups that want to participate.
posted by Sidhedevil at 5:57 PM on December 21, 2009 [1 favorite]
to clarify: they were not happy buying additional packages, eg for additional family members, rather than just buying another cruise/concert ticket. There was no option whether to buy the package. The hotel was way overpriced in my opinion, and it was not optional. Because we were from Canada we could opt out of the flights so I don't know about that. Most of us stayed longer in NYC after and moved to another hotel. We stayed at La Quinta Inn and it was good.
posted by kch at 6:02 PM on December 21, 2009
posted by kch at 6:02 PM on December 21, 2009
OMG, lucky you! Working with John Rutter is a BLAST!
The Burbank Chorale does this frequently, and will be sending a small group over Memorial Day, but I just can't get the $$ together to go this year.
It's SO worth it! What a dream, to perform on the stage at Carnegie Hall, and with one of the top choral conductors in the world!!
Remember, the cost of the land package FUNDS the concert! It's a bit much, but yeah, do it if you can swing it, and ENJOY!
If your group can read music (sight reading is a plus) and can sing accurately and blend well, you should be just fine! Of course, you can start practicing the music ahead of time.
Usually the group handles children's choirs, but they always enjoy having adult singers as well!
posted by Jinx of the 2nd Law at 10:06 PM on December 21, 2009
The Burbank Chorale does this frequently, and will be sending a small group over Memorial Day, but I just can't get the $$ together to go this year.
It's SO worth it! What a dream, to perform on the stage at Carnegie Hall, and with one of the top choral conductors in the world!!
Remember, the cost of the land package FUNDS the concert! It's a bit much, but yeah, do it if you can swing it, and ENJOY!
If your group can read music (sight reading is a plus) and can sing accurately and blend well, you should be just fine! Of course, you can start practicing the music ahead of time.
Usually the group handles children's choirs, but they always enjoy having adult singers as well!
posted by Jinx of the 2nd Law at 10:06 PM on December 21, 2009
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1. it depends on what the gig is and how they've set it up, and how many they've invited. I can be very precise if you want to know this relative to barbershop/sweet adelines terms for our gig, but if it's not that, then it will likely be meaningless. For what it's worth: All of the choruses performing placed within the top 2 of their respective regions in the world. Oh and on the 2 performances the theatre was maybe 2/3rds full. They weren't the most responsive audience we've had, though.
Your choir director or rep should talk directly with the management, (eg was his name Dennis Loi?) to determine this. In our case it was open to more than spots were available and so there was a time frame to accept and it was the first x to accept from the invited groups.
2. It was a total blast! I can't imagine a single reason to skip this! Carnegie Hall is a performer's dream as a place to sing. The acoustics are fabulous, and you can hear everything. If they say you're good enough, then jump at it! There were about 50 of us, and I didn't hear one story of anyone not happy with having gone.
I'd be more confident answering this if I knew what type of music your choir/chorus sings, etc. That is, if you're a sweet adeline or we're talking barbershop, I can provide lots more detail. Please feel free to post more questions, if I can try to answer I will. Or feel free to memail me. Congrats on the possibility!
One thing I will mention, is that some chorus members were really pissed that they bought additional "packages" from MidAmerica rather than buying individual extra tickets as it was a much higher cost. This wasn't me, so if you want more info about this, I can ask someone who knows about this or other MidAmerica etc. packages. The night cruise to the statue of liberty which was part of our 'package' was fun.
posted by kch at 5:57 PM on December 21, 2009 [1 favorite]