A school choir from Guelph, Ont., is set to sing inside one of the most famous music venues in the world.
The Guelph Collegiate and Vocational Institute chamber choir will hit the stage at the legendary Carnegie Hall in New York City this weekend. Many artists have performed there, from Duke Ellington to Led Zeppelin to Jay-Z.
The choir will be doing a half-hour set performing a couple of pieces. They will be joined by two other high school choirs, one from Indiana and another from Texas.
“The kids are just excited for the opportunity,” said Lane Osborne, a music teacher and choir director at GCVI. “That’s been progressively growing especially over the past few months as we got closer to the date. They are very aware of what this means to be able to perform at such a venue.”
The 52-member choir was given the opportunity to perform after a video on YouTube got the attention of Kira Omelchenkyo, an associate dean and director of orchestras at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. Omelchenkyo often holds workshops with the school’s band. She was set to make her conducting debut with the Laurier orchestra at Carnegie Hall and, last year, extended an offer to Osborne and the school choir to join her.
“Of course, we couldn’t say no,” said Osborne.
- Posters promoting ‘Steal From Loblaws Day’ are circulating. How did we get here?
- As Canada’s tax deadline nears, what happens if you don’t file your return?
- Video shows Ontario police sharing Trudeau’s location with protester, investigation launched
- Solar eclipse eye damage: More than 160 cases reported in Ontario, Quebec
One of the songs the choir will be singing during their performance is Dream Weaver, a composition by Ola Gjelio from Norway. The song will be dedicated to Joshua Ché Ablack, a student at GCVI and a choir member who died back in March. Joshua’s mother and grandfather will be in attendance at the performance.
“(Joshua) was empathetic to other musicians in the room,” Osborne said. “He would learn music and share his knowledge with other singers. He was incredibly generous and stood up for what he thought was right. He was an admirable kid and we miss him a lot.”
The choir will be on stage this Sunday night. But on Friday, they will also be performing with Canadian musician Emm Gryner. She is having a show at City Winery in New York where Gryner and the choir will be joined by two members of David Bowie’s former backup band for a performance of Bowie’s Life on Mars?
Comments