It’s time for Carnegie Hall, and Costa Mesa High choirs are ready

Students in Costa Mesa High School’s Madrigal and Vocal Ensemble choirs are counting down the days until they travel to New York City to perform at Carnegie Hall.

“I’d pack my bags and leave for New York today if I could,” senior Evan Stechauner said.

Twenty-four of Costa Mesa’s student singers will travel to the city on Friday and take the stage on Memorial Day. The school’s choral director, Jon Lindfors, and two chaperones will join them on the trip.

All 73 of the students in the Madrigal and Vocal Ensemble choirs are invited to go, but the trip is not required, and those who do travel to New York have to raise about $2,200 to pay their way.

For many, the five-day trip is an opportunity they did not want to miss.

The Costa Mesa singers will perform alongside eight other choirs from Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, Texas and Mississippi. In the days leading up to the concert, the mass group of singers will meet and rehearse. They represent one of three performance groups set to sing at the big event.

“Even though we’ll be surrounded by over 200 other voices, we’ll all be unified because of the music,” Costa Mesa junior Kendal Frear said. “We have that interest in common.”

The combined group will sing two pieces, “Gloria” and “Te Deum.” The Costa Mesa singers have been working on this music since the beginning of the school year.

“Learning the notes and beats are just the beginning,” senior Melissa Folkerts said. “You have to realize you’re creating art with your voice.”

John Rutter, who composed both works, will be the conductor for the group’s performance.

“We’ll actually get to perform it the way the composer intended,” Stechauner said.

Rutter will also conduct the two other choir groups during the concert. The performance will be Rutter’s last before he retires.

The concert has been arranged by MidAmerica Productions, a New York-based company that organizes performance opportunities for choral ensembles across the United States.

All choirs singing in this concert were either nominated to participate or had an audition tape sent to the company.

Last spring, Lindfors found out that his colleague Hanan Yaqub, a conductor at Carnegie Hall, nominated his two choir classes.

For many of Lindfors’ students, this trip will be their first time in the Big Apple.

Folkerts will travel by plane for the first time in her life.

“I don’t really know what’s out there,” Folkerts said. “But I know this is a chance for me to be a part of something bigger than myself. I couldn’t ask for a better way to end my senior year.”

Besides rehearsing, Costa Mesa’s students plan to visit the iconic sights such as the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Central Park and the shops of Fifth Avenue. They also plan to see two Broadway shows, “Aladdin” and “Les Misérables”.