Choir takes spring trip to Carnegie Hall in New York – Video

By Camille Juton
Staff Writer

For the first time since choir director Michael Hayden has been working with Mira Costa, choir members will be traveling to New York to perform at Carnegie Hall on the first weekend of March.

Last year, the Mira Costa choir entered a contest to perform at Carnegie Hall. It was accepted but could not attend because of prior engagements. This year, vocal ensemble submitted a video of its performance to the Carnegie Hall contest and earned an exclusive slot to perform.

“We sent our tape in May and we received the notification in June that we were accepted,” Hayden said.

Along with vocal ensemble, all choir members were invited to perform at Carnegie Hall. There are 119 Costa choir members going to New York.

“Vocal ensemble got picked to be the featured choir, so they’re going as a unit and then anyone else that wants to go will be part of the festival choir,” senior Amber Vanbuskirk said.

In preparation for this event, choir has been rehearsing its songs every day. The members are performing some of the same songs at Carnegie Hall they plan to perform at their winter concert on Dec. 14.

“We’ll continue to knock these pieces out one by one until we have them all learned and memorized for the concert in March,” Hayden said.

In addition to performing at the Carnegie Hall concert, vocal ensemble will also perform at the American Chorale Directors Association Western Division Convention in Reno, Nevada.
Carnegie Hall is one of the most prestigious concert venues in the nation. Mira Costa’s choir has achieved national recognition and now has earned the opportunity to perform in such an esteemed hall.
“To sing in somewhere like Carnegie Hall is a dream come true for a lot of singers,” Vanbuskirk said. “Choir is like a family, and it is a great thing to experience with them.”