Huntsville Community Chorus Youth Chorale

I am a part of the Huntsville Community Chorus Youth Chorale. We are a choir made up of kids in grades 7-12. Last year we were invited to sing with choirs all over the country for Mr. John Rutter’s last performance at Carnegie Hall. We would be in the first act singing Gloria. It was an amazing honor for all of us. We spent lots of time preparing this song all year, and it was definitely a challenge. It was very difficult to learn a song of this complexity in a way that was worthy of a performance like this. On May 22 our choir got on the plane to New York, overflowing with excitement for the days to come. We drove through the city towards our hotel. We spent the rest of the day exploring Times Square. The following three days were filled
Each choir was singing a different piece by John Rutter. In our choir there were about 8 different choirs that came together for this. The HCCYC was the only choir that included any middle schoolers, but since I skipped first grade, I was the only eleven-year-old on the stage throughout the entire performance. The concert started at eight-o'clock that night and we were the first act. We walk out of stage and everything hits us all at once. The entire venue is absolutely gorgeous, even more so when it is filled up with people. Everyone gets into their places, and Mr. Rutter had us pull out our music, and he started the orchestra. The entire room filled with the gorgeous sounds of the brass, woodwind, strings, and the heavy pounding of the percussion. We start to sing this glorious piece, and that feeling right then is one I will never forget. We all became so overwhelmed with the beauty of the music and it was simply a night to remember. This was the largest, most intense concert I have ever performed in. I got to have such an amazing experience on stage with such an amazing group of people in such a legendary venue, and it has given a whole different perspective on what making music really