By CARLY WANNA, Gazebo Editor
Sarah Kate Sellers began to jump up and down in her house. It was in the early afternoon of Halloween. When her mom walked into the room, they both began to jump up and down. Soon, the whole family was jumping up and down.
Her excitement didn’t derive from typical Halloween festivities, but instead from her acceptance into the prestigious High School Honor’s Women’s Choir. Along with senior Savannah Alday, they will have the opportunity to sing on the world famous stage of Carnegie Hall in New York City in early February.
The program allows talented high school students to participate in one of the three choirs, the string orchestra, or the symphonic band based on their individual skill. To acquire its tank of talent, Carnegie Hall selected youths from 49 states and 13 countries.
Alday and Sellers submitted their auditions earlier in the school year. They sang one required song and choose another song to submit along with it. They received their acceptances towards the end of October.
Alday said the selection also meant lot to her. She attended the program when she was a sophomore, along with Stratford vocalist Maggie Bergmark (class of 2014) and trombonist Mary Carolyn Hulgan (class of 2015).
“It was a great experience to get to go and hear so many other great singers from other parts of the country as well as hearing the orchestra and things that had international player,” said Alday. “I really wanted to go again and just have that as another notch under my belt so as to say that I had gone to Carnegie Hall twice and done things that other singers don’t have the opportunities to do.”
Senior Victoria Brown also auditioned for the symphonic band as a percussionist. While she did not make the program, she was selected as the first alternate. She had to submit recordings of herself playing difficult etudes on three different instruments: mallets, snare, and timpani.
“I was disappointed at first because in the email they sent me they didn’t specifically say first alternate … they just said alternate,” said Brown. Once she realized she was first alternate, she was very honored to have placed so well.
The program will take place from Feb. 4-8 under the bright lights of America’s biggest city.
“I really wanted to go again and just have that as another notch under my belt so as to say that I had gone to Carnegie Hall twice and done things that other singers don’t have the opportunities to do.” — Stratford senior Savannah Alday
