Cathedral Choristers at Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall

The Choristers of the Washington National Cathedral Choirs will be involved in exciting and quite different musical events in Washington, DC, and in New York City, during the week and weekend following the President’s Day holiday.

Kennedy Center, Feb. 18-22: Jr. Choristers Collaborate in Sleepy Hollow
The Junior Choristers, comprised of NCS Grade 7 and 8 girls, and STA Forms C and B boys, are collaborating with The Washington Ballet at the Eisenhower Theatre in the Kennedy Center for the world premiere of the ballet Sleepy Hollow by Septime Weber, with music by Matthew Pierce. The musical accompaniment for the ballet includes a part for treble choir.
Because of the intricacies of combining a new ballet with new music, these Choristers will be involved in several rehearsals with the ballet and the orchestra prior to their performances. The girls and boys will be sitting in the pit with the orchestra for most of the ballet; but at one point in Act II, the singers will appear onstage. There is a preview on Wednesday, Feb. 18, and the ballet will run for six performances, Thursday through Sunday, February 19-22.

Carnegie Hall, Feb. 21: Senior Choristers Join Others in Rare Performance
The Senior Choristers, comprised of NCS Upper School girls and STA Form A & Form I boys, , will travel to New York City to make their debut performance at Carnegie Hall on Saturday, Feb. 21. Joining with the Washington Chorus, the choirs of Trinity Wall Street in Manhattan, and the orchestra NOVUS NY, they will perform the rarely heard Turbae ad passionem gregorianam, a monumental setting of the Passion by Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera. The Choristers have been working since before Christmas on this challenging music, described by conductor Julian Wachner as “wicked hard and gnarly.” While they will be spending much of their time in Manhattan at rehearsals and the concert, there promises to be a few hours to enjoy the Big Apple. Many of the choristers’ families will be traveling to NYC to attend the concert. There’s another special NCS connection to the concert: NCS Registrar & Academic Scheduler Kelly Heatwole will also be singing as a member of the Washington Chorus.

Carnegie Hall, Feb. 22: Lucie Shelley ’15 Chosen for Highest Choral Honor
Senior Chorister Lucie Shelley ’15 has been selected for the 2015 High School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall, and will perform as a soprano on Feb. 22 with the Honors Choir. Participation in one of the three Honors ensembles is limited to the highest rated high school performers from across North America and select schools internationally.
Lucie auditioned this fall for the Honors Performance Series and was accepted after a review by the Honors Selection Board. Acceptance to the elite group is a direct result of the talent, dedication, and achievements demonstrated in her application and audition recording. The competition receives more than 10,000 nominations annually, and selects only the most talented performers. Lucie has studied music for more than 10 years. She previously was selected for Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute and won (with a perfect score) first prize in the 2013 National Association of Teachers of Singing (“NATS”) competition. You can read the full announcement about Lucie’s Carnegie Hall honor here.

 
We are delighted that our Choristers have been invited to participate in these professional engagements, to collaborate with other prestigious arts organizations, and to represent the Cathedral and their schools in such wonderful venues.--Cynthia DeDakis, Chorister Program Manager