The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Chamber choir impressed audiences last week with their performances at the Westminster Choir College Invitational in Princeton, NJ and the National Association for Music Education Convention in East Brunswick, NJ. The group spent several weeks preparing a wide variety of music to be viewed by highly esteemed music educators from across the nation.
On Thursday, Feb. 21 the students, led by choral director Jan Allen, traveled to the East Brunswick Hilton Hotel where they performed a 30-minute set that included songs like “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story 2 and “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. As the conference progressed, other selected school ensembles (vocal and instrumental) performed for conference goers.
Senior Chamber Choir member Tori O’Connor appreciated the educational environment that the conference provided.
“The best part was getting to perform for music educators who knew a lot about their craft,” O’Connor said. “Especially because they are top people in their field.”
The following day, the Chamber Choir headed off to Westminster Choir College (a conservatory of music under Rider University). Members of the choir enjoyed some down time in Princeton where they were able to walk along the campus town and get lunch before the performance. The choir shortened their set to just two songs for the Westminster performance, “With a Lily in Your Hand” by Eric Whitacre and “Ave Generosa” by Ola Gjeilo. The students performed the music and met with one of the highly trained clinicians at the invitational, where they received feedback on their performance and worked to refine their techniques in various portions of the repertoire.
“I really enjoyed getting to work with a clinician,” O’Connor said. “It gave us a fresh perspective on the music we sang.”
For Senior John Demarco, the trip to Westminster was made most memorable by the other choral ensembles that attended from other areas of New Jersey and one group even from New York.
“I liked hearing other choirs sing,” Demarco said. “They had a diverse selection of music that we may not have otherwise heard if we didn’t attend the event.”
The 2018-2019 SPF Chamber Choir includes: Paolo Bayotas III, Peter Canevari, Rachella Carlino, John Demarco, Cristabella Fortna, Vanessa Handy, Billy Kasper, Kaitlyn Lamendola, Matt Mahmet, Brent Mankin, Shannon McCreesh, Roy McGowan, Tori O’Connor, Rachel Schuman, Audrey Smith, Josh Venick