On May 27 at 8 p.m., the Glenpool High School Warrior Singers and the Shawnee High School Choirs will represent Oklahoma in a massed choir of more than 150 voices on the stage of New York City’s Carnegie Hall.
It will be the first appearance at the legendary concert venue for both ensembles. The event will be part of MidAmerica Productions’ 36th concert season.
Composer/conductor John Rutter will conduct his first United States performances of selections from his newly published anthology, Sacred Choruses. The program will include the following works:
- J.S. Bach: Praise Our God Who Reigns in Glory (from Ascension Oratorio)
- J.S. BACH: Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (from Cantata No. 147)
- Mendelssohn: Daughters of Zion (from Christus)
- Haydn: The Heavens Are Telling (from The Creation)
- Brahms: How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place (from A German Requiem)
- Handel: Let Their Celestial Concerts All Unite (from Samson)
- Schubert: Magnificat in C major
- Handel: Hallelujah (from Messiah)
“Performance opportunities such as this have changed the outlook and work ethic of my choir,” said Kristen Womack-Hayes, director of the Glenpool Warrior Singers. “Students are inspired by these events and bring that enthusiasm into the classroom daily.”
Justin Lee, Director of the Shawnee High School Choirs, adds, “My students are looking forward to the New York trip and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sing in Carnegie Hall under the direction of John Rutter.”
Also on this part of the program will be one purely instrumental selection, Mozart’s Epistle Sonata in C major, K.336d, plus arias for the four soloists who also will perform in the Schubert Magnificat:
- Soprano Teresa Castillo – Let the Bright Seraphim from Handel’s Samson
- Mezzo-soprano Sara Murphy – O Rest In the Lord from Mendelssohn’s Elijah
- Tenor Aaron Blake – In Splendor Bright from Haydn’s The Creation
- Bass Jeremy Galyon – The Trumpet Shall Sound from Handel’s Messiah
The choir of more than 150 for the Sacred Choruses debut will also include members of the following ensembles:
- Living Word Worship Choir, Wildwood, Missouri
- River City Singers, Scappoose, Oregon
- All Saints’ Episcopal School, Fort Worth, Texas
- Coker UMC Chancel Choir, San Antonio, Texas
- Lakeland Chorale, Wanaque, New Jersey
The New England Symphonic Ensemble will perform on both parts of the concert.
The Warrior Singers are the select choir at Glenpool High School. In addition to singing for community events, the choir competes yearly at the Oklahoma Secondary School’s Association contest, receiving Superior ratings in Stage Performance and Sight Reading. In 2017, the Warrior Singers sang at Lincoln Center with composer Eric Barnum.