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RIVERVIEW – Right about now, it may be the heat, humidity and hurricane threats of a sub-tropical summer that are uppermost in your mind.
But, for 10 young men and women in this pocket of southeastern Hillsborough County, thoughts during these long, hot days center on crisp temps, Christmas lights and maybe, just maybe, the crunch of snow underfoot.
They’re members of the widely-acknowledged Riverview High School choral classes invited - and determined - to perform Thanksgiving weekend in New York City’s Carnegie Hall. With a little luck and local support of their fundraisers, the Riverview High sophomores, juniors and seniors in the next five months will pull together the $1,500 minimum – a total of at least $15,000 -needed for each to make the trip and join in the national concert.
The 10 – all members of the school’s advanced chamber choir - are: John Williams, Christopher Jones, Caleb Bone, Emily Prause, Anjelica Corbett, Lorena Lopez, Jennifer Gunter, Caitlin Willard, Vicky Cirello and Angela Haider. The group represents about a seventh of the full choral class, Liz Stewart, their teacher and director, said this week, and are the students willing to take on the financial challenge.
The four sopranos, three altos, one tenor and two basses –several of whom are looking ahead to careers in music as performers or choral directors or music teachers – already are experienced on stage, Stewart added. They have participated in musical theater productions or vocal ensembles at the school.
And several of them have competed successfully in vocal contests on the state level in the last two years, she said.
None of that, however, can top the experience that awaits them in NYC if they are able to make the trip, Stewart noted. They are scheduled to perform selections from Handel’s “Messiah” at 2 PM on Sunday, November 25, in coveted Carnegie Hall under the direction of John Rutter, a world-renowned conductor.
For the dedicated singer, this is no small event, explained Stewart, a Brandon High School and University of Tampa graduate who operated her own production company before turning to teaching. “Every conductor brings his own interpretation and communication of the music to the stage,” she said, “and students on stage learn from each and every one.”
Then, there’s the prestige factor that each student can reap from the experience, Stewart pointed out, able to add a participation performance few other youngsters can claim – “I sang on stage at Carnegie Hall” - both to their college entrance applications and to their eventual professional resumes.
In addition, a tour of the city focusing on its rich musical history is planned for the young vocal musicians, their teacher said. They’ll visit Tin Pan Alley and Harlem and Broadway for up-close-and-personal looks at America’s varied, colorful musical tapestry woven in those locales over a couple of centuries.
Then, too, there’s the thrill of visiting a great seaport city which never sleeps, dressed in its holiday finery and offering, perhaps, the rare experience of a northern winter.
To make the students’ dream trip a reality, a steady series of money-generating functions – some traditional, some novel - also are being planned locally, Stewart added.
The ever-popular car washes have been slated and entertainments such as an exhibition of magic is on tap for September.
Also among them is what is shaping up to be a summer-long karaoke competition ending with naming of the “Riverview Idol.” This contest, conducted during evening hours, is expected to kick-off later in June, continue in July and lead to tapping the local “Idol” in August, Stewart added.
By then, of course, the new school year will open and countdown to the November departure date will take on renewed urgency. With the community’s support and good weather conditions, Stewart added, the Florida contingent of singers and chaperones will leave November 22, Thanksgiving Day, for the five-day odyssey she calls “a great opportunity” that surely will be a real change of scene.
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