How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Shorewood choir and orchestra find out

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice!

That’s just what 170 Shorewood High School choral and orchestral music students are doing as they prepare to perform in America’s most revered concert hall in April.

“It’s a great tribute to the quality of the music programs in our school and in our district as a whole that both the Shorewood choir and orchestra have been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall in the same year,” said Dan Wing, orchestra teacher at Shorewood and Einstein Middle School. 

The combined Shorewood orchestras—116 students strong—will perform in concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City on Sunday, April 5 along with other high school performing groups.

This will be the fourth time that the Shorewood orchestra has been invited to Carnegie. For this year’s Shorewood students, it will be an unforgettable experience.

“The first time they enter the auditorium and look around, their eyes will be wide and their mouths open,” said Wing. “Carnegie is filled with such history, you can't help but be in awe.”

The 50-member Shorewood Aeolian Choir, directed by choral teacher John Hendrix, will sing at Carnegie on Saturday, April 25 in the Choirs of America Nationals. They will perform in concert with other choirs from around the country, but will also be featured in a spotlight performance of their own.

Hendrix and the Aeolian Choir last performed at Carnegie in 2009.

“It’s a once in a lifetime learning and performing opportunity for our students,” he said.

Both schools have scheduled pre-trip concerts for the community, featuring the repertoire they will perform at Carnegie Hall.

• The Shorewood orchestra will perform at 7:30pm March 30 in the Shorecrest Performing Arts Center, 15343 25th Ave NE.
• The Shorewood choir will sing at 7:30pm on April 14 in the Shorewood theater, 17300 Fremont Ave. N.