|
Lynn
choral students prep to audition for
music festival
By Barbara Taormina /
The Daily Item
LYNN
- Fans of
the hit television series "Glee" tune in
each week for an hour of highly
concentrated high school drama
punctuated by a couple of slick
production numbers.
But as the 33 students from Classical
and Lynn English in the Fine Arts
Department's vocal master class can tell
you, a lot of the real drama takes place
on stage, especially at auditions. And
on Nov. 20, they will be auditioning for
spots in the Northeast Massachusetts
Senior District Music Festival Chorus.
It's a high-stakes audition, so the
choral heavy hitters in the Handel and
Haydn Society's Vocal Quartet recently
visited students at English to offer
advice and encouragement.
"These kids are great," said Emily
Marvosh, a mezzo-soprano with the
quartet who performs regularly with the
Handel and Haydn Society, as well as the
Boston Lyric Opera.
"This is not easy music and auditions
are high-pressure and nerve-wracking.
But we wish the best for them in this
competition."
The Boston-based Handel and Haydn
Society, one of the oldest and most
prestigious performing arts
organizations in the United States, has
several different educational programs
for music students. But the organization
has a special relationship with Lynn
schools.
"The partnership that the Fine Arts
department has with the Handel and Haydn
Society and the support of Robin Baker,
who heads up the education programs, is
based on the school's dedication to its
vocal program," said Fine Arts
Supervisor Joe Picano. "We are a select
group from many, and because of our
partnership, students from Lynn
participate in Handel and Haydn
programs, private lessons and some
receive scholarships to the New England
Conservatory of Music."
Marvosh and other members of the quartet
listened recently to the choral group's
performance of "The Turtle Dove," an
old-English folk song, and told students
where and how to ramp up their musical
intensity.
"We're sending 33 kids to the audition
for the Northeast Chorus," said Jason
Weier, who teaches choral music at
Classical. "If they succeed and score
high enough in the Northeast District
Chorus, they will be able to audition
for the All-State honors chorus."
And that's an accomplishment every
choral student shooting for a
professional career in music wants to be
able to list on his or her college
applications.
"The All-State Chorus performs at
Symphony Hall," said Picano, who added
that every year Lynn students audition
for All-State. "That opportunity and the
partnership with the Handel and Haydn
Society really helps open doors for our
students who want to pursue musical
careers."
Jorge Ibanez, who teaches music and
chorus at English, said the kids who
will be auditioning are dedicated to
music and willing to put in the work it
takes to master it.
"They push boundaries, sometimes they
have good ideas that I try to listen
to," he said.
Picano agreed they are a hard-working
group that shares a passion and
dedication to music and one other thing.
"They all have exceptionally good
voices," said Picano. |
