On April 13, 2019, the choir Aristocracy from West High performed at Carnegie Hall in New York. I spoke with Balgis Muhammed(12) about their trip, experience and performance at Carnegie Hall.

Q: How was your trip to New York City to perform at Carnegie Hall?

A: The trip itself was a little hectic at times with having a group of 27 students trying to walk anywhere in New York without any casualties or cramming into the subway, but I guess you could call it authentic if not anything else. To top it all off, we saw Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway and La Traviata in the Metropolitan.

Q: What was it like to perform at a prestigious place, such as Carnegie Hall?

A: It was an amazing experience! Carnegie Hall is absolutely stunning and it’s almost like you can feel the history of it all from your seat. The mass choir was especially powerful. Performing next to people from all over the US under the direction of Dr. Eugene Rogers, the most charismatic man I’ve ever met, might be the memory that drags me back to New York in the future.

Q: What did you and other members perform?

A: We performed four pieces, Chindia, Awake the Harp, I Dream a World, and a Spiritual Potpourrie. The composer for the last piece, Stacy Gibbs, was actually there with us while we were cleaning up the piece earlier that day and playing the piano during the performance!

Q: What made you want to join choir?

A: I’ve been in choir since the fifth grade and even before that, I always knew I loved to sing, so it was the natural option for me.

Q: Did you find yourself struggling with anything while you were there?

A: If I could really say I struggled with anything, it would probably be no photography rule while performances are going on. I wanted more than anything to be able to capture the moment, so you can imagine my frustration.

Q: How did this amazing opportunity change your life?

A: This is actually the second time in the last three years we’ve qualified to perform there, so I spent some time my sophomore year in New York with Aristo. Both times have just cemented everything I love about performing and being surrounded by musicians who are all on the same wavelength.

  Carnegie Hall is a grand venue for outstanding performers and musicians, brought from all over the USA, to perform on stage in front of a vast audience. They also provide many educational programs and advanced music classes that aid the spread of different art forms to the world.