Members of the Franklin Elementary School chorus performed at Carnegie Hall with the New England Symphonic Ensemble and several other choirs from the tri-state area on May 26. During the week prior to the performance, Parisian conductor and choirmaster Francis Bardot worked with the children in New York City and conducted them during the concert.
After receiving the invitation last October, Franklin students auditioned and 23 were selected for the special performance at Carnegie Hall. Franklin vocal music director R. Brent Geyer held afterschool rehearsals over the past several months, leading the student vocalists through Italian composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's masterwork, "Stabat Mater", a 40-minute piece all in Latin.
“I can't even express how proud I am of these hardworking, talented students. They went beyond my expectations, singing the whole 40 minute piece in Latin from memory in front of an audience of thousands,” says Geyer. “This was a wonderful experience for both me and my students, and I'm grateful for being given this once in a lifetime opportunity.”
The Carnegie Hall performance also included Paul Aitken's Songs of Promise and Peace and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, Op. 64.