Sforzando!

Sforzando--that's the word which comes to mind when thinking about the past two months. When Francisco originally told us about all of the important upcoming events we were filled with excitement. Not yet sleep deprived we enthusiastically dove into the towering pile of music we needed to master in the upcoming months. 


When the reality of the task ahead hit us, we began to feel overwhelmed, the low point of our sforzando. After rehearsing 6 days a week, including lots of dancing (not my favorite), we felt ready to perform at Carnegie Hall--the beginning part of our crescendo. 


Without taking a breath we shifted our focus to the Gala, then three days later were on a plane to Chicago; our excitement mounted. Francisco had made it clear that Chicago was important by saying, "This will be one of the most important things you will ever do with YPC."  No pressure or anything. In spite of exhaustion and sickness all of our hard work came together with magic. Crescendo. After rave reviews from the composers of "Ain't No Grave" and Francisco, we were all floating on a cloud. We thought it couldn't get any better!


Less than 24 hours later back at MCoC we shifted to the David Del Tredici pieces, and the next thing we knew we were on stage performing at the Guggenheim!  We learned so much by working with the YPC alumni and our conductors. The sforzando was complete when Francisco told us it was the best performance ever!

-Jamie, Concert Chorus

YPC Rocks Chicago and the National ACDA Convention!

This Chicago trip has been stressful, crazy and fun.  We worked so hard to get that magical experience with the music and we got it!  I am so proud of every single person here and we did an amazing job.  I love every single one you guys.  We DEFINITELY rocked those pitches!

- Dianne, Concert Chorus

Chicago was an unforgettable trip.  Rehearsals after rehearsals, it got better and better.  I actually wanted more rehearsals to get even better.  We sang songs of a variety and the most memorable one was “Things” by Meredith Monk.  After hours and hours of trying to memorize “Things” and other songs on the plane the bus, the aftermath of the concert felt phenomenal.  I’m so glad I got to experience the wonderful large halls of Chicago where we sang with thousands of people in our audience.  The sounds of our voices were blown around the enormous halls in the windy city.  I was amazed how nice the pitches were flowing.  While experiencing the wonderful city, I met many new people.  Conductor after conductor repeatedly complimented us on how wonderful we were.  It felt awesome because our hard work came out.  It was a worthy trip and one that I will always remember.  The magic was definitely there!

- Christine, Concert Chorus

Let’s face it – trips can be terrifying.  This trend stretches from a daring excursion to your corner deli to ones on entirely different continents.  All of the fifty singers who gave up hours of their lives and sacrificed their more pedestrian priorities for this trip pondered that.  Clearly it was very important for us to show our incredible talents and to properly do justice in performing the five works (and an encore) that Francisco and the other conductors painstakingly taught us.  The faith that the YPC staff had in all of us was truly touching and I found it to be extremely inspirational.

The trip itself was the culmination of a plethora of effort, yet all of us were able to properly mix professionalism with the true YPC spirit.  Making new friends and having new experiences while also performing at tremendous venues was a humbling experience and it was certainly one I will always be proud to be a part of.

-Melissa, Concert Chorus