Friday, December 16, 2016

Eric Conway: The Morgan State University Choir had one last engagement of the season, a sold-out Catholic Charities benefit at the Baltimore Basilica












Eric Conway writes:

Hello everyone,

I hope that you are enjoying this season.  Tonight, the Morgan State University Choir had one last engagement of the season.  We were asked to be guest artists for a sold-out Catholic Charities benefit at the Baltimore Basilica, noted for being the first Catholic diocese in the United States.  Despite the extreme cold weather, everyone still managed to come out to hear this concert.  The Concert Artists of Baltimore presented the concert for Catholic Charities.  One of my mentors, Edward Polochick, asked me if the Morgan State University choir would participate in this $60 a ticket benefit.   I said yes because of my relationship with Ed, because of the worthy charity, and also because I wanted to give my students an opportunity to sing in a cathedral acoustic.  We just had our Christmas concert on Sunday, so we had much music from which to choose.  Our music was warmly received.  Please see below an email sent tonight, paying our choir a very high complement from the one of the Concert Artist choir members.  The X-factor for the evening was hearing Baltimore Ravens placekicker Justin Tucker sing.  He sang Oh, Holy Night with the orchestra.  He received a standing ovation for his performance, which was quite good, but more extraordinary because he was an NFL football player who could sing as well as he did.  Please see some pics take this evening, a copy of the program as well, as a YouTube clip that someone captured of Justin singing his solo. Enjoy!

Eric

Incredible experience to sing in an acoustical environment.

Begin forwarded message:

From: Sarah Berger 
Subject: Thank you
Date: December 15, 2016 at 10:52:57 PM EST

Dear Dr. Conway,
I'm a soprano in the CAB chorus, and just when we had finished our a cappella set and I thought my larynx couldn't get any higher, you and your incredible singers shattered me with the Lauridsen, and then the rest of your set.  Shattered me.  So much weeping.  I've been sitting on a mountain of grief and sadness for the past month or so (yes the election) and getting up every day and being a functional adult and parent and professional and all that, pretending things are normal.  But you guys sang, and laid me bare just like artists are supposed to do to their fellow human beings.  I just ran out of normal.  I didn't expect to be shattered in the middle of a gig.  I can't tell you how wonderfully awfully painfully beautiful that felt.  I hope everyone else in the room was shattered too.

Yours in shards,
Sarah Berger, soprano

p.s. Holy intonation, batman!


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