'Once in a lifetime'
BHS Encore choir takes stage at Carnegie Hall

It sounds like the pitch for a new movie — “Coming in June: Two dozen teenagers from rural Arkansas. Two flights. A long weekend in New York City. One chance to perform on a historic, world-famous stage.”

It sounds made up, but for members of Berryville High School’s Encore choir, it was completely real. Last year, the ensemble — under the direction of BHS choir director Benjamin Winn — was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall along with singers from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.

After a year of rehearsing, the group set off June 24 for what Winn called a “once-in-a-lifetime” adventure.

Benjamin Winn

“For the majority of our group, it was their first time traveling outside of Arkansas,” Winn said. “And I know it was a very life-changing experience for a lot of them because they got to experience something completely different from what they were accustomed to. They got to experience what it is to be a professional musician. We had security clearance and backstage access to one of the best performance venues in the United States.”

The invitation to perform in New York came last year from Lorissa Mason, director of choral activities at UALR, and set Winn and his students on a year-long path that included fundraising efforts, collaborations with clinicians, recruiting volunteers and most all, lots of practice.

“I would say a combined total of 24 hours across 11 months,” said Winn, who was named the Arkansas Choral Directors Association’s Region 6 Senior High Director of the Year during the All-Region clinic in November. “And that’s in addition to all the other recognitions that we received this year.”

In November, five members of Encore — alto Alessandra Moreno, tenors Nathan Edwards and Nolan Bryant and bass singers Andrew Engel and Ashton Blok — qualified for All-State consideration, while Encore and the school’s other ensemble, Vivace, also qualified to compete at the state level, with Encore receiving straight superior ratings at the regional level.

Added to the challenge of performing a 30-minute piece — Francis Poulenc’s “Gloria,” which features six movements scored for solo soprano, large orchestra and chorus — alongside more experienced singers backed by a symphonic ensemble, was the fact that “Gloria” is written in French.

“I would say that’s the first time our students have performed a major work in a foreign language within the last 10 or 15 years,” Winn said.

Before they even arrived at Carnegie Hall, the group had to overcome a few challenges, from raising nearly $100,000 to pay for the trip to finding a way for 26 performers and 10 adults to even get to New York.

“We left early Thursday morning and flew in two groups from,” Winn said. “We had a large group that had a connecting flight in Washington, D.C., and a smaller group that had a direct flight. We got there Thursday afternoon, went and had a nice dinner and then walked Times Square.”

Rehearsals for the Sunday, June 26, performance started Friday, but that still left some time for sightseeing, including attending a Broadway musical.

“We saw ‘Hadestown,’ just down the street from us,” Winn said. “I know that the musical was a highlight for a lot of our students. For the majority, myself included, that was my first actual Broadway performance that we’d ever seen.”

Other excursions included a walking tour of Manhattan.

“We hit Grand Central terminal, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Rockefeller Center, Sak’s Fifth Avenue and Central Park,” Winn said.

The young performers also got a few chances to experience Carnegie Hall.

“I don’t think they really grasped of it until the day,” Winn said. “Really being in that historic space kind of impresses on the severity of their performance. When they stepped in that space for that dress rehearsal, you could really see the understanding on their faces of how important this was.”

Encore was joined onstage by choirs from Pulaski Robinson High School in Little Rock, Una Voce of Jacksonville’s Wildwood Park for the Arts, and Mason’s UALR ensemble, along with the New England Symphonic Ensemble — under the direction of Preston Hawes — and soprano soloist Janani Sridhar, all conducted by Mason.

“We had a pretty good turnout for the concert,” Winn said, “and we received a standing ovation for our performance.”

After Sunday’s performance, the group was treated to a dinner cruise around Ellis Island and up the Hudson River before returning to Arkansas on June 27.

All in all, Winn said he rated the trip a “nine or 10,” saying there were no major problems.

“I know that there was something that every kid took away from it that really impacted them on this trip,” Winn said. “We had some fantastic chaperones that really helped facilitate and make things run smoothly. I was grateful to have all that support while we were there, as well as the community support we received. Overall, it was a very, very successful trip.”

Winn also expressed his gratitude to the Berryville choir boosters, sponsors and members for their dedication to help make the trip possible and gave special recognition to vocal consultant Sharon Keck Parker of Eureka Springs and Choir Boosters president Johanna Edwards of Berryville.

“I’m really glad we did it,” Winn said. “To say it was easy to put together would be an utter lie. A lot of work hours and preparation went in to make this happen as smoothly as it did.”

And a lot of practice. After all, that’s how you get to Carnegie Hall.