Two elite ensembles from the Summerville High School (SHS) Chorus will soon perform at legendary Carnegie Hall in New York City and as part of the Presidential Inaugural Heritage Music Festival in Washington, DC.
The SHS Advanced Women’s Chorus, Eleganza, which features about 30 students, will partake in the Washington, DC recital along with thousands of other choral students from across the country. The performance, which takes place Jan. 18, just two days before the 2009 presidential inauguration, will be in front of a panel of nationally renowned adjudicators on the campus of George Mason University.
Less than three months later, on April 13, the approximately 40 singers from SHS’s Bella Voce Choir will perform at Carnegie Hall in New York, thanks in part to a personal invitation from world-renowned composer Kirby Shaw.
Shaw, who has more than 2,500 choral arrangements and compositions in print and has sold nearly 20 million copies of his music worldwide, personally invited Vivian Jones, the SHS Fine Arts Director, and Bella Voce when he saw them sing at a music festival in Gatlinburg, TN last spring.
“Performing at Carnegie Hall is every musician’s dream,” said SHS senior and Choir President, Natalie Spencer. “It is a remarkable opportunity.”
Jones is honored to perform at Carnegie Hall considering who extended the invitation.
“I think Kirby Shaw is the most prolific arranger of choral music in this day and age,” said Jones. “The fact that he invited us to perform in New York is extremely flattering.”
Rene Spencer, President of the SHS Booster club, echoed Jones’ sentiment.
“There’s no finer compliment than to be praised by the composer of the music that we’re singing,” said Spencer. “When Kirby Shaw invited us to come sing at Carnegie Hall, we couldn’t say ‘no.’ We knew we had to find a way to go and the students are working hard to make it happen.”
Because the students and their families are responsible for paying for their respective trips, SHS has organized various fundraising efforts.
“We are getting ready to hit the town with support letters for businesses, churches and our friends and relatives,” said Jones. “We have had some major fundraisers already and have some additional ones planned. We’re really hoping the community gets behind us and supports the Summerville High School Arts.”
While the students who will perform at Carnegie Hall may be in awe of the history of one of music’s most famous destinations, the historical implications of this presidential election are not lost on the SHS students who will sing in Washington, DC.
“This is the first year I get to vote and to know I will be in Washington, DC at the time of the inauguration is exciting,” said SHS senior, Samantha Ellenburg. “It’s a once in a lifetime experience, and a very historical event considering we will either have a black president or a female vice president.”
Anna Eason, a senior at SHS who has been singing for a dozen years, agrees with Ellenburg that singing in Washington, DC is a great honor. Eason, however, also has her eyes on the prize.
“It’s going to be an amazing, tremendous experience,” said Eason. “Although we will have fun and take in as much we can, there is a purpose to our trip. We plan to compete and we plan to win.”
The SHS Chorus will perform tomorrow night, Oct. 23, at the SHS auditorium. Future performances are scheduled for Dec. 11 and May 7.
For more information about the SHS Chorus, upcoming fundraisers or how to help support one of the trips, contact Vivian Jones at 843-873-6460 (ext. 51397) or vjones@dorchester2.k12.sc.us.

Contact Michael Tannebaum at 873-9424 ext. 215 or mtannebaum@journalscene.com