Carnegie Hall II: Photo Highlights
It's hard to believe that it was just a few short months ago since I traveled to New York City for one of the most incredible experiences of my life: The unbelievable opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall with one of the most prolific composers of our time, Eric Whitacre.
As chronicled in my previous blog, this opportunity came about through a great deal of work on refining my voice over the last several years added to the interior work of visioning and alignment that this was truly a possibility. An open call for auditions was given by Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) - so I responded with my acapella YouTube video, and then was stunned when I was accepted!
Thus began the journey...
For brevity sake I will not share every detail (though I've had many "dish" sessions about the experience with some of you with whom I'm the closest). I would be remiss if I did not deeply thank my vocal coach, Lisa Ferraro, for attentively assisting me through the months of private preparation to rehearse the material before the trip. I was required to meet a deadline and submit a total of 12 individual videos of me singing each of the songs.
Once I boarded my flight and arrived at the Park Central Hotel, which was just across the street from Carnegie Hall, we had two days of intensive 4-hour rehearsals with Eric Whitacre. At last, I was seated in the large hall with other vocalists from across the world, who had worked as hard as I had, and the maestro himself! The badge that you see was my admission into the Hall for the concert.
These rehearsal sessions were the most amazing experience because Mr. Whitacre reviewed each song with us, phrase-by-phrase, to establish a nuanced and intuitive artistic delivery, the "emotional framework," as he put it.
Here are photo highlights from the incredible event!!!
The concert had a total of 500 performers from across the world.
It was divided into two sessions with an intermission between.
This is our group of 250 on-stage during the performance.
Outside the concert hall before we performed.
My vintage-inspired dress was made by
During rehearsal with musicians on cello and violin just before.
On the stage...
Finished.. Clapping and gratitude.
Somehow I managed not to have my usual nerves during these moments. I felt peacefully present. The lights were bright and I could see the audience members in the front rows and in the balcony while we sang. The preparation and the special rehearsals in the days leading to the event really paid off because I gave more in this performance than I had in my life. Every moment was surreal!
Let me end by expressing my gratitude to Mr. Whitacre for composing such glorious and inspirational music and to the staff at DCINY, who worked to create an event of this magnitude.
I also want to sincerely thank you among my friends and family who have encouraged me throughout these experiences. It's truly something special when a dream actually happens! Allow this to be an example that your own dreams can come true.
If you're interested in seeing more of my concert pictures, please visit my Gallery page where I have posted more of my favorites and other projects, like the Virtual Choir 5 film, "Deep Field: The Impossible Magnitude of our Universe," (also with Eric Whitacre). Please also consider following me on Facebook and Instagram (@paris.faith.winter) where I have posted more photos from my trip to New York and my visits to Connecticut and Virginia afterward, staying with my dear friends, Vanessa Almonte and Karen Attanasio.
As always, my album and music are still available through my website, www.parisfaithwinter.com, or through most of the major distributors: Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, and even on YouTube. Remember to do searches by "Paris Faith Winter."
Let's all keep our dreams alive.
**All concert photos courtesy of Dan Wright Photography.