Tchaikovsky. The Beatles. Stevie Ray Vaughan. Frank Sinatra. And
now the Gilroy High School Chamber Singers. Only the best and
brightest make it to the gilded stage of Carnegie Hall.
Tchaikovsky. The Beatles. Stevie Ray Vaughan. Frank Sinatra. And now the Gilroy High School Chamber Singers. Only the best and brightest make it to the gilded stage of Carnegie Hall.
A map of Manhattan hangs on the wall of Phil Robb’s choral room at GHS, 881 Seventh Ave. marked prominently with a sticky note. The countdown to Carnegie Hall has begun: 15 weeks until 29 GHS students debut at the nation’s premier concert venue, 15 weeks to learn and perfect a dozen songs, 15 weeks to prepare for one of the most memorable experiences of their lives.
But as teenagers, most have no idea just how poignant the moment will be, guessed Robb, GHS choir director.
“They probably have no clue and will not until they’re about 25 and then all of a sudden it will come together,” he said.
But for Robb, the trip will be a crowning achievement.
“New York is America’s city and Carnegie Hall is America’s concert hall,” he said, rocking back and forth in his desk chair amid the clutter of a hectic holiday season. Littered with aspirin bottles and papers documenting this season’s choir bookings and barricaded in by stacks of bottled water and a large box of choir sweatshirts, his desk was surrounded by the memorabilia he accrued over his 25-year career at GHS and the garish mustard colored walls around it covered with photos of past students, his two grown children and his wife.
“The opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall is to step onto the same stage as Leonard Bernstein, to step onto the same stage as Pyotr Tchaikovsky, to step onto the same stage as (Vladimir) Horowitz,” Robb said, reciting a list of some of the world’s most eminent musicians. “There’s just a history of incredibly famous people and I get to be a part of that. That was a goal I set years ago and it’s a goal I actually get to see to fruition, if everything goes according to plan.”
Invited by Heritage Festivals – an organization partnering with Field Studies to offer students an opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall – to submit audition tapes, Robb will get his second chance in the limelight at Carnegie Hall. He took another group in 1994 to perform at a choral convention, an experience so moving, he said, he fell into a friend’s arms, sobbing, after the performance. This year’s choir will get its 15 minutes of fame, literally, this March when they perform a set of their own music, directed by Robb. The group will also perform with groups from Georgia, Florida and California.
“I’m really excited,” said Rebecca Butkivich, 17, as her face broke into a grin. “The more we learn about it, the more exciting it is.”
But when they step onstage, they’ll have nearly 3,000 faces staring back at them.
About $20,000 and countless hours of rehearsal stand between them and the big day. This holiday season’s caroling calendar is especially important given the $1,500 price tag to send each student to New York City for the long weekend.
A door-sized calendar posted in the choir office looks crowded with bookings but Robb said this year’s schedule isn’t as busy as usual, which isn’t good for the choir’s pocketbook but provides a little relief for the singers during the flurry of holiday activity. With students involved in sports, after-school jobs and various outside choral groups, they work hard to squeeze in as many caroling gigs as possible. But enthusiastic renditions of “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” at the beginning of the holiday season sometimes devolve into a less than merry version of the festive carol as the season wears on, Robb joked.
At a recent rehearsal, Robb reminded his chamber singers of previous achievements, hoping to motivate them for the last stretch of caroling before the winter break. Like a doting father, he warned his students of the cold front that was supposed to hit the weekend of the high school dance.
“We don’t need you getting sick with your shoulders bare and a skirt up to here,” he said, holding his hand to his upper thigh. The students giggled and rolled their eyes.
“It’s hard work to stay committed,” said Ryan Lindseth, 18, after the choir spent an hour rehearsing a song for tonight’s concert. “But Mr. Robb’s been like a father to us.”
“We’re really lucky we have Mr. Robb,” added Brad Scherck, 18. “He’s such a good guy.”
“He works miracles with them,” said Deborah Stromner, whose daughter will be among the 29 to perform at Carnegie Hall with Robb.
“He turns this group of teenage youngsters into –” she paused to find the right word: ” – angels. This season, they’ve become angels in my eyes. They open their mouths and it’s not just beautiful music, it’s an instrument.”
Robb’s been molding young voices into beautiful music for decades. Banners trimmed with medals and photos hang about his classroom, commemorating each year he’s been at GHS. Some of his student have been with him since they were in grade school. What keeps him coming back every day is the knowledge that, with his years of experience and his students’ hopeful voices, they can achieve greatness.
He compared his love for music with his limited golfing skills: “When I play golf I’m really bad but every once in a while I drive the ball and it actually goes down the fairway 200 yards, like it’s supposed to every time. I figure if I do it once I can do it again if I keep hitting the ball. Even though I get a different group of kids each time, I know I’ve done it before and I can do it again.”
“You want to give the kids an opportunity to have a musical moment when you get that ting down your back and you go like that,” he added, shivering to demonstrate. Those moments usually come when the students hit a particular chord just right, he said, “when things just click and it doesn’t touch your ears, it touches something inside you.”
