In late May of this year, Delta’s choir will be performing at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Dr. Bruce Southard, professor and chorale director at Delta, was personally called to perform at Carnegie Hall by Maestro Peter Tiboris of MidAmerica Productions. “I said ‘yes’ because you don’t turn something like that down,” said Southard.
Tiboris and his production company are “the foremost independent producer of choral concerts in Carnegie Hall.”
Southard was recognized by Tiboris for his work with the Stockton Chorale.
The Delta choir will make up the bulk of the members attending from the Stockton area. Students from Lathrop High School and Mable Barron Elementary School, and members of the Stockton Chorale will all be traveling with Southard.
Lawrence Torres (Bass) and Jazzy Hidalgo (Soprano 2) are members of Delta’s choir and will be performing at Carnegie Hall in May. They will join other choir members from around the Stockton area and rehearse John Butte’s “Mass of the Children” for their Carnegie Hall performance.
The piece is said to pose challenges to the performers, by Southard. “All in all it’s going to be fun so I’m up for the challenge,” said Torres. He and Hidalgo both mentioned how excited they are to travel. The students are prepared for the rehearsals, but are looking forward to sightseeing and bonding.
“It’s a really good opportunity and it’s something we would like to do more of because it’s really good for our students. Ensembles that tend to tour more often actually seem to perform better all the way around. There’s a sense of camaraderie that gets built up, and because students have to pay their own way, there’s really a higher level of dedication to the project and to the outcome of the project,” said Southard.
The Delta choir will be holding fundraisers throughout the semester such as radio-grams and their Broadway-themed concert in March.
“Lawrence is actually probably our biggest thrust in getting fundraising moving and going. He just really believes in it,” said Southard.